This works great! I used this method to de-funk some paper things, unwashable things and even an old vaudeville steamer trunk years ago. I've had the trunk for nearly 20 years now the smell doesn't return if you allow it to sit long enough! And if you have something extra smell change to baking soda/bicarb every 3 days to a week until the smell subsides! Once the smell is gone....its gone for good!
Yessss!!! Great tip!! Thank you so much for sharing!! I have tried newspapers to absorb odors and that works too, plus kitty litter (kitty potty box clay pieces) can do a great job! I put an unopened bag that I poked a few holes into inside of an old suitcase and it worked fabulously!! Just some other possibilities you might need. For fabrics, a quick LIGHT spritz of 2TBS white vinegar to 1 Quart hot water. Allow to dry naturally and repeat if necessary. Again thanks so much for your videos!! I adore watching you and always end up VERY inspired!!! 💙💙
Thank you so much Leslie for your brilliant tips on other ways of getting rid of smells, thank you 😊. Also I am really thrilled that you enjoy my videos x
This is such a great tip I have used it on books, just sprinkled the pages then put in air tight bag then put it in an extra freezer we have for 2 weeks and the smell was gone. Thank you for sharing!
I hate the smell of damp paper. I wrap my books in large bags and use dryer sheet's in the book and outside of the book. I put the date on them that I have done it and let them go. This has worked for me on all but one book. I'm going to try this and see how it works on my book. Thank you for this worthwhile tip!!
Great tip! Had heard it worked, but never saw a before & after, kind of thing. Thank you! Sun supposedly kills the smell & mildew etc too, but I don't have a place to lay things out, where they won't get ruined or blow away or whatever, so I never tried. Lol tyfs!
I use coffee beans, dryer sheets and now I will buy a box of baking soda, the one you put in the refrigerator and leave it in the container with my thrift store buys. I even wipe the outside of the books with baby wipes. When I buy ribbon from the thrift store I unroll them and clip them on hangers and spray febreeze and air them outside, this does work. Thanks for the tip. 🍁🍁🍁
Thank you so much for the info. I wanted to make my first junk journey for a gift, but hate the mildew or dusty smell of old books and bits. I,m allergic. I am going to give this a try. Tfs
Thanks for this . I use baking soda for so many things, i hadnt thought of putting papers in a bag.i have some books that are a bit smelly from a thrift and i will have to try this out and see if it works on the books as well . Thanks again ❤
Great video, Tina! And lots of good ideas in the comments, too. I don’t use dryer sheets at all any more because of the artificial ingredients (so bad for our lungs!). I LOVED the reminders about baking soda, charcoal, coffee grounds, and vinegar (for fabrics! Thanks, Tina and everyone!
Great idea! I also lay papers and fabric in the sun, which gets really hot here, then put them in the soda or sprinkle them lightly while they are in the sun. Most of the time just the sun and air will work. I wash the fabric after I take out of the sunshine if it’s washable. 💕
Coffee beans (ground) will also get rid of icky smells in paper or shoes or furniture, etc. I'm in the US and motels always give you several one serving size packs of both decaf and regular in the room. I bring these home and use as you are using the baking soda. I had really good luck getting the old funky furniture smell out of an antique desk I bought. I set a teacup of dry coffee in each drawer and in a week or so the smell was like coffee. So much better. Over time, the coffee smell faded and it has no smell at all now. I also defunk my son's smelly shoes with coffee. I make little pouches of coffee filters and drop them in his shoes. Keeps his closet from smelling bad. I definitely use baking soda if I didn't get the coffee for free though. TY for the video.
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing- as I agree- there are things I did not purchase due to the smells associate with them- that old, mussy smell. This will be awesome!!
This sounds v useful I recently received some old children's books that were def musty. So must give this a go. Also found a whole box of old tea cards that my mum collected so I'll be interested to see how you use the cigarette cards. Tfs x
Oh my stars, I wish I had seen this last month. I had to throw a book away because it reeked of mildew and cigarette! Thank you, chalk up another trick this old dog has learned! This is why I love your channel! Let's journal on!😊
Tina! That was wonderful! I watched your vid when you acquired them and stated that they smelled, I kept thinking I know how to remedy that..but I forgot how! Thanks for the reminder! I am a new subscriber and I want you to know that I find your series on building stash very comforting! I've been crafting along with you with my 23 years of stuff that I had gathered to make altered books!! Just a short jump to junk journals. keep up the great ideas! Maybe one day I will actually make a journal.
