JoannaD

Hi all! As you may know from my other threads, I am still exploring my 301a...

It was musty when I picked it up from the Goodwill. After throwing out/replacing the felt in the oil pan and scrubbing the machine clean with WD-40 it's much better. The only relatively strong smelling place that remains is in the motor... When I unscrewed the two bolts that held it together, various pieces and bolts started just falling off. That sort of freaked me out and I quickly put it all back together (I didn't even have any pieces left over! Haha) The machine itself doesn't intimidate me, but the motor sure does. So the motor is back together, but the smell remains.

With the case (formerly stinky), I just sprayed it repeatedly with Lysol, Borax and Fabreeze while simultaneously leaving it in direct sunlight all day for a week and a half straight. I don't really have that option with the motor...at least I would assume spraying various chemicals on it then leaving it in the yard is probably not the way to go!
So, the obvious option is to just live with the smell but I would really rather not... Wondering what you all would do. Seems like most of what is on the web is about the case being musty but not much mention of the machine itself.

JoannaD

Ok so my dad suggested running it for a half an hour or so to get it heated up and kill off any residual mildew spores. If that doesn't help with the odor, use an electronics cleaner on it. 😁 That will have to wait until I get it reassembled. Thanks for putting up with me everyone!!

Noiseynana

Beats the heck outta me but I think your dad may be on to something. I think I'd try that and if it doesn't work , take it to a repair shop and ask questions. Just my opinion

DonnaMiller

Yes, the felt needed to go for sure. Sew-Classic.com has them at very reasonable prices. I picked up 1 for the FW and 1 for the 301. There are other Singer machines that use felts also. I agree with your de-mildewing approach. It helped my stinky machines and cases. Throw a cake of deodorant soap in the case when not in use or in the sun. It will hold your place in keeping mildew at bay. Safeguard or Irish Spring seems to work. Sun is the secret ingredient. The glue in the FW cases is candy for mildew. My 301 case was slightly smelly, but not as bad as the FWs. You will love the 301 as it is not as difficult as the FW and works longer with less fiddling. Congrats.

norahs

I had the same problem with a 301, a repair person suggested using a cotton ball with clove oil. I had tried some of the same things as suggested by JoannaD which were helpful.