Musty Smell

I would try febreeze or dryer sheets as mentioned. I have also put a bar of soap in suitcases before & it helped to take away that musty smell. Just leave the bar of soap in it's pkg & it really helps. I also recently bought some air freshners in a pouch at Bed Bath & Beyond that are awesome. I bet you could drop 1 of those in the bag & it would get rid of that smell as well & they are around $5 for 3.

Hi, T.!

While, I'm sure the other advice you have received would probably work, at least temporarily, I have another suggestion. I work from home with a company that offers products that are safe for your children, your health, and your environment. We offer several products that would do the trick for you. One of the products I'm referring to actually kills mold (instead of just masking the smell) which sometimes hides itself in our basements. Again, just wanted to offer it as a suggestion. I love helping people removed harsh chemicals and toxins from their homes, especially where children are involved. For more information about making a safe, smell free haven for your family, go to www.akeeperathome.com and leave me your contact information. I'd love to help.

Good suggestions from others. Now, to keep things from getting musty in the future, you need a dehumidifier. I have one in our basement and it runs a lot this time of year. Keeps the basement--and everything you have in it--from smelling like a basement.

Good Morning T., I think I would try taking them outside on a sunny day ( good luck finding one of those in Ks right now lol) Let them air out good and sprinkle them with a good dose of baking soda. That is supposed to absorb odors right. When they do smell better put some dryer sheets in them to keep them smelling better.
If the book bags are washable put some really nice fabic softener in the rinse and let it set a few minutes.
For luggage I suppose you could sprinkle some carpet fresh in it and then vac it out. That might work. Just thinking off the top of my head.

Hopefully others have better idea's.
Have a Great Sunday
K.

I would have to agree with the use of the dehumidifier. That has always worked best for us in keeping the smell out of the basement and out of the all the stuff down there too. Ours has been running a little more than usual this year due to all the rain!

You've already received some pretty good advice here, but I just wanted to also suggest a product called OdoBan. I buy it at Sam's. It works miracles. It has a strong smell of it's own in the beginning, (menthol, I think) but that goes away pretty quick, and you are left with no odor. It kills germs as well.
Best wishes !

Another good method to get rid of smells is to put some white vinegar in a glass candle holder or coffee cup, etc. and sit it out in the room. The vinegar absorbs the smell. You can also put a washcloth in vinegar and rinse it out and then swing it around in the room to get rid of the smell (works after cooking greasy or stinky foods!) WORKS GREAT and is cheap!

T.,

Make sure that it is just the "stuff" that is smelling. Is there any moisture in basement from an active leak or anything? If there is no moisture, I would suggest taking all the "stuff" out and setting outside for a while to air out............the Fabreeze idea that has been mentioned is a good one! Also, a dehumidifier might work well too.

Good luck!
D.

I heard this on the radio- take some unused charcoal, and place it in a empty coffee can, with holes in the lid. Set it where you would like all of the smell ad moisture gone from. This works, because the charcoal has a pourus surface and takes away all the smells, and moisture. Hope this will help you out.

Hi,

Ifyou go to a store and get a fabric freshner spray the cheap ones are just as good as Fabreeze, just spray it really well until moist and sit it out in the sun to dry, it may take more than once to get rid of the smell completely but it does work.

Use febreeze or bounce dryer sheets.

please be very careful using dryer sheets...my family used them in between the boat seats & they bleached out the color on the seats! Yikes.
Good luck....the dehumidifier works great & so does sunshine!

I would first try the new odor gone sprays, spray lightly and leave in fresh air if u can, like a nice sunny day, if that does not work, wrap some charcoal briquets in a couple layers of newpaper, put in a bag with the smelly items= and close up for a couple weeks, the carcoal absorbs the smell, and along
with the newspapers around it, helps absorb and also keeps the dirt off your stuff.
if moldy or mil dew, not much help there, just have to toss or ask a professional cleaner

there is a product called Damp-Rid. check out the web site. www.damprid.com

we put a dehumidifier in our basement and what a difference??? I couldn't believe the amount of water it pulled from the air and that wet musty smell is GONE!
Good luck!