Thank you Janice, I am glad to have been able to remind you. Also, I am so very pleased that you are enjoying the mass making workshops, and yes, I know what you mean about the accumulated stash from the years of other paper crafting! I am going to do a little series on using some of the things we’ve made in the workshops, so maybe you will feel inspired to make your first journal then x
I'm curious as to if the smell "came back" as you said or if it was permanantely gone after the soda powder+bag? Guessing this also works for removing cigarette smoke smells?
TFS this information... a book store in Columbus Oh was closing & found real old empherma and paper books novels from Charles Dickens year 1880 WOW ..🤩 brittle & very fragile & was wondering how to get the smell out. I will try this method!! Thanks again for sharing 🤗
April, I would be curious to know if the baking soda softened the brittle paper. When I use it in water for cleaning, it tends to soften my hands. Good luck.
I’ll give it another go. Bought two old albums not realizing they reek of cigarettes . I’ve tried a few things but I’ll try again. Otherwise I’ll have to use scanned images instead .
Boy...I tried this very thing on an old Little Golden Book...first edition and in great shape...but really musty smelling. I put in in a bag with quite a bit of baking soda and left it zipped up for weeks! It didn't smell ANY better! I hope to try the kitty litter trick one day, but haven't been able to yet. I want to say Mrs Cog recommend a plastic storage tub with kitty litter in it and she pops in anything smelly for a fix. Has anyone else had a failed test with the baking soda?
Tried using baking soda but it just ruined my vintage letters and cards. It leaves dark spots in the paper. Now I don't know what to do to remove the dark spots. 😢
I'm not Tina, but I wouldn't use a dryer sheet. They are embedded with all kinds of waxes and oils that could transfer to the paper and discolor it over time. I would probably use an old soft toothbrush or a clean makeup brush to dispatch the dust. Hope this helps. ~ Lisa
I would just use a cotton washcloth. I don't get why Tina uses dried baby wipes over paper towels, though I've never asked her either. A 3 inch paint brush would probably work well also
I started using the dried baby wipes because one or two ladies commented that they didn’t like the scratchy paper towels, it set their teeth on edge. X
Nooo..Tried using baking soda but it just ruined my vintage letters and cards. It leaves dark spots in the paper. Now I don't know what to do to remove the dark spots. 😢
I NEED THIS VIDEO! I received 3 Little Golden Encyclopedia volumes which absolutely SMELL HORRIBLE! They STINK! I'm not even sure they can be saved, but I will try this.
Probably work better if you separate all the pages first so they are loose rather than pressed together, and just put a few in each bag. You could also give them a quick coffee dyeing to kind of wash them... Then air dry? 😘😘😘
@@deserthorses5 I also purchased some items on EBAY with the awful smell. I contacted the seller who told me to place some charcoal briquettes in a small brown paper bag and then place in a larger brown paper bag with the items. Some of them were books, but most of the awful smelling items were vintage sewing patterns. I did as he suggested, placed them outside for several days and incredibly, the smells are gone.
@@deserthorses5 i know what you mean! It's disgusting what some people sell! I was at a car boot sale years ago and this tramp of a man had a whole ton of literal shit laid out to sell. Me and my mum had to be nosey, lol, on the floor he had a roasting pan and it still had the lard pooled in it! (White solidified meat fats, in case you're not from uk and call lard something else) And i don't mean a stubborn bit that is hard to scour off, i mean a proper good ladle full! Still had pieces of meat in it! He also had a mattress that was covered in very heavy stains! I'm talking either a bedwetter or crack house type of mattress! And there was people paying decent money for his filth, and me on my stall struggling to get a few pounds for brand new items still in packaging! Honestly I'd die of shame before even giving stuff like that away let alone try to make money off it! I'd even make sure it was well bagged up before throwing it out in the wheelie bin because I wouldn't want the dustmen to think we were scumbags! Ugh! There's no need to live like that! I feel bad if we have dinner late and leave the washing up til morning! And I'm neither rich nor posh! Far from it! I'm sorry you got stung that way and hope they refund you! At the same time i hope you are able to salvage them if possible. It's upsetting. Most of us are not rich and our craft purchases are eagerly awaited for as a special treat to ourselves. I have ebay packages pending and i get excited when i see the postman coming round. You must be so upset and "bubble burst". 👩❤️👩 Sending you a hug! xxxx
Wilma, in the US, it’s sold as “baking soda” and we use it (most often) to help cakes and bread rise while baking. It’s similar to “baking powder,” but not the same. Maybe you can find it in the grocery store near baking ingredients? Arm & Hammer is a well known brand here, and it’s very inexpensive. Hope you can find it there! 😊
This works great! I used this method to de-funk some paper things, unwashable things and even an old vaudeville steamer trunk years ago. I've had the trunk for nearly 20 years now the smell doesn't return if you allow it to sit long enough! And if you have something extra smell change to baking soda/bicarb every 3 days to a week until the smell subsides! Once the smell is gone....its gone for good!
