Musty Basement Smell
 

I went to an estate sale today and got $50 worth of unopened cotton thread for $14. Woo Hoo! :)

The only problem is that the spools smell like a musty basement. Do you know of anything I can do to get the smell out?

You can try using kitty litter. Place the thread in a zip loc bag with the kitty litter and leave it for 24 hrs.

Thread can go bad, so you might want to test it before going through the trouble of trying to get rid of the smell. Just pull on it to see how easily it breaks, or even try sewing with some of it. I hope it works out for you.

Hanging fabric in the sun will take musty smell out. That might work for thread too.

Sealing it in a ziplock type bag for a couple of weeks with a pair of dr. Scholl's odoreaters shoe inserts (the kind that say with charcoal) will do it. I keep a pair of odoreaters in my featherweight case - no more musty smell!

Putting it in a ziplock bag with a bar of Irish Spring soap also works wonders. I keep a bar of it in the top of my Featherweight tray and it smells much better in there now.

Prism99, you have the cleverest ideas! Love reading your posts. :)

Jan in VA

I have put musty smelling books into the freezer for a couple of days & it takes care of the smell. Maybe that would work for your thread too.

Jan, thanks!!! Should add that the odoreaters also add some much appreciated cushioning inside the featherweight case.

The active ingredient in Odoreaters is a activated charcoal. It is sold where you buy fish tanks. Also, department stores carry it, but I was told it is a seasonal item. It is used in the filters of diaper pails, so that it might help with your thread odor.