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Removing odor from stinky comics?
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84 posts in this topic

I have used a sealed plastic tub (something you can get a Walmart for less than 10 bucks) Put a few (smelly) comics in the tub along with a small bowl of baking soda off to the side (not on the books). Put the lid on. Store it somewhere out of the way that no one will kick the sealed container or otherwise disturb it. In a few days the odor will be much better.

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Is this a Bronze Age book ? Seriously, years ago there was a collection a dealer was selling that he referred to as 'the moth ball collection'. I still have one book from that collection. The cover colors just popped and the book was very fresh and supple. I have the book in a Mylite and Mylar and I cannot smell anything unless the book is removed.

No, it's atom-age (golden-age) stuff -- pre-code sci-fi to be exact. These are comics from the "Nicolas Sawchuck" collection, so named because somebody (presumably a kid) had a fancy stamp made of his name and often stamped it on the inside cover, back covers, back inside cover, etc. As long as they mylar is well-sealed, the odor is contained, but once opened it's really pungent, and not in an "I love the smell of old books" way. More in a "WTF my eyes are watering" way.

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no offense to any smokers on here, but sometimes I get comic shipments and there might as well be a puff of smoke coming out of the package. lung cancer variants

 

first and foremost, I rebag and board to get that stanky acid collecting bag out of my collection. I imagine pressing will have some detoxifying inducing effect similar to a colon cleanse.

 

Can someone explain to me what 'drycleaning' a comic incorporates?

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OK - I have been reading this with my jaw dropping more and more.So here is my take:

 

1) While it is a popular remedy to mention, baking soda does little to actually absorb odors. This is a play by Arm and Hammer to get people to buy boxes of baking soda for their refrigerators. It makes a little - stress little - impact. But it sells a ton of baking soda.

 

2) I keep seeing to put the books in a "container". What does that mean? Lead? Steel? Plastic? Something that basically blocks any air flow? Nah.

 

So what to do?

 

1) Go to a Pet Supply store. Get some "activated charcoal" used for aquariums. This stuff has little if any dust.

 

2) Get a covered container that can house your books plus a couple of inches on each side. Plastic is fine.

 

3) Pour some of the charcoal in the container so it is partially filled..

 

4) Put your books in a kraft paper envelope and close it. Seal it if you have to. The paper will allow the charcoal to penetrate and do its work.

 

5) Place the kraft envelope on top of the partially filled charcoal.

 

6) Pour more charcoal over the kraft envelope.

 

7) Cover the container.

 

8) Wait 3 days and pull the envelope from the charcoal. Do a sniff test. If needed, re-insert the envelope into the middle of the charcoal. Wait a few more days and sniff again. If more is needed you may want to re-arrange the books so the inner ones are now at the outside.

 

If you have a lot of books you will want to spread them out over a few containers.

 

Now before the pitchforks come out about kraft paper, which is not friendly to comics acid-wise, a week or so will do nothing harmful.

 

But the activated charcoal is a very effective odor neutralizer. And when you are finished with your books, you can pour it into a couple of open containers and put them in your fridge to reduce odors. And save the rest for more comics.

 

 

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While I have never tried the cat-little approach which might end up cheaper, you can easily buy bags of book deodorizer from craft shops which will help. Just leave your books in a sealed tub with some of the granules and it will absorb odours as well as excess moisture.

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Put them in the freezer for a day or two. Kills most odors on anything printed.

 

I have done it in the past and it has worked like a charm. Just make sure that it's nothing too expensive.

 

Drastic changes in temperature or humidity can be destructive to paper. You'll kill the odor, but at what expense?

 

An ozone generator will kill airborne odors. I'm not sure if it would be as effective with paper. Also keep in mind that high levels of ozone can cause some serious breathing issues, especially if you have a sensitive system.

 

I wish I could offer a better recommendation, but I've never researched solutions to this problem.

 

 

Ozone is also a strong oxidizer. I would assume it could seriously damage the paper and staples.

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OK - I have been reading this with my jaw dropping more and more.So here is my take:

 

1) While it is a popular remedy to mention, baking soda does little to actually absorb odors. This is a play by Arm and Hammer to get people to buy boxes of baking soda for their refrigerators. It makes a little - stress little - impact. But it sells a ton of baking soda.

 

2) I keep seeing to put the books in a "container". What does that mean? Lead? Steel? Plastic? Something that basically blocks any air flow? Nah.

 

So what to do?

 

1) Go to a Pet Supply store. Get some "activated charcoal" used for aquariums. This stuff has little if any dust.