Thank you, fantastic tip x
Yessss!!! Great tip!! Thank you so much for sharing!! I have tried newspapers to absorb odors and that works too, plus kitty litter (kitty potty box clay pieces) can do a great job! I put an unopened bag that I poked a few holes into inside of an old suitcase and it worked fabulously!! Just some other possibilities you might need. For fabrics, a quick LIGHT spritz of 2TBS white vinegar to 1 Quart hot water. Allow to dry naturally and repeat if necessary. Again thanks so much for your videos!! I adore watching you and always end up VERY inspired!!! 💙💙
Thank you so much Leslie for your brilliant tips on other ways of getting rid of smells, thank you 😊. Also I am really thrilled that you enjoy my videos x
This is such a great tip I have used it on books, just sprinkled the pages then put in air tight bag then put it in an extra freezer we have for 2 weeks and the smell was gone. Thank you for sharing!
Great tip ! I use dryer sheets from the dollar store and put them in a container.
I hate the smell of damp paper. I wrap my books in large bags and use dryer sheet's in the book and outside of the book. I put the date on them that I have done it and let them go. This has worked for me on all but one book. I'm going to try this and see how it works on my book. Thank you for this worthwhile tip!!
Great tip! Had heard it worked, but never saw a before & after, kind of thing. Thank you! Sun supposedly kills the smell & mildew etc too, but I don't have a place to lay things out, where they won't get ruined or blow away or whatever, so I never tried. Lol tyfs!
I use coffee beans, dryer sheets and now I will buy a box of baking soda, the one you put in the refrigerator and leave it in the container with my thrift store buys. I even wipe the outside of the books with baby wipes. When I buy ribbon from the thrift store I unroll them and clip them on hangers and spray febreeze and air them outside, this does work. Thanks for the tip. 🍁🍁🍁
Thank you so much for the info. I wanted to make my first junk journey for a gift, but hate the mildew or dusty smell of old books and bits. I,m allergic. I am going to give this a try. Tfs
Thanks for this . I use baking soda for so many things, i hadnt thought of putting papers in a bag.i have some books that are a bit smelly from a thrift and i will have to try this out and see if it works on the books as well . Thanks again ❤
Great video, Tina! And lots of good ideas in the comments, too.
I don’t use dryer sheets at all any more because of the artificial ingredients (so bad for our lungs!).
I LOVED the reminders about baking soda, charcoal, coffee grounds, and vinegar (for fabrics!
Thanks, Tina and everyone!
Thank you Annie, and everyone else, as you said, so many fab suggestions x
I have used it for other things! Great idea!!! Thanks for sharing!
Great idea! I also lay papers and fabric in the sun, which gets really hot here, then put them in the soda or sprinkle them lightly while they are in the sun. Most of the time just the sun and air will work. I wash the fabric after I take out of the sunshine if it’s washable. 💕
Great tip, thanks, Tina. x
What a great tip!! Thank you!! Now I’m going to dig out some magazines I was going to dump and try it. ❤️
What a fantastic tiip! New to me I will try it. Tyfs..xx
Very helpful, Tina! TFS the inspiration!
