Remove odors from album covers or books quickly and efficiently! It only takes a small investment and a little bit of time to remove odors.
Tools Needed
- Drill
- 7/16″ Drill Bit
- Ozone Generator
- Storage Bin
- Form weather stripping (optional)
Materials Needed
- N/A
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Remove Odors From Album Covers…Permanently
If you have old album covers or books that just smell awful, I have found the solution and today I’m going to share with you the secret to saying goodbye to that musty, mildewy odor. This isn’t my typical ToolboxDIY style video, but I thought this was worth sharing so we’re taking a bit of a detour today. Let’s go!
How NOT to Remove Odors
I’m going to start with what not to do when you need to remove odors from album covers as there are some simple suggestions out there that just aren’t effective and will end up being a waste of your time. You might read advice like putting your smelly items in an airtight container with an open box or bin full of baking soda. Nope, I tried that for 2 months and it didn’t make a bit of difference. Next, you might find these bamboo charcoal odor absorbers. This was a waste of money! I tried these for 3 months and it might have helped a small bit, but not enough to make a noticeable difference. I even tried baking soda and the odor absorbers – still nothing after a couple of months.
Use Ozone To Remove Odors
So I did some research and found that hunters have an odor problem with their outdoor clothing and gear. They solve their problem by using an ozone generator – like this portable unit. I have some experience with larger ozone generators and I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this but it makes perfect sense. Ozone is a gas that attaches to the odor molecule and basically oxidizes it into oblivion. I won’t go into the chemistry of it because a) I’m not a chemist and b) you don’t really care that much. Just know that it works, but you have to do this safely so let’s see how to apply this technique to saving these old album covers.
The Steps to Removing Odors from Album Covers or Books
To remove odors from album covers, you’ll first need a storage bin. It must be at least 12” wide and I recommend 14” or more deep. It does not have to be airtight, but if it is, even better.
Then you need an ozone generator. A portable unit with a hose is what I recommend and one that has a timer that goes up to 60 minutes or more. This one puts out 500mg of ozone per hour. I do not recommend going any higher than 1000mg/h.
You will also need some rubber grommets.
Lastly, I recommend some sort of stand to place the album covers in to keep them from touching each other and elevate them off the base of the bin. I made this crude one from scrap plywood. You could use bookstands or one of those accordion racks used to hold pot and pan lids. No need to get fancy. The idea is to allow air flow around the entire jacket.
First drill a hole in the storage bin lid. Use a 7/16” drill bit and then insert a grommet that has the following dimensions:
Inside hole diameter = ½”
Total grommet diameter (o.d.) = 39/64”
Hole diameter to drill (i.d.) = 0.419”
If the lid to your storage bin fits very loosely, then I recommend applying adhesive backed foam weatherstripping to the lid where it engages with the bin. You’ll likely need to weigh the lid down if you use this approach but it does make a decent seal.
Odor Remover…Engaged
Once our bin is ready to go, I place my rack in the bin and fill it up with album jackets. The vinyl has been removed but I typically find the original inner sleeve also stinks so it goes in the rack as well. One thing I found that is helpful is to prop open the jacket so air can flow inside as well. You know those bamboo odor absorbers – well at least they hold the jacket open. You could also use scrap pieces of the foam weather stripping.
I put on the lid and set my generator to 60 minutes. Now, ozone is not good for you – you shouldn’t breathe it in. Most of the ozone will be contained in this bin, but to be safe. I leave the room for 2 hours. One hour for the generator to run and one hour for the ozone to decay. Ozone is an unstable molecule so it doesn’t take long for it to lose one of it’s oxygen atoms and just turn to a regular O2 oxygen molecule.
The Results
After 2 hours, I check it. Sometimes this is enough. Sometimes it takes another hour. Some albums I inherited were so bad it took four sessions to get rid of the smell. You will notice a new smell either way. Some people say it smells like fresh linen. I don’t detect that, It just smells like ozone to me. That smell however, will dissipate over time so don’t worry that you may have swapped one odor for another. If it still smells musty, give it another session.
All of this will probably cost you about $80. If you have a lot to do, like I do with hundreds of old albums that I inherited – then it is definitely worth the cost. If you only have a little bit to do, just know that you can use this on just about anything that has an odor you want to get rid of. Just don’t use it on pets because ozone is bad for them as well.
