I know exactly what you mean about smell. I occasionally go to an antique mall in town. It’s always kind of musty smelling. In the summer it’s kind of warm in the winter, cool, sometimes very cool. I was there this past Wednesday and bought an old lamp. I got home took a shower. Dropping my clothes in the laundry basket all I could smell was the antique mall. So I get it. Books I will let them air out. If they are bad, I use a pistol grip clamp and lightly clamp the front and back boards to a board. This allows the pages to splay out like a fan. I leave them that way for a few weeks until they are pretty good shape oderwise.
Just a week ago I went to an estate sale where the house was pretty clean but the garage was dirty and the garage bookshelves were covered in mouse poop. I dug through the books and ephemera and came away with some really cool stuff - vintage original TV scripts, Little Black Sambo with the DJ, signed autobiography worth about $100, 1960s CBS strike picket sign, etc. But if I get hantavirus, I'll know where I got it. Several months ago, I went multiple times to a hoarder house estate sale that was held over several weeks. The estate sale company had done an AMAZING job organizing the house and getting things ready for the sale. Still hoarder, but not disgusting (they showed "before" photos with their staff wading waist high through magazines and newspapers). But each time I went in the house, I felt like something was biting my feet and ankles. You can clean and organize, but you can't get rid of fleas.
I put musty books into a plastic box and pour BI-CARB SODA powder over them and into the pages - let sit for a few days and then dust them off. Gets rid of all odours.
If you can, put the books in a tightly sealed box with baking powder on the bottom. Seal it up and leave it for a week to 10 days. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Good decision to walk away. Side note: I have two friends (sisters) that wanted to give me their books, but they are heavy smokers. I told them that I cannot take their books because they stink. They were insulted but understood.
I found 30 binders of cross stitch booklets at the bins and was going to make some lots. Then I realized there was 40 years of dust and dirt to clean off of them and decided it wasn't worth it. And I was really sad to leave them behind.
Perhaps this wasn't the best video to watch while I was eating my lunch! ;-) You can find the best items at older homes and 'hoarder' type estate sales. But, you do have to be prepared for some stinky smells! That is one of the benefits of physically attending these estate sales as opposed to bidding on a lot online. Case in point - I recently won a box of books from a local estate auction. When I went to pick them up, I walked in the front door of the home and the smell of cigarette smoke almost made me gag! I knew those books were going to reek of smoke. I think an estate sale company should have the obligation of telling potential bidders in the listings that the items came from a smoker's house, don't you?
@@curatorofthelost luckily I was able to air the books out. I just feel sorry for anyone that bought furniture or an item that would be virtually impossible to get that odor out of!
After chatting with a antique store owner for sometime, he offered to let me see his “basement“. The early 1900s dungeon was hot with over 80% humidity. and thousands of books. So many treasures lost.
I bought 3 books that had a very old musty smell to try a few methods that I've read. 1) the newspaper between pages 2) freezer 3) cat litter If none of these work then I'll try a few more. Just experimenting because I keep seeing this questioned ask about old books.
There's a thrift store in my town, it's run by a church, and it's huge. But it smells like raw sewage inside. Sometimes it smells like raw sewage mixed with spicy food heated up in a microwave. The smell permeates the whole store. The first time I went in I thought they must be having plumbing issues. But it was there the next time. And every time since. I don't think the workers can smell it anymore and don't realize it is an issue.
"Life is too short to sell bad books." Satnrose, on the old e-Bay booksellers board. A good rule to live by. Stinky, ratty, falling apart ... on some you just have to draw the line and say no. Took me a while, and a lot of non-sellable junk, to finally realize this. I too have been in some places where I just wanted to find a pack of Wet-Wipes and get on down the road, but you never know what may be stuck back in that sketchy cabinet.
I have an ozone generator and have experimented with it, but haven't had much success. It will definitely remove smoke odors, but the books are always left with what I guess is the smell of ozone on them no matter how little time I treat them. And I have books that I treated over a year ago that still have that ozone smell in them, so I'm not sure what's worse - that or the cigarette smoke odor.