Coffee beans (ground) will also get rid of icky smells in paper or shoes or furniture, etc. I'm in the US and motels always give you several one serving size packs of both decaf and regular in the room. I bring these home and use as you are using the baking soda. I had really good luck getting the old funky furniture smell out of an antique desk I bought. I set a teacup of dry coffee in each drawer and in a week or so the smell was like coffee. So much better. Over time, the coffee smell faded and it has no smell at all now. I also defunk my son's smelly shoes with coffee. I make little pouches of coffee filters and drop them in his shoes. Keeps his closet from smelling bad. I definitely use baking soda if I didn't get the coffee for free though. TY for the video.
Great idea, I love that you use it for your sons shoes! Lol x
Oh wow thankyou! This sounds so easy.gonna give it a try
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing- as I agree- there are things I did not purchase due to the smells associate with them- that old, mussy smell. This will be awesome!!
Yes I was so surprised how well it worked. Hope you find it helpful x
Glad to see this technique. Tfs.
This sounds v useful I recently received some old children's books that were def musty. So must give this a go. Also found a whole box of old tea cards that my mum collected so I'll be interested to see how you use the cigarette cards. Tfs x
Thank you for Sharing. I never knew to use that for smells.
Great tip, bicarb does work really well for many things, thanks for the reminder... I have a few books that are a bit wiffy!!! 😁😁♥️📚
I use bicarb to take smells in my fridge, it works great for lots of things.
Oh my stars, I wish I had seen this last month. I had to throw a book away because it reeked of mildew and cigarette! Thank you, chalk up another trick this old dog has learned! This is why I love your channel! Let's journal on!😊
Thank you, what a shame, although I’m not sure it would work on cigarette smoke, that’s such a strong smell, but it might have x
This is such a great tip thank you
Genius TY for sharing it! 🧡💜💛
Fabulous! Now I just need to find something old and smelly to try it on😂 Great tip for future reference 🤗 X
Lol
Tina! That was wonderful! I watched your vid when you acquired them and stated that they smelled, I kept thinking I know how to remedy that..but I forgot how! Thanks for the reminder! I am a new subscriber and I want you to know that I find your series on building stash very comforting! I've been crafting along with you with my 23 years of stuff that I had gathered to make altered books!! Just a short jump to junk journals. keep up the great ideas! Maybe one day I will actually make a journal.
Thank you Janice, I am glad to have been able to remind you. Also, I am so very pleased that you are enjoying the mass making workshops, and yes, I know what you mean about the accumulated stash from the years of other paper crafting! I am going to do a little series on using some of the things we’ve made in the workshops, so maybe you will feel inspired to make your first journal then x
Great tip!
Great idea thanks for sharing
Hi Tina,
Mildew ewww! LoL 😜
Awesome tip 👍😊
Thanks for sharing I must try this method my friend ♥️Margaret from Florida 🌴🌴
great tip!!!
I'm curious as to if the smell "came back" as you said or if it was permanantely gone after the soda powder+bag? Guessing this also works for removing cigarette smoke smells?
TFS this information... a book store in Columbus Oh was closing & found real old empherma and paper books novels from Charles Dickens year 1880 WOW ..🤩 brittle & very fragile & was wondering how to get the smell out. I will try this method!! Thanks again for sharing 🤗
My eyes were drawn to Columbus,Ohio! I grew up in Columbus and now live out in the country. So just a hello from a fellow Buckeye Nut!☺🏈❤🏆🏀🇵🇷⭐
Melissa Fancelli- Cox Hello thanks for the shout out 🏈🏈 GO BUCKS!!
April, I would be curious to know if the baking soda softened the brittle paper. When I use it in water for cleaning, it tends to soften my hands. Good luck.
WHIFFY: perfect!
I’ll give it another go. Bought two old albums not realizing they reek of cigarettes . I’ve tried a few things but I’ll try again. Otherwise I’ll have to use scanned images instead .
Oh no, cigarette smells, yuk. I am not sure what would get rid of that, this might work, but I don’t know 🤔 x
Boy...I tried this very thing on an old Little Golden Book...first edition and in great shape...but really musty smelling. I put in in a bag with quite a bit of baking soda and left it zipped up for weeks! It didn't smell ANY better! I hope to try the kitty litter trick one day, but haven't been able to yet. I want to say Mrs Cog recommend a plastic storage tub with kitty litter in it and she pops in anything smelly for a fix.
Has anyone else had a failed test with the baking soda?
