Best Way to Air Out Smokey-Smelling Instruction Manuals?

[Joe Redifer]

When collecting vintage stuff is your hobby, you sometimes get things that came from some loser who smokes and it hits you like a freight train when you open the package.  Airing out the box and cartridges/cards are all pretty easy and quick.  But with the instructions, I find that the only way to properly do this is to open it to the first page, leave it outside for an hour or so.  Open it to the second page... another hour.  And so on for the entire manual.  Takes forever.  Is there any magical method that I am not thinking of that could be used?

[CrackTiger]

When collecting vintage stuff is your hobby, you sometimes get things that came from some loser who smokes and it hits you like a freight train when you open the package.  Airing out the box and cartridges/cards are all pretty easy and quick.  But with the instructions, I find that the only way to properly do this is to open it to the first page, leave it outside for an hour or so.  Open it to the second page... another hour.  And so on for the entire manual.  Takes forever.  Is there any magical method that I am not thinking of that could be used?

I once got a boxed TG-16, Turbo Stick and Turbo Booster from a guy who kept them stored with moth balls.

All I could do was let them sit out in the open unpacked for a long time. Cigarrete smoke is probably a lot worse and I can't imagine how you could get around doing it one page at a time(or that just airing them out even works). 

[TurboXray]

A negative ion generator will do the trick

[guyjin]

if you work at a hotel (or know someone who does) you might borrow their room ozone-er (there's probably a more technical term, but i don't know it)

They use these things when someone smokes in a room but shouldn't, or someone wants a nonsmoking room and all that's left is smoking. they work pretty well from what i remember. perhaps you could arrange to have your goods 'accidentally' left in such a room while it's being de-stunk.

if you somehow bring one home, don't stand in the room with it; it's dangerous.

[esteban]

When collecting vintage stuff is your hobby, you sometimes get things that came from some loser who smokes and it hits you like a freight train when you open the package.  Airing out the box and cartridges/cards are all pretty easy and quick.  But with the instructions, I find that the only way to properly do this is to open it to the first page, leave it outside for an hour or so.  Open it to the second page... another hour.  And so on for the entire manual.  Takes forever.  Is there any magical method that I am not thinking of that could be used?

Would it be possible to fan out the pages (to increase the surface area) and put a fan at LOW speed in front of it to increase air circulation?

I had a box of magazines that got wet. I set up several fans and sandwhiched thin pieces of styrofoam between them to "fan out the pages". You can probably use any sort of "filler" to prop the pages open.

Also, baking soda is supposed to absorb smells, so another option (I've never tried this) is to throw the manual + box of baking soda in an airtight container and wait for the magic to happen! Try to get a large surface area of baking soda, since that makes it more effective (this is my own speculation, but it's got to be scientifically valid, dammit!).

[Hobo Xiphas]

I don't know how to get smoke out of manuals, but time managed to get rid of the dog poop smell of my Altered Beast and Sonic manuals.  It took about, uhh, 10 years though.  I don't know if you want to wait that long.

This is a question to ask Marty Goldberg at the next Midwest Gaming Classic, he knows all the tricks!  The solution will probably involve peanut butter.

[Keranu]

I really wish Marty Goldberg would come back and post a cure for this .

[Joe Redifer]

Just having a member with a name like "Marty Goldberg" would enhance this forum by at least 43%.

[Keranu]

Just having a member with a name like "Marty Goldberg" would enhance this forum by at least 43%.

Oh but we do! Check out martyg's username. Be sure to check out his debut post in the Midwest Gaming Classic thread!

Oh please, Marty - come back!

[Joe Redifer]

A member name of "martyg" only enhances the forum 14.7%

[Keranu]

A member name of "martyg" only enhances the forum 14.7%

I think as long as it's the actual Marty Goldberg posting, then the forum would have enhanced at least 43%.

[CrackTiger]

When collecting vintage stuff is your hobby, you sometimes get things that came from some loser who smokes and it hits you like a freight train when you open the package.  Airing out the box and cartridges/cards are all pretty easy and quick.  But with the instructions, I find that the only way to properly do this is to open it to the first page, leave it outside for an hour or so.  Open it to the second page... another hour.  And so on for the entire manual.  Takes forever.  Is there any magical method that I am not thinking of that could be used?

