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My daughter designs ballet and dance costumes. The neighbor no longer sews but gave her lots of usable fabric for her costumes. The only bad thing is it smells. It has a musty, stored in a garage for too long smell. Is there anyway to get the smell out so she can use the fabric and not have to throw it away?
I have had good luck with hanging things out in the sun, leaving it out overnight so the dew moistens it may help too. Or, put in a bag with newspapers, they should absorb the smell, charcoal would work too, but it may get on the fabric.
Be careful when hanging fabric in the sun, always hang it so the backside of the fabric is facing the sun, or fold it in half if at all possible, backside out. I had some fabric fade when I hung it outside to air out...and it was only out for maybe an hour.
I just hang fabric in the house now, over the backs of chairs...seems to do the trick for me.
Febreeze? Laundry? Air Fluff in the Dryer?
ok this is going to sound bad but...... peel an onion and pop it in a bag with the fabric. Works a treat and doesnt make the fabric smell of onion if you dont cut it. This is an old cat owners trick. Thats an old trick and a trick for owners of old cats lol. If you cat has an 'accident ' on the carpet, cut an onion in half and place it directly on the spot. It will leech out the smell and discourage the cat from returning. You have to leave the onion there for a couple of days. Based on this trick i tried it as discribed in a bag of niffy fabric and it was brilliant.
Great, thank you. I will pass these on to her!
Would the onion trick work on an old musty trunk? I have tried everything, but removing the antique paper, which I think is the source of the musty smell. It would be worth a try. The trunk came across country in a covered wagon with family and I really hate to change the paper out, but it is worthless to store anything in as is! Any idea if this would work, Divine Daisy?
There is a special laundry detergent made for items that have survived a fire but I can't remember the name of it, I could ask my daughter. But also, she told me that the Arm & Hammer Detergent with baking soda works really well and is inexpensive. They used it on alot of clothing items that survived the fire and got musty sitting in the burned out house.
Good luck!
its worth a try to out an onion in the trunk....it certainly wouldnt hurt. i dont know how a long long term smell will respond but hey.......couldnt be worse eh? My Granny used to say an onion cured all smells.....except onion lol. i do wonder though if its the paper and has been caused by the paper getting damp at some point.. maybe it wont help. Have you tried leaving the trunk open in the sun? Maybe a day in the sun would work by totally drying and airing it. Both worth a try if you cant use it for anything at present. good luck! hugs
Thanks Divine Daisy. Will try both! Great ideas!
Somehow that onion intrigues me! I'll try it.