Febreeze !!! I wet paper towels and shut the case -- then after a few days opened it and put it out in the sun. and kept on alternating the treatmants. Funally -- after a few months I put one of those air fresheners in a oval case partway opened and shut the case. Those cases are wood and the mildew smell has permeated. It takes a long time to get it out of the wood.

Keep Bitsy out of the case !!!

The reason it stinks is because it was "horse glue" they used on the case. It sort of rots over time. All the above will help get rid of the smell...especially the "sit in the sun" treatment. It kind of bakes the smell out.

so pretty!!! congradulations!

Welcome Bitsy. She's a beauty. Enjoy!

She's so cute!

Wow! Bitsy is absolutely beautiful! I know you'll love her and she will eventually smell like a rose. Congratulations!

Yes My feather weight and the carrier smelled musty and it was awful. I tried everything and nothing worked until I took it in to be overhauled and they also sold fabric there. /some had just come in and they had large packes of that chemical that takes moisture out of things. It came with the new fabric that had just been shipped in. I put it in and shut the top and it took care of all the smell. Simple and cheap. Button Girl

She's a beauty!!!
Funny you mentioned a Bernina as well. I also have both and guess who's getting used more these days???
Oh my gosh, FW's are addicting!! :D
Have fun!

My little "Ellis May" smelled as well. I put a bounce sheet and half a dozen of those little silicone salt oaks that come in shoes and other items to keep them dry. I leave in the bottom of the case all the time and the smell is completely gone. I hoard those little packets now...lol

She is beautiful. My guess is that she smells because of the bottom plate that she sits on. I'm sure that it is about dripping with old smelly oil.
Make sure when you take her in you ask them about replacing that. If you carefully take the screw out of the bottom of her and remove that plate that is under the machine, you will see what I am talking about. Just be very careful doing that, because if that plate is full of oil, it can get messy when you remove it. It is made for that reason, to soak up the oil that drips off the inside of the machine. The inside of that plate comes off.
Once you change that out, I'm sure she won't have that bad smell anymore.