Would it be possible to fan out the pages (to increase the surface area) and put a fan at LOW speed in front of it to increase air circulation?

I had a box of magazines that got wet. I set up several fans and sandwhiched thin pieces of styrofoam between them to "fan out the pages". You can probably use any sort of "filler" to prop the pages open.

Also, baking soda is supposed to absorb smells, so another option (I've never tried this) is to throw the manual + box of baking soda in an airtight container and wait for the magic to happen! Try to get a large surface area of baking soda, since that makes it more effective (this is my own speculation, but it's got to be scientifically valid, dammit!).

When I bought my Black Tiger cocktail arcade, it was basically a giant 20 year old ash tray inside. After painstakingly vacuming and wiping it out, I stuck in 3 or 4 boxes of baking soda. After a couple years or so when I moved, I threw away the baking soda and it now doesn't smell like a bar when I turn it on.

[Seldane]

I don't know how to get smoke out of manuals, but time managed to get rid of the dog poop smell of my Altered Beast and Sonic manuals.  It took about, uhh, 10 years though.  I don't know if you want to wait that long.

Why did they smell like that? And why did you keep them if they did? 

[Hobo Xiphas]

Why did they smell like that? And why did you keep them if they did? 

Like I said, my dog pooped on them one day when I left them on the ground.

I keep them around because Altered Beast and Sonic manuals are just SO HARD TO FIND.

[TheMilford]

Bumping this to see if anybody has some new ideas... I recently purchased some really nice copies of some Super CD games from a reputable seller. The games are in fantastic shape... however they REEK of smoke.

I disassembled them and cleaned the discs and trays with Windex... that only helped with the cases, the trays still stink as do the CD faces (not the play surface, weird) so I let those sit for a few minutes with a spritz of Fabreeze on them then repeated the Windex wipe-down. Semmed to work there.

Now, what to do with the booklets and tray cards?

[Bernie]

Soak a shirt in some sort of cologne or perfume.  Then wrap the games in it.  When I say soak I dont mean literally saturate, just spray it heavily.  Leave it wrapped for a couple days.  Works like a charm.

[henrycsc]

Try taking a thin piece of cardboard and folding it accordion style.  Place one page of the manual in each fold so that it stay's open.  That may air it out quicker with all the pages exposed at once.  Combining with a gentle fan may help too.  You can get carbon filters and someone mentioned baking soda as other ways to absorb odors, but time is probably the best repair.

[esteban]

I have since discovered (since my earlier post ~5 years ago) that spraying vodka (any brand) directly on the offending items (discs, cd trays, manuals, spine cards, orphaned children, etc.) and allowing the item to air dry for several years will completely eliminate the acrid stench of cigarettes.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Cover the bottom of an air tight container with a half inch or so of baking soda or activated charcoal, rig up something to hold the manuals above the material to keep 'em clean (a cookie cooling rack or simply cardboard like Henry mentions), and seal those puppies up for a couple weeks.  I've never done it to a smokey manual, but it works great for musty books.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Cover the bottom of an air tight container with a half inch or so of baking soda or activated charcoal, rig up something to hold the manuals above the material to keep 'em clean (a cookie cooling rack or simply cardboard like Henry mentions), and seal those puppies up for a couple weeks.  I've never done it to a smokey manual, but it works great for musty books.

I was going to suggest something similar.  I usually put the arm and heimer into a rubbermaid, and stick the stuff to be de-failed on a piece of aluminum foil folded to size.

Then I stick the whole thing in the corner and forget about it for a month.

or a year. 

details.

[TheMilford]

I don't think the Baking soda will actually harm the paper if it touches it. So I just threw them in a cookie tin with a heaping dose of the stuff... I think if the soda makes contact it may actually absorb more of the odor... I will check it daily to make sure no dame is being done though.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Yeah but then you've got all your crap sitting in baking soda, lol.

