Anyone have any good ideas of how to store some favourite books and toys longer term that would prevent the musty smell? Would be stored in a stable temp cool area under stair cupboard in plastic bins. Dry and cool no damp. Are there charcoal sachets or anything similar available? Difficult to find what might work looking on-line Bunnings, Mitre 10 etc. Damp rid needs changing every couple of month and damp is not a problem. Dryer sheets have been suggested which is one option. Am moving on most things but there are some special quality toys that our teens want to keep.
amasser,
Jul 23, 4:37pm
You could ask at your local museum. Depending on the value of books, would guide you to a level of care.
coralsnake,
Jul 24, 1:14am
Try your chemist if they have silica packs. Sometimes goods come with these and many just throw them away.
We vacuumed sealed books and important papers etc when we lived in hurricane country in the U.S. Ditto for soft toys [they pop back up when the seal is broken]. The one thing you have to watch out for with soft toys is after a period of time they will start 'age spotting'. I left some in a plastic bin w/lid - when I removed them found the spotting.
flier3,
Jul 24, 5:59am
Would anyone in the Books Section have any ideas for you, I wonder?
pauldw,
Jul 24, 7:21am
The Damprid would only need replacing if it was absorbing moisture. Your books could already have a musty smell so maybe should be stored separately from the toys. Baking soda is good at absorbing odours.
colin433,
Jul 24, 11:22am
I bought some DAMP RID from Mitre 10. Never had much success before, but this cleared a smell that I couldn't locate the cause of, in the drawers under the sink. There was quite a lot of water in the container by the time it was 'done'. I bought some more and have placed another one there, not knowing how the smell, dampness is getting in. Every time I opened one of the four drawers, I could smell a very musty smell. That's gone. There are a few versions of damp rid. I used the one with charcoal for the smell. They're on special at the moment
shanreagh,
Jul 24, 1:58pm
To stop musty smell the items need to be put away absolutely dry.
I would store the toys and books separately. I would go to Conservation Supplies https://www.conservationsupplies.co.nz/ and get some conservation boxes and conservation tissue and wrap each book separately and place in a box.
For soft toys, making sure they are dry as and not damp I would do the same plus add some lavender or anti moth deterrent sachets as well.
For plastic toys I would wash in warm soapy water, rinse and air dry. The check carefully for damp and areas that need a bit more cleaning. These are the only ones I would store in plastic boxes. These are the only ones I would put silica sachets in.
I would only put Damp Rid in the actual storage place not in the individual boxes.
All of the boxes I would have raised off the carpet on slats, even better if these have roller wheels so you can vacuum in the space.
eljayv,
Jul 24, 4:02pm
The musty smell that sometimes occurs I cupboards under sink is caused by hot water in in the sink causing condensation underneath. So those damp rid containers work really well. I just get them from $2 shops and replace when necessary.
dollydot,
Jul 24, 4:14pm
Lots of good ideas, thanks everyone. Will check them all out.
dollydot,
Jul 24, 4:15pm
Colin I can't seem to locate the charcoal version of Damprid, Was it in Mitre 10 that you saw it?
crazynana,
Jul 24, 8:18pm
I don't know if this would be any good, but we used to leave our fridge at Kaiteriteri from one Xmas to the next and they had to be stored closed. Usually there is a terrible smell from a fridge being closed up for any length of time but we were just told to put a few new dry teabags in it and that worked very well as there was no musty smell at all when we opened it after a year. Maybe try putting a few books and a few teabags in a plastic bin and see.
colin433,
Jul 25, 11:17am
I found that they had replenished their supply last week, but only had the ones without the charcoal, but thought it might have been only our local branch. That's a shame, but they may have them in again sometime, maybe ask if they have any on order.
dollydot,
Jul 25, 4:46pm
Thanks colin will ask.
wasgonna,
Oct 16, 1:46am
Kitty Litter?
Books in zip-lock Glad bags removing as much air as possible.
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