Oo-Oo That Smell (of Used Books)

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?