How to Get the Musty Smell Out of Books

Nothing can ruin a good read than a bad odor. While buying books secondhand is a great way to save money and preserve natural resources, it can also lead to acquiring books with a less than desirable smell of mildew. Here's some simple steps to reducing and eliminating that odor.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Baking soda
• Kitty litter
• Cedar shavings (litter for a gerbil or hamster)
• Charcoal

1. Pour baking soda in the pages of the book or completely submerging the book in baking soda. Baking soda is a mild deodorizer that will help reduce much of the smell without damaging the book.
2. To use kitty litter, sift the litter in the pages of the book and around the outside of the book. Make sure it is clean litter, though, or the mildew smell will not be your only one.
3. To use cedar shavings or litter for gerbils and hamsters, use the same method as you would with kitty litter.
4. Put a layer of charcoal at the bottom of a box and place a sheet of wax paper over it. Then stand the book on top of the wax paper and try to open it so the pages fan out. This will work well with a hardback or mass market paperback. Close the box to create an enclosed chamber.
5. For all these methods, the length of time needed may vary depending on the strength of the smell and the strength of the deodorizer. Some may take just a few hours, some a few days, others weeks. Just be persistent.

Tips & Warnings

• These procedures have the potential to damage the pages of the book, which will react to various different agents (sunlight, weathering, chemicals, time). So proceed with caution.