[Joe Redifer]

Great suggestion with the baking soda.  As this thread was started nearly 6 years ago, I have forgotten which manuals of mine need it.  Now I need to go through and re-sniff ALL of my manuals.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Baking Soda is glorious. 

[TheMilford]

Yeah but then you've got all your crap sitting in baking soda, lol.

It should just brush off... then I can wipe them down with the most-ever-so-slightly damp cloth (windex seems to work great for this BTW, as it evaporates so rapidly), just damp enough to "pick up" the powder but not moisten the paper.

[Arkhan Asylum]

I'd be worried about moisture for any reason ending up in there.  Wet + baking soda =

[esteban]

Gentlemen, I gladly accept your thanks for suggesting baking soda 5+ years ago.

You are quite welcome.

When collecting vintage stuff is your hobby, you sometimes get things that came from some loser who smokes and it hits you like a freight train when you open the package.  Airing out the box and cartridges/cards are all pretty easy and quick.  But with the instructions, I find that the only way to properly do this is to open it to the first page, leave it outside for an hour or so.  Open it to the second page... another hour.  And so on for the entire manual.  Takes forever.  Is there any magical method that I am not thinking of that could be used?

Would it be possible to fan out the pages (to increase the surface area) and put a fan at LOW speed in front of it to increase air circulation?

I had a box of magazines that got wet. I set up several fans and sandwhiched thin pieces of styrofoam between them to "fan out the pages". You can probably use any sort of "filler" to prop the pages open.

Also, baking soda is supposed to absorb smells, so another option (I've never tried this) is to throw the manual + box of baking soda in an airtight container and wait for the magic to happen! Try to get a large surface area of baking soda, since that makes it more effective (this is my own speculation, but it's got to be scientifically valid, dammit!).

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Gentlemen, I gladly accept your thanks for suggesting baking soda 5+ years ago.

Haha!  Esteban clearly knows what is teh up.

[Opethian]

it must still sting a little.... we still love you esteban and your ferocious avatar

[blueraven]

Gentlemen, I gladly accept your thanks for suggesting baking soda 5+ years ago.

Haha!  Esteban clearly knows what is teh up.

Thank you for..... it.

[esteban]

I'm delirious today

[blueraven]

My copy of Super Star Soldier's manual smells like cat piss. It came that way.

You cant get that shit out. Ammonia, man.

Should I burn it?

[esteban]

My copy of Super Star Soldier's manual smells like cat piss. It came that way.

You cant get that shit out. Ammonia, man.

Should I burn it?

That's 85% fresh.

Keep it under your pillow.

[Arkhan Asylum]

My copy of Super Star Soldier's manual smells like cat piss. It came that way.

You cant get that shit out. Ammonia, man.

Should I burn it?

No man, just stick it in cat litter and see if it helps, lol.

TIDYCATS GO GO GO.

or maybe some FleshStep.

[SMF]

Buy a new box of Snuggle open it up and shove the manual inside and close it. Cat piss is a nightmare.

[TheMilford]

Round one of baking soda, only a few days. Removed a tad of the odor. Reading online suggests Bounce dryer sheets between each page for a few days. They also suggest discarding baking soda every few days since it absorbs only so much.

I currently have them all sitting in a sealed box with layers of soda between each page. I'll try a couple few more rounds of this.

Should I complain to the seller? This wasn't an eBay auction but a known seller. all the packing materials smelled of smoke too. I'm really surprised about this.

[SMF]

Round one of baking soda, only a few days. Removed a tad of the odor. Reading online suggests Bounce dryer sheets between each page for a few days. They also suggest discarding baking soda every few days since it absorbs only so much.

I currently have them all sitting in a sealed box with layers of soda between each page. I'll try a couple few more rounds of this.

Should I complain to the seller? This wasn't an eBay auction but a known seller. all the packing materials smelled of smoke too. I'm really surprised about this.

I would complain only if they said comes from a smoke free home. If they sold them as is then your kinda sol.

[esteban]

Round one of baking soda, only a few days. Removed a tad of the odor. Reading online suggests Bounce dryer sheets between each page for a few days. They also suggest discarding baking soda every few days since it absorbs only so much.

