Musty Smelling Travel Books
 

I just received a used, but in excellent condition, book, Amerians in Paris, purchased on line from Amazon.

Problem being, as with so many older books, including many of my own really really old guidebooks, the book has a musty smell. I have a very hard time reading musty smelling books - sensitive nose :-)) OK - so I think that they are really yucky!

Any way to get rid of the smell?

Nina

In a box with crumpled newspaper and ativated charcoal (not the stuff for cooking, fishtank stuff I think).

Check with your local library or used book shop for more ideas.

Nina, if it's mold, be careful, it spreads to other books.
There's a product calledJ Godey's.
www.bookdeodorizer.com

Cigalechanta is right about the mold spreading. I'd segregate it from other books. I've had to throw away books that smelled musty.

How would I know if it had mold? The book looks like new, it's just the musty smell that gives away it's age.

Does mold show, or leave marks?
If it smells musty, is that always an indication that mold is present?

I know what it looks like on walls, but have never seen it on a book. I am the one who purchased the book, so if it is really bad or moldy, I will return it to the seller. DH is my resident smeller - it was delivered to his work and he checked it out smell-wise before bring it home tonight. I haven't smelled it myself, but if he can, it must be very very noticeable, I always say 'men can't smell mold', I think it is a woman's thing, we can smell it 100 yards away. He just looks at me and says 'what smell?'

Thanks for the great advise.

Nina

Mimi, thank you so much for that site. It really is 'Mold 101'.

I know that mold can cause asthma attacks, but so far, it has never bothered my asthma. But then I'm not surrounded by mold either.

This is a detection job for DH, using that site info. He will be thrilled at the new addition to hsi 'honey do' list.

Nina

Hi Nina,

Sometimes you can remove the musty smell by riffling the pages to air out the book.

((I))

Liberally sprinkle baking soda through the pages...and leave it outside on a breezy day to ruffle the pages for you.

I had gotten some books from my great grandmother ... phrew!

Nina66, the "musty" smell you often detect when looking through an old book is less likely to be mold or actual moisture than the slow and gradual disintegration of the acidic, inexpensive paper. Many books are printed on less expensive stock, and that paper is more prone to turn yellow and to break down. There's not really any way you can get rid of the smell because it's not on the surface but rather deep down in the paper itself. If the paper is starting to turn dark, it's a sign of acidic distintegration. I know there's probably some librarian or book restorer who might be able to give you some advice (and probably using a dehumidifier or dehumidifying agent where you store your books might actually help).