Thread: Musty Basement Smell

Not really sure where to post this. I couldn't find any info on this, but I have a box that smells like it was stored in a basement or attic. The razor will even start to smell if stored in it. Was wondering if anyone has any ideas to get rid of the smell. Was thinking of filling the box with baking soda or even coffee. Not sure if any of those would harm to box or not. I've let it sit open for quite awhile and it hasn't done anything. I would usually just get rid of the box, but it is original to the razor so figured I would keep it. This thing really smells. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I've googled 'musty smelling book' and gotten a recommendation to place it in a container with baking soda for a couple of weeks. In this particular case it did not work, but it might since a razor box is not a stack of pages the way a book is.

Note that the inside of some safes have that musty smell, as well. It must be from the moldy money that was kept inside them.

Put a couple fabric sofener sheets in the box,works for me.

Another old time trick are camphor balls they use to keep the moths away. They are pretty potent.

One old trick is to place the 'musty' items in a sealed [ Tupperware? ] container with another smallish 'open' container, saucer/ beaker of diluted [ three [3] or four [4] parts to one ] 'distilled vinegar' for a couple days then air well..warm and dry... please let us know how things turn out if you find a good fix..

Show us a pic if you can,,, what is the box made of?

If it's been stored,, then put it in fresh air & direct sunlight,,,, depending on what it's made of,,,,several things like mentioned above
,,,,,,,,,,,,, or

light spray of peroxide on certain materials, pet stain remover ( Enzyme-based) this will actually eat the source of the smell, if leather, saddle soap & sun light, followed by leather conditioner after a long drying process.

Originally Posted by DEFGRAB

One old trick is to place the 'musty' items in a sealed [ Tupperware? ] container with another smallish 'open' container, saucer/ beaker of diluted [ three [3] or four [4] parts to one ] 'distilled vinegar' for a couple days then air well..warm and dry... please let us know how things turn out if you find a good fix..

Clarification..one of my buddies PM'd me from another Forum re specifics of my recommendation. That's four [4] to one [1] water to distilled vinegar. Four tablespoons water to one tablespoon distilled vinegar.

This is the opposite of the 'Baking Soda' fix and is effective for 'base' causes of order.

Actually I just sent off a bunch of old blades,scales and about 20 old boxes.I sorta like that old musty smell

I kept it open and in the light for a about 5 days before and it didn't really do much. The box is just cardboard with the paper wrap. I am going to stick it in a container with baking soda first and see how that works. If not I'll try the softener sheets and work to the more complicated methods after that. Thanks for all the suggestions. Hopefully something will work because it smells pretty bad.