@@curatorofthelost I used to use one. It was mega expensive, but when I lived in Tampa, I bought a house that smelled so bad because the previous owner was a chain smoker. At the closing, I literally watched him light one cigarette from the previous, never stopping even once. I got soapy water to wash the paneling of the house and the rags were immediately black from trying to clean the walls. The carpet was presumably beige, but it was also black. I got the AirSource by Shaklee air purifier and it was on the steps when I left to go to work at 9pm that night. I got it in the house, took it out of its box and plugged it in and left for work. The next morning when I got home from work, my house smelled like sheets that had been hung out in the sun all day. I was very impressed. I don't think they even make those Shaklee AirSources anymore. I still have mine but it needs a new filter. But I believe that thing would've taken the smell out of those books. I used to get books if they were interesting books and try to clean them, but now? I don't work that hard. If it's a high dollar book, I will put it out in the sun and let the sun clean it, but usually I will just leave because not only will the book be stinky, but it will also infiltrate all my other books.
The weight can be such a problem sometimes as a book reseller! A couple of week ago I had loaded too much in my bags. I knew I had around 30 minutes of walk in front of me, but I started walking. During that time I started to realize that my bags were way to heavy. I don't know why I didnt turned back to repack. Maybe its just the spirit of a book seller? That grinding. Soon, I started to feel that uncomfortable pain in the body. It's like the muscles shaking! The bags were feeling like knives into my hands. However, I was committed to not giving up until... One of my textile bag broke! So there I was standing, looking at my newly bought large series of "Sweden during second world war", dusty and full of dirt. My whole world was falling apart. What know? I was considering just throwing them all into the forest, promising myself never buy a single book in my life. Lucky thing was that my girlfriend was not far away and helped me out! But it was still around 25 minutes of pure pain!
If a book as a 'dank', unsavory smell, find a cedar chest of the size you need. Needs to be closeable. I have a Spanish cedar armoire I put given books in. Fan the pages to maybe triple the width of the book. EDIT: does not remove pee or oil/grease smells. **smells that derived from a heavy liquid. EDIT 2: very prolonged storage "may" leave a book with a cigar-esque aroma - not a smell; faint aroma.
I know exactly what you mean about smell. I occasionally go to an antique mall in town. It’s always kind of musty smelling. In the summer it’s kind of warm in the winter, cool, sometimes very cool. I was there this past Wednesday and bought an old lamp. I got home took a shower. Dropping my clothes in the laundry basket all I could smell was the antique mall. So I get it. Books I will let them air out. If they are bad, I use a pistol grip clamp and lightly clamp the front and back boards to a board. This allows the pages to splay out like a fan. I leave them that way for a few weeks until they are pretty good shape oderwise.
Just a week ago I went to an estate sale where the house was pretty clean but the garage was dirty and the garage bookshelves were covered in mouse poop. I dug through the books and ephemera and came away with some really cool stuff - vintage original TV scripts, Little Black Sambo with the DJ, signed autobiography worth about $100, 1960s CBS strike picket sign, etc. But if I get hantavirus, I'll know where I got it. Several months ago, I went multiple times to a hoarder house estate sale that was held over several weeks. The estate sale company had done an AMAZING job organizing the house and getting things ready for the sale. Still hoarder, but not disgusting (they showed "before" photos with their staff wading waist high through magazines and newspapers). But each time I went in the house, I felt like something was biting my feet and ankles. You can clean and organize, but you can't get rid of fleas.
Fleas! I’m itching just reading!!!!
I put musty books into a plastic box and pour BI-CARB SODA powder over them and into the pages - let sit for a few days and then dust them off. Gets rid of all odours.
If you can, put the books in a tightly sealed box with baking powder on the bottom. Seal it up and leave it for a week to 10 days. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Good decision to walk away. Side note: I have two friends (sisters) that wanted to give me their books, but they are heavy smokers. I told them that I cannot take their books because they stink. They were insulted but understood.
I found 30 binders of cross stitch booklets at the bins and was going to make some lots. Then I realized there was 40 years of dust and dirt to clean off of them and decided it wasn't worth it. And I was really sad to leave them behind.
Perhaps this wasn't the best video to watch while I was eating my lunch! ;-) You can find the best items at older homes and 'hoarder' type estate sales. But, you do have to be prepared for some stinky smells! That is one of the benefits of physically attending these estate sales as opposed to bidding on a lot online. Case in point - I recently won a box of books from a local estate auction. When I went to pick them up, I walked in the front door of the home and the smell of cigarette smoke almost made me gag! I knew those books were going to reek of smoke. I think an estate sale company should have the obligation of telling potential bidders in the listings that the items came from a smoker's house, don't you?
Absolutely- especially from a home with smoke. Makes so many things worthless.