Oh what a shame. I wonder if the cover was too thick? Was it one of those hard back books? I haven’t ever tried the kitty litter thing x
Tried using baking soda but it just ruined my vintage letters and cards. It leaves dark spots in the paper. Now I don't know what to do to remove the dark spots. 😢
Tina instead of a dried baby wipe would a used dryer sheet or flick it on the back help? I hope so. You are one of my favorite you tubers!
I'm not Tina, but I wouldn't use a dryer sheet. They are embedded with all kinds of waxes and oils that could transfer to the paper and discolor it over time. I would probably use an old soft toothbrush or a clean makeup brush to dispatch the dust. Hope this helps. ~ Lisa
I would just use a cotton washcloth. I don't get why Tina uses dried baby wipes over paper towels, though I've never asked her either. A 3 inch paint brush would probably work well also
Thank you so much Vickie for your tip and your kindness, your comment has made my day 🤗 x
I started using the dried baby wipes because one or two ladies commented that they didn’t like the scratchy paper towels, it set their teeth on edge. X
Nooo..Tried using baking soda but it just ruined my vintage letters and cards. It leaves dark spots in the paper. Now I don't know what to do to remove the dark spots. 😢
I NEED THIS VIDEO! I received 3 Little Golden Encyclopedia volumes which absolutely SMELL HORRIBLE! They STINK! I'm not even sure they can be saved, but I will try this.
Probably work better if you separate all the pages first so they are loose rather than pressed together, and just put a few in each bag. You could also give them a quick coffee dyeing to kind of wash them... Then air dry? 😘😘😘
@@tamielizabethallaway2413 The smell was... OVERWHELMING! I am complaining to both PayPal and EBAY. NOBODY should have sold those!
@@deserthorses5 I also purchased some items on EBAY with the awful smell. I contacted the seller who told me to place some charcoal briquettes in a small brown paper bag and then place in a larger brown paper bag with the items. Some of them were books, but most of the awful smelling items were vintage sewing patterns. I did as he suggested, placed them outside for several days and incredibly, the smells are gone.
@@abcdenergy both hubby and I have respiratory issues. We aren't taking any chances with these items.
@@deserthorses5 i know what you mean! It's disgusting what some people sell! I was at a car boot sale years ago and this tramp of a man had a whole ton of literal shit laid out to sell. Me and my mum had to be nosey, lol, on the floor he had a roasting pan and it still had the lard pooled in it! (White solidified meat fats, in case you're not from uk and call lard something else) And i don't mean a stubborn bit that is hard to scour off, i mean a proper good ladle full! Still had pieces of meat in it! He also had a mattress that was covered in very heavy stains! I'm talking either a bedwetter or crack house type of mattress! And there was people paying decent money for his filth, and me on my stall struggling to get a few pounds for brand new items still in packaging! Honestly I'd die of shame before even giving stuff like that away let alone try to make money off it! I'd even make sure it was well bagged up before throwing it out in the wheelie bin because I wouldn't want the dustmen to think we were scumbags! Ugh! There's no need to live like that! I feel bad if we have dinner late and leave the washing up til morning! And I'm neither rich nor posh! Far from it! I'm sorry you got stung that way and hope they refund you! At the same time i hope you are able to salvage them if possible. It's upsetting. Most of us are not rich and our craft purchases are eagerly awaited for as a special treat to ourselves. I have ebay packages pending and i get excited when i see the postman coming round. You must be so upset and "bubble burst". 👩❤️👩 Sending you a hug! xxxx
It will work even better if you freeze them and actually kill the mold spores!
no, freezing doesnt kill the mold spores. It hibernate them
Dryer sheets are toxic. Baking soda is messy. Thanks for the video!
And offcourse.........as usual they dont sell bicarbonate soda in Switzerland where I life....just watches :( :) :)
Wilma, in the US, it’s sold as “baking soda” and we use it (most often) to help cakes and bread rise while baking. It’s similar to “baking powder,” but not the same. Maybe you can find it in the grocery store near baking ingredients? Arm & Hammer is a well known brand here, and it’s very inexpensive. Hope you can find it there! 😊
Thanks Annie. I know the baking soda, but no...... no baking soda here as well 😢😢😢
Wow! That’s a shock; how do you make bread?
If you message me your address, I’ll send you some! 406annie@ Gmail.com
Lol....just watches! Wow, no baking soda, maybe amazon? X
Oh Dear, Whiffy?
Lol x