 

2) Get a covered container that can house your books plus a couple of inches on each side. Plastic is fine.

 

3) Pour some of the charcoal in the container so it is partially filled..

 

4) Put your books in a kraft paper envelope and close it. Seal it if you have to. The paper will allow the charcoal to penetrate and do its work.

 

5) Place the kraft envelope on top of the partially filled charcoal.

 

6) Pour more charcoal over the kraft envelope.

 

7) Cover the container.

 

8) Wait 3 days and pull the envelope from the charcoal. Do a sniff test. If needed, re-insert the envelope into the middle of the charcoal. Wait a few more days and sniff again. If more is needed you may want to re-arrange the books so the inner ones are now at the outside.

 

If you have a lot of books you will want to spread them out over a few containers.

 

Now before the pitchforks come out about kraft paper, which is not friendly to comics acid-wise, a week or so will do nothing harmful.

 

But the activated charcoal is a very effective odor neutralizer. And when you are finished with your books, you can pour it into a couple of open containers and put them in your fridge to reduce odors. And save the rest for more comics.

 

 

 

Pretty much this. Activated carbon, as used for water filters, is the best method for absorbing odor. Remember once driving in my friends BMW and drove past some dead animal, he clicked the odor filter button and within seconds no more stench.

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Okay, so I started de-odorizing my comics. Here are the steps I've taken, and photos to prove it.

 

(1) Gather the stinky comics. Prepare to take them out of their mylar sleeves. (The backings and sleeves themselves either will be aired out, or discarded, since they also stink.) There are 8 pungent comics in all.

 

(2) Prep de-odorizing materials. This includes a 20-pound plastic jug of generic kitty litter ($6.50 -- it's 100% sodium bentonite), a wide flat plastic bin, and a plastic lawn bag to seal everything inside. I also cut thin spacer strips out of styrofoam.

 

(3) Dump the kitty litter in the bin. All 20 pounds of it.

 

(4) Put spacers across bottom of kitty litter, so comics do not come into direct contact with the dusty/grainy material.

 

.... CONTINUED NEXT MESSAGE ....

 

 

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(continued from previous message)

 

(5) Begin placing comics.

 

(6) Continue stacking comics until they are all inside. I stacked 4 comics on each side, and each comic is separated from the others by the thin spacers, so there is air between them.

 

(7) Seal up the bin with its lid firmly in place.

 

(8) Wrap the bin in a plastic bag, and tape sealed, to completely contain the air and let the de-odorizing process work its magic (I hope).

 

QUESTION: How long should I leave everything sitting like this? I am probably going to give it a full week, though maybe I'll change it out once to re-arrange the comics.

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I'll post my results in a week or so. My guess is the comics are still going to stink.

 

But maybe somewhat less so... At the very least, I will feel that I've done my due diligence in attempting to improve their offending odor.

 

Worst-case scenario, I wasted $6.50 and about 30 minutes.

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:applause: -slym

Thanks, Slym.

 

Okay, so it's been 10 days or more. I had placed the sealed box of kitty litter and comics high on a shelf where it was easy to forget about.

 

Today I lifted it down and opened up the plastic bag and the bin.... It was the moment of truth: Would my incredibly stinky comics still stink to high heaven? Or would they be cured via the magic of kitty litter?

 

The verdict: The comics are remarkably cured of odor! I am really impressed. This method WORKS, and it works WELL.

 

Whatever the chemical process involved, the odor was transfered from the comics to the kitty litter. There is the faintest residual left-over odor on the inside pages of the comics, but the outer pages and cover have no discernable odor at all, other than for any old comic book.

 

What really makes me happy is that whereas I had downgraded the comics' grades by at least 1 or 2 points due to the odor, now I can legitimately judge their grade at the level they would get based on everything else. So, the comics I considered as GD/VG are now VG or VG+, etc.

 

That means for the outlay of $6.50 (kitty litter) and the time it took to put everything in a plastic bin (about 30 minutes, which would have been less if I hadn't been photographing the steps for this message chain), I come out ahead to the tune of whatever increased value the comics have due to their grades getting significant and legitimate upward bumps.

 

Long story short: I am really happy with the outcome of this effort. It far exceeded my hopes.

 

I am tempted to go through all my other comics just to find the ones with the mustiest odors so I can de-odorize them too.

 

Here's a pic of the "moment of truth" bin-opening with now odor-free comics inside:

 

144626.jpg.186bd0ea8e78f87b6b14414ec9d52ff9.jpg

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