Have you ever ordered a book from an independent bookstore or individual online only to find that it reeks of smoke when it arrives? What about those great finds at garage sales or thrift stores that smell musty?
We have your answer.
In our bookstore we have used and new books. This means that we get a great deal of used books in various conditions and states.
Especially smelly ones.
When we first opened our store, we went through several trial and error processes (on our own and on the suggestion of others) to rid our used books of smells. Many of them smelled like smoke. (Are you a bookseller that smokes? You've been forewarned. You can't smell it on the books, but we can!) Some smelled musty (you know, grandma had a gazillion books in her attic and now we want you to have them). Some smelled like body odor.
Seriously.
So we had a dilemma. We pride ourselves on the quality of our used books, so we didn't want to sell a book that smelled like it had spent last night at the local pub or that Uncle Frank didn't know that there were combinations of deodorant AND antiperspirant.
So what to do?
Things that didn't work for us:
1. Letting the book "air out".
This included removing the jacket from hardcovers, opening the books, and letting clean air get to them. Doesn't work. Don't even try.
2. Use baking soda.
The recommendation was to place the book in an enclosed area/dish/pan/bag and pour baking soda around it. It does get rid of the smell. Sound messy? It was. And? There's something to be said for your customers (or your mother-in-law) wondering what that "white substance" is in/on your books. We tried this for several months before coming up with the ONE THING that consistently worked for us:
FABRIC SOFTENER SHEETS FOR YOUR DRYER
We buy the cheapest brand we can find (hey, we're on a budget here) and insert them inside the book, place it in a Ziploc bag with a couple of other sheets and VOILA! Smell is gone. Have extra-super-smelly books? Add a couple of more sheets throughout the book and inside the bag and let it sit a little longer. Change out the sheets, let is sit for another couple of days.
Now you know our secret (shhhh...don't tell anyone). What's your secret for getting those smells out of your books?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great idea! I have a knitting book I need to try this on! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteDenise
Glad to help. Let us know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteReceived in Email:
ReplyDeleteDear Book Blues Bookstore Staff,
I am an author with a recently published youth/YA fantasy novel. I cannot afford to buy the books of many authors that I befriend on Myspace, Twitter, and out and about at conventions, etc. I offer to trade books with authors.
A few times I receive a book in the mail that smells so strongly of cigarette smoke that it makes me feel ill. They are usually new books but the author obviously smokes and the books are stored in a smoking environment. These authors will sometimes write me a letter that they send with their books. The paper of their letters is saturated with the smell of cigarette smoke too. I make a copy of their letters (using my smoke free copier paper) and then immediately throw their original letters away in my outside trash can. For their books I have purchased an inexpensive perfume that I personally like the smell of. I take their books to my backyard picnic table and lightly spray the perfume on the pages and then leave the book outside in the fresh air for the day. Sometimes the smoky smell is so powerful that I must perfume spray the pages 2-3 times.
Your dryer sheet idea is GREAT but I am allergic to dryer sheets and cannot use them.
I don't know how to tell smoking authors about the affect their smoking has on their books. If they are sending free copies to potential agents, reviewers, and to other people they can surely turn folks off from the start if their query letters, manuscripts, or published books smell like cigarette smoke.
Warm Regards,
D.B. Pacini
THE LOOSE END OF THE RAINBOW
____
D.B. makes a good point. Perhaps the unscented dryer sheets if allergic? They have the same scent-sucking effect. /jackie