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From: Bama
Date: 09-17-2004, 12:25 PM (1 of 8)
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A friend gave me a bag of old fabric that's been packed up a while and smells like mothballs. I washed some of it but it still smells. I would really like to keep some of it if I can remove the smell. Alot of it is from the 70's and my daughter likes it. any ideas? |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116 
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From: Mischka
Date: 09-17-2004, 01:22 PM (2 of 8)
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Lucy, my dressform, smelled like mothballs when I got her secondhand. I used one of those Febreze-type sprays, then set her outside to air out. Did this every evening for about a week, storing her in the garage in the meantime (the spray scent can be a little overpowering!). She's now in my office, and smells just fine. Don't know how different fabrics might respond to the spray, though... Good luck! |
User: Mischka
Member since: 09-01-2004 Total posts: 63 |
From: MaryW
Date: 09-17-2004, 05:47 PM (3 of 8)
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Apparently, if you put it in a bag with a couple of pieces of charcoal, they will absorb the odor.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542 
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From: Bama
Date: 09-17-2004, 10:56 PM (4 of 8)
Thanks for the suggestions. I don't know why I didn't think of febreeze. I use it nearly every day on the furniture. (thanks to the puppy)  If that doesn't work, I'll try the charcoal in a bag.  my son walked into the laundry room today and said "what's that smell?!" I had some of the fabric in there that had already been washed and he still smelled it. 
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User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: MaryW
Date: 09-18-2004, 06:18 AM (5 of 8)
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Apparently if you put it in a bag with a bar of Irish Spring soap that does the trick too.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542
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From: Bama
Date: 09-18-2004, 11:23 AM (6 of 8)
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Thanks Mary, I already have some Irish Spring. I'll try it. The febreeze helped, but there's still a bit of a smell.
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User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: LeapFrog Libby
Date: 09-21-2004, 08:12 PM (7 of 8)
Bama, did you put it outside in the sunshine for a day with one of those better smelling items.. I always use Lysol spray to get rid of most odors.. But, any of them combined with sunshine should do the trick.. 
Sew With Love
Libby |
User: LeapFrog Libby
Member since: 05-01-2002 Total posts: 2022 
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From: AnnH
Date: 10-15-2004, 10:49 PM (8 of 8)
| I'm afraid I don't have good news for that smell. I also bought some fabric that had been sitting in mothballs. I washed and washed with everything I could think of even Vinegar. I bagged it up with soaps and fabric sheets...you name it I did it. I still have the 10 yards of nice polyester hanging up in the sewing room for the past 2 years. It still has that smell and I am guessing because it is polyester...that the chemicals from the mothballs and the chemicals in the poly will forever be one. It has a faint smell but if I were to stand in the rain or otherwise got this fabric wet the smell comes back. Then there is the age of the fabric to think about...old poly does tend to develop an odor all of its own after years and years. So good luck with your fabric. |
User: AnnH
Member since: 03-07-2002 Total posts: 7 |
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