@@curatorofthelost luckily I was able to air the books out. I just feel sorry for anyone that bought furniture or an item that would be virtually impossible to get that odor out of!
There’s a video on YT of a reseller using dryer sheets to remove the smell. I have begun to try it with unscented sheets.
Right you are, Shane! As glamorous as it seems, the book business ain’t all wine and roses!
After chatting with a antique store owner for sometime, he offered to let me see his “basement“. The early 1900s dungeon was hot with over 80% humidity. and thousands of books. So many treasures lost.
I bought 3 books that had a very old musty smell to try a few methods that I've read.
1) the newspaper between pages
2) freezer
3) cat litter
If none of these work then I'll try a few more. Just experimenting because I keep seeing this questioned ask about old books.
I don't mind disorganization, but there needs to be a level of cleanliness if you will to feel confident in the items you are buying.
There's a thrift store in my town, it's run by a church, and it's huge. But it smells like raw sewage inside. Sometimes it smells like raw sewage mixed with spicy food heated up in a microwave. The smell permeates the whole store. The first time I went in I thought they must be having plumbing issues. But it was there the next time. And every time since.
I don't think the workers can smell it anymore and don't realize it is an issue.
"Life is too short to sell bad books." Satnrose, on the old e-Bay booksellers board. A good rule to live by. Stinky, ratty, falling apart ... on some you just have to draw the line and say no. Took me a while, and a lot of non-sellable junk, to finally realize this. I too have been in some places where I just wanted to find a pack of Wet-Wipes and get on down the road, but you never know what may be stuck back in that sketchy cabinet.
Ozone machines are amazing. Not sure if you’ve ever used one
I’ve heard they can produce great results but never used one.
I have an ozone generator and have experimented with it, but haven't had much success. It will definitely remove smoke odors, but the books are always left with what I guess is the smell of ozone on them no matter how little time I treat them. And I have books that I treated over a year ago that still have that ozone smell in them, so I'm not sure what's worse - that or the cigarette smoke odor.
@@curatorofthelost I used to use one. It was mega expensive, but when I lived in Tampa, I bought a house that smelled so bad because the previous owner was a chain smoker. At the closing, I literally watched him light one cigarette from the previous, never stopping even once.
I got soapy water to wash the paneling of the house and the rags were immediately black from trying to clean the walls. The carpet was presumably beige, but it was also black.
I got the AirSource by Shaklee air purifier and it was on the steps when I left to go to work at 9pm that night. I got it in the house, took it out of its box and plugged it in and left for work. The next morning when I got home from work, my house smelled like sheets that had been hung out in the sun all day. I was very impressed. I don't think they even make those Shaklee AirSources anymore. I still have mine but it needs a new filter. But I believe that thing would've taken the smell out of those books.
I used to get books if they were interesting books and try to clean them, but now? I don't work that hard. If it's a high dollar book, I will put it out in the sun and let the sun clean it, but usually I will just leave because not only will the book be stinky, but it will also infiltrate all my other books.
Your wife sounds like my husband!
The weight can be such a problem sometimes as a book reseller! A couple of week ago I had loaded too much in my bags. I knew I had around 30 minutes of walk in front of me, but I started walking. During that time I started to realize that my bags were way to heavy. I don't know why I didnt turned back to repack. Maybe its just the spirit of a book seller? That grinding. Soon, I started to feel that uncomfortable pain in the body. It's like the muscles shaking! The bags were feeling like knives into my hands. However, I was committed to not giving up until... One of my textile bag broke! So there I was standing, looking at my newly bought large series of "Sweden during second world war", dusty and full of dirt. My whole world was falling apart. What know? I was considering just throwing them all into the forest, promising myself never buy a single book in my life. Lucky thing was that my girlfriend was not far away and helped me out! But it was still around 25 minutes of pure pain!
Hi Shane - Can you update the link for these boxes? It doesn't seem to be working for me: ***10x8x3” Corrugated box
Hi- I just updated the10x8x3 link. I have usually found that box supplies from the Boxery are the least expensive. I use this size a lot. thanks!
@@curatorofthelost Thank you so much!
If a book as a 'dank', unsavory smell, find a cedar chest of the size you need. Needs to be closeable. I have a Spanish cedar armoire I put given books in. Fan the pages to maybe triple the width of the book.
EDIT: does not remove pee or oil/grease smells. **smells that derived from a heavy liquid.
EDIT 2: very prolonged storage "may" leave a book with a cigar-esque aroma - not a smell; faint aroma.