Smoke and Books

[Irene]

I've been having an off forum discussion of removing the smell of smoke from a book.

I am about to gut my first floor bathroom, and send construction dust through the house.

So I thought I'd bring both threads to the forum... But how to do this? I'm going to start two threads.

[Irene]

So the book arrived with the smell of smoke.

So that is why items used to be listed on eBay as from a 'smoke free house'.
But I've also heard of books stored on open shelves when the furnace went bad.

My first suggestion was to put the book into a plastic bag, on edge with the pages ruffled, with a box of Arm & Hamer Baking Soda.

Then I used Google to see what was out there [Search: Book repair smoke removal]

The best seemed to be a library, that had a lot of other repair tools on hand, but basically a big tub, with a bag of special stuff in the bottom. Then a milk-crate, with the book inside, on end with pages ruffled. Seal the lid.
https://parkslibrarypreservation.wordpre...nky-books/

This used a sealed bag, and clay kitty litter - suggested time was one month - but if you have the kitty litter?
https://parkslibrarypreservation.wordpre...nky-books/

There was a U-tube, entertaining, but since he sprayed a liquid into a bag & shook the book/liquid and some air freshener up, not going to work here.

So the initial idea of a big dry-cleaner bag & Baking Soda would work...… Except this is a paper back. I suggested using book ends to hold the book upright, but at a slight "open" angle.

I wait to hear what was actually tried and how it is working.

[Lots-A-Watts]

What I use is an air-tight tote. Place a good inch of unscented cat litter over the entire bottom of the tote. Place something like a cake cooling rack on top of the litter - to keep your book(s) from laying directly in the cat litter. Lay the book(s) flat on the rack and seal the tote.
Wait two weeks, change out cat litter and flip book over on rack, seal and wait two weeks.
That should help with both smokey and musty smelling books. If it does not, repeat process once more.

I have also found that a way of keeping my books from getting that old musty smell is by only storing them on shelves where they are standing on end, loosely touching each other and pulled out to the front of the shelf so that all the spines are even with the front edge. This lets each spine support the others and allows air flow behind the books. Yes, you can only have your books one layer deep and you have to dust occasionally, but don't you do that anyway?

[Irene]

I don't normally have a smoky, nor dusty house.

But no, I never dust. The First editions are in those barrister cases (book cases with a glass door on the front of each shelf unit.

The first paper backs are stored, each in a separate archival sleeve (I,e. plastic bag) also in a barrister's book case.

I do like your idea about using the kitty litter. I actually do have some of that. It lives in the auto to use for winter weather traction.

[Jerrie]

Today was our day for weekly shopping. Having acquired the box of baking soda, I was going to put it in a sealed bucket, but the bucket was too small. I wound up putting small bookmarks every 2 leaves in the book [per Irene's previous proposal]. I then stood the book up on a small easel to let air circulate around it and put it next to the open baking soda box inside a large plastic bag closed with a twistie. In a few weeks, we'll see how it comes out.

Jerrie

[Irene]

I'm going to hope that this works. It is a simple and inexpensive solution.