De-Stenching cabinets

[Vertigo]

I picked up a couple of Mesa cabinets back in February (while masked) and didn't notice that they reek of cologne, incense or some other hideous aroma. Once I got them home, I blasted all the ash/dust out with compressed air and wiped down all the tolex with denatured alcohol. Until this week, they've been living in my van or in my shop. Since we've had about a whole week of sunshine, I've been taking them out back every day to sit in the sun and fresh air and in the mean time, have cleaned them again with Simple Green, a vinegar solution and an enzymatic cleaner meant for cleaning up after pets to no avail.

Other than taking up smoking, burning incense in my own home or attempting it to cover it up with some other horrible stinky product, any advice to remove the odor from these cabs is most welcome.

[Phil_S]

Ick.

Since you've tried vinegar and detergent with no luck, I suggest that ammonia is the next step. Dilute about 1 cup ammonia in a