[Boatanchors] Stinky Manuals

[Gary Peterson]

“I recently acquired a series of manuals for some of my SWL rigs. Got them at a good price, etc. but when I opened the package, I was nearly knocked back by the super strong cigarette smoke odor. I and my XYL are very allergic to same. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to deal with this situation? Having manuals you can't bear to use are, well, useless.
Bob  AG5X”

Get a pound of activated charcoal.  You might have to purchase it online, as most drug stores no longer stock it.  Get a plastic tub with a tight-fitting lid, large enough to hold the manuals and the activated charcoal.  These are readily obtained at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Shopko, Target, etc.  

Place the manuals and an open container of activated charcoal inside the plastic tub and snap the lid on.  Leave the tub in a warm location.  Even sitting in sunlight is good.  Activated charcoal is a very effective deodorizer.  Within a month, or so, the manuals should be usable.

At my suggestion, this has worked on a refrigerator that was full of room temperature food for several weeks and a gun safe that was lined with carpet-like material, having belonged to a heavy smoker.

If you choose this method, let us know how it worked.

Gary, KØCX
(former chemistry teacher)