The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

My newly acquired Edisonic phonograph has quite a rancid smell and some areas of white spots inside the cabinet. This might be mildew or mold. Is is okay to scrub these areas with a soap containing bleach?

You can clean it with bleach & water and then spray it with Febreze... You definitely need to get rid of mold & mildew...

Try a solution of white vinegar and water.

Can you tell what kind of stink it is ?

eg:

Rodent urine, rancid grease, mold / mildew, dead critter, etc ?


I would start with careful disassembly, good vacuuming, scraping-out any blobs of old grease / oil, then a careful cleaning with the bleach-water or vinegar water, then park it outside on a bright, sunny day, and let the sun / UV work on it for a day or two. If odor persists, consider parking some aluminum disposable aluminum baking-pans filled with plain ( NOT match-light charcoal briquettes, or "lump" hard-wood charcoal and letting that sit for a few days, perhaps with a blanket or tarp over the machine, and if THAT doesn't make it odor-neutral, remove the charcoal, and sprinkle unused ground coffee all over the interior floor of the cabinet about ¼" deep, and the rest in a foil pan, cover the works again, for a day or two, the remove the coffee, let it air-out, and see what you've got.

My experience has been that rodent urine is the most difficult thing to remove... it soaks into the wood, and even if you clean it well, some times in damp weather, the smell will return....


Good luck !


Frank

Frank, are you sure about the vinegar? Here is a quote from WikiHow:

"Use the vinegar solution only on non-porous surfaces such as tiles — not on wood."

Or maybe the finish blocks the vinegar from the wood? No, I don't think it's rodent urine or a dead mouse. It's not that bad. As I said the interior has some areas of white spots, so I think it's mildew. It's from the Atlanta, Georgia area which is known for hot humid summers. This Edison looks like it's been closed up and neglected for decades!!! Frank, those are some good ideas! Also, I read that Baking Soda is very good for odor removal.

I'd try Kotton Klenser or GoJo first. Jerry

De Soto Frank wrote: then park it outside on a bright, sunny day, and let the sun / UV work on it for a day or two.

Oh,I don't know about that....might be bad for the finish.... which is probably already distressed.

Vinegar is unlikely to hurt the wood. We use it for a number of things around here and have not had any problems with it. Preliminary cleaning should be done outside so that you don't risk contaminating the house. Don't use any kind of bleach solution. Bleach will kill the mold itself but not the spores and it will likely change the color of the area where it is used. Vinegar will kill the mold spores as well as the odor and you can foll up with containers of baking soda placed inside the machine.

Jim

I don't know about Edisons, but I think the better machines had their cabinets finished on the inside surfaces with a thin coat of shellac or lacquer, to "seal" the wood against movement with climate changes, but I wouldn't swear to this.

The insides of my golden-oak Silvertone upright have evidence or rodent visitation, and the wood looks like raw, unfinished wood...


I think the best approach is to brush / vacuum / blow-out as much loose dirt as possible, the go along with the vinegar solution. You don't want to saturate the wood with any liquid, that will cause more problems...


The following suggestions are from this page: http://www.vinegartips.com/scripts/pageViewSec.asp?id=7


Remove white water rings from wood with a solution of equal parts white distilled vinegar and vegetable oil. Rub with the grain. DO NOT use with waxed wood. It can ruin the finish and leave a cloudy mark


Remove the smell of a dead mouse or other rodent (after removing all animal remnants) by wiping down the area with either white distilled vinegar or bleach. Then place a fabric softener sheet in the area to remove any lingering odors.

Get rid of dust and stale odors by wiping down walls with undiluted white distilled vinegar on a cloth or a sponge mop.

Clean woodwork and walls with a mixture of 1 cup white distilled vinegar, 1 cup baking soda, ½ cup ammonia and 1 gallon warm water. Wipe on with a sponge or damp—not wet—towel. DO NOT use with waxed wood. It can ruin the finish and leave a cloudy mark

Clean wood paneling with a solution of ¼ cup olive oil, ½ cup white distilled vinegar, and 2 cups warm water. Wipe on with a soft cloth. DO NOT use with waxed wood. It can ruin the finish and leave a cloudy mark

I had success with Frank's method. Shellac will seal out many smells. I inherited an actor's costume trunk from the 20's $ 30's. Many years of sweaty costumes. Uggh. Several coats of shellac made it fit for polite company.

Obviously this won't work where you want to keep originality and one still needs to kill mold & mildew. Good luck with the "Stinkinola".

Martin

I've had excellent results with this product, Zero Odor:
http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Odor-16-Ounc ... 436&sr=1-2

I don't normally get excited about products but this stuff is amazing in terms of eliminating foul odors. It is a water based product; I've sprayed it inside unfinished cabinets with no problems. It dries odorless and doesn't cover up the bad odor with another smell.
Dave