I currently have them all sitting in a sealed box with layers of soda between each page. I'll try a couple few more rounds of this.

Should I complain to the seller? This wasn't an eBay auction but a known seller. all the packing materials smelled of smoke too. I'm really surprised about this.

I would complain only if they said comes from a smoke free home. If they sold them as is then your kinda sol.

Personally, IMHO, a decent person would make some useful disclosures when posting an item for sale... but 99.93% of sellers won't do this.

[BenG76]

Ive used dryer sheets to help with the smell of items and it does seem to help. Put the sheets in between the pages and stick it in a ziploc bag for a few days.

[blueraven]

My copy of Super Star Soldier's manual smells like cat piss. It came that way.

You cant get that shit out. Ammonia, man.

Should I burn it?

No man, just stick it in cat litter and see if it helps, lol.

TIDYCATS GO GO GO.

or maybe some FleshStep.

I actually did this. It's clean cat litter.

*waits*

[Arkhan Asylum]

What brand. 

[blueraven]

What brand. 

Tidycats.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Good luck!

[Starfighter]

White vinegar. This is an old household trick that really works, so I'm not trying to be funny or anything. Just pour a bit in a glass and then put the glass with what ever that smells bad in a closed off area (a box, a plastic bag, a cupboard etc) and wait over night. The smell will in 99% of the cases be gone. Of course it will smell slightly of vinegar right after but it goes away fast.

[xcrement5x]

White vinegar. This is an old household trick that really works, so I'm not trying to be funny or anything. Just pour a bit in a glass and then put the glass with what ever that smells bad in a closed off area (a box, a plastic bag, a cupboard etc) and wait over night. The smell will in 99% of the cases be gone. Of course it will smell slightly of vinegar right after but it goes away fast.

I am intrigued.  I have done baking soda before and it worked alright, but I'll give this a try this weekend since I just got a lot of 32X games (DON'T JUDGE ME!) that smell like they were stored in a bar.

[Starfighter]

Good luck! Be sure to let us/me know how it went!

Personally I have used the method three times up to this point, all being smoke-related. It even worked with a bunch of controllers and other plastic/rubber thingys, not just paper and other "easy" materials.

[esteban]

Good luck! Be sure to let us/me know how it went!

Personally I have used the method three times up to this point, all being smoke-related. It even worked with a bunch of controllers and other plastic/rubber thingys, not just paper and other "easy" materials.

Folks should combine Baking Soda Method + Vinegar Method. It seems like a no brainer

[xcrement5x]

Vinegar worked surprisingly well, and what was funny is that just this weekend as I was reading Hints from Heloise in the newspaper they talked about using vinegar to remove smoke smell as well.

What I did was kind of a weird combination of things.  I have roughly 700 (hyperbole) used cat litter pails (the things that the litter comes in), and they are made out of plastic and pretty durable for miscellaneous stuff.  I put a bowl of vinegar in there, along with a couple smokey items and sealed it up.  After the first day the majority of the smell was gone, and after the second it mainly just smelled like vinegar at that point. 

I'm leaving it in for one more day (today) and then I'll probably let them air out a bit and compare everything again.  I am intrigued by someones suggestion of using cat litter though, I might try some of that before it's been used.

[esteban]

Vinegar worked surprisingly well, and what was funny is that just this weekend as I was reading Hints from Heloise in the newspaper they talked about using vinegar to remove smoke smell as well.

What I did was kind of a weird combination of things.  I have roughly 700 (hyperbole) used cat litter pails (the things that the litter comes in), and they are made out of plastic and pretty durable for miscellaneous stuff.  I put a bowl of vinegar in there, along with a couple smokey items and sealed it up.  After the first day the majority of the smell was gone, and after the second it mainly just smelled like vinegar at that point. 

I'm leaving it in for one more day (today) and then I'll probably let them air out a bit and compare everything again.  I am intrigued by someones suggestion of using cat litter though, I might try some of that before it's been used.

Vinegar!? Who knew?!

I use the cat litter pails for everything. As you said, they are incredibly versatile. .