The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

since the Clorox, white vinegar, and mineral spirits didn't work, I'm going to try something new. I heard from an antique furniture restorer that to rid a piece of furniture of a bad smell, you can get a box of Kitty Litter, put it in or around the phonograph and enclose the console in a plastic envelope for about a week. I am going to try that and then paint the inside with shellac.

Nobody mentioned kitty litter? I guess not, I just looked back thinking I had posted about it

It does work, may take longer than a week, though. You can also try placing an open bag of charcoal briquettes near the cabinet, they will also absorb odors.

Good luck!

Sean

marcapra wrote:since the Clorox, white vinegar, and mineral spirits didn't work, I'm going to try something new. I heard from an antique furniture restorer that to rid a piece of furniture of a bad smell, you can get a box of Kitty Litter, put it in or around the phonograph and enclose the console in a plastic envelope for about a week. I am going to try that and then paint the inside with shellac.

Reminds me of what a friend once told me that if you ever have book that smells of mildew,etc...Put it in a zip lock bag with a dryer sheet for a couple of days and the smell should be gone. Maybe the Kitty litter-in-a-bag will work.

I didn't have any Kitty Litter and didn't want to use a scented type, so I'm using cups of bicarbonate of soda instead, along with charcoal. Then I follow that with painting the interior with shellac.

I have a Brunswick portable that had a rather strong smell of urea in it, whether from a critter or the composition of the artificial leather lining material I can't say for sure, but I think the latter. I picked up some of the boxes of Arm & Hammer baking soda at the grocery store that are made for use in refrigerators. (These have a thin fabric over the openings when set up for use so that the soda doesn't accidently spill out all over everything.) I keep one, opened, inside the machine when it is not in use. I'm on the second box, changing out every month or so, and while it is much better, I am thinking it may need one more. I may try the vinegar and water once too.

I have a Columbia lowboy that smelled very musty when I got it. It had been stored for years in a garage. That smell has now pretty much gone away, I think as a result of its now living in an air conditioned space where the humidity lever is much lower.

Clay