Stinky Book...! - British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

Roy · #1 05-05-15, 01:25 AM

Okay Gents,

An inevitable part of our passion is reference material and with many books out of print we all end up buying used book. A while ago I got myself a very nice copy of Mazeas book on Canadian Militia badges. A great reference but gosh it stank

. It had that old musty smell, something that doesn't normally bother me as I like old books but every time I pick this book up the musty smell transfers onto my hands, so something had to be done.

I did some research and came across a dandy idea (can't remember where I read this - could have been here!). Anyway the 'trick' is to seal the book in a plastic bag with some 'kitty-litter' (recently stolen from the mother in law

).

So just in case anyone has the same problem I thought I would post this project there. Just started it (see photo) and I will leave it for a few days and let you know how I get on.

By the way if anyone has any of the cracking badges shown on the open page and wants to find them a new home I'm all ears..

.

Cheers, Roy.

Phillip Herring · #2 05-05-15, 01:29 AM

You should offer to buy your mother-in-law some porcelain.

Phil

Roy · #3 05-05-15, 02:13 AM

Phil,

She's already got the best son-in-law in the world (her words not mine

) so what more does she want....

Roy.

servicepub · #4 05-05-15, 02:40 AM

Baking soda will also draw out odours. As the the book - I spilled coffee on mine yesterday

Cribyn · #5 05-05-15, 10:30 AM

Hello Roy

The cat litter idea is a good one and really works. Only one thing though, make sure you use new cat litter, not used!

Roger

johnG · #6 05-05-15, 10:42 AM

This brings back a memory to me of an old friend who was engaged in the writing of a regimental history, and in the pursuit of that he was given access to some very old documents which had been undisturbed in their vault for a hundred years or more.

Upon opening the vault a waft of stale and nasty air assailed him and soon after he was very seriously ill. Who knows what diseases from foreign stations had been maturing in those records for all those years, so if I were you I would not take any chances with that book, and I would dispose of it. Please pm me for my address for you to send it to.

johnG

Roy · #7 05-05-15, 02:33 PM

John,

Let must dust of all the 'used' cat little (wish you'b have spoken earlier Roger

) and I will get it right out - not...

Roy.

leigh kitchen · #8 05-05-15, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cribyn

Hello Roy

The cat litter idea is a good one and really works. Only one thing though, make sure you use new cat litter, not used!

Roger

Cat litter's a well known "freshener" for training shoes top.

David Tremain · #9 05-05-15, 03:27 PM

Activated charcoal, such as used in aquariums, can also be used. Kitty litter often contains zeolites, which are the active ingredient for eliminating odours. I used to get asked about this all the time when I worked as a conservator. Unfortunately, I could never persuade the powers-that-be to authorize a research project on it to prove what exactly was going on.

Clive is right, baking soda works well too. Gotta stop drinking such strong stuff, Clive - it makes you all shaky!

Just so you know, products like "Fabreeze" only act as a masking agent and cover up the smell; they don't get rid of it.

David

Roy · #10 05-05-15, 03:32 PM

Thanks for that David,

And a good comment re the 'Frebeeze' - I must confess I don't like stuff like that at all. I can't remember where I heard but but the saying stuck in my mind..."clean doesn't have a smell"...which certainly puts all those 'clean' products in their place.

Cheers, Roy.

Charliedog012012 · #11 05-05-15, 07:48 PM

I can verify that activated charcoal will also do the trick. A tiny granule of activated charcoal has the surface area of a football pitch.......True!!!!. Not a lot of people know that !

Roy · #12 07-05-15, 04:00 PM

Update...!

Well gents I couldn't stand it any longer, so just had to check..!

It has been two days now, so I recovered my book out of the plastic bag and somewhat to my surprise - it has worked..

I wouldn't say it is perfect and I think I can smell a very faint 'perfume' (probably from the litter) however it is certainly 90% better and much more acceptable. So in summing up I can certainly recommend this.

Cheers and thanks for everyones comments, suggestions and support.

All the best, Roy.

ddaydodger · #13 07-05-15, 04:21 PM

Once again I recommend this website, the Canadian Conservation Institute:
Basic Care of Books - CCI Notes 11/7
https://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/resources-.../11-7-eng.aspx

For other CCI notes on the care of badges, uniforms, the damage light can cause to collections, and lots of other useful info go here:
https://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/resources-...index-eng.aspx

Mike_2817 · #14 07-05-15, 07:25 PM

I have used cheap un-perfumed cat litter (aka Bentonite Clay) in the past for the same purpose, and it is also used in garages called Spillsorb for the same purpose.

When in the army I used to use the packets of Fullers Earth (also mainly ground Bentonite in the UK) to remove Tabaco smells.

I have steered away from activated charcoal as it can leave a mark, unless separated from item.

David Tremain · #15 08-05-15, 02:21 PM

I had to thank you, DDayDodger, for supporting the Canadian Conservation Institute. It's where I used to work before I retired and as I said in my earlier post, it was a common problem we used to get asked about.

One thing though, next time you use kitty litter, Mike, you might want to try the unscented version. Just a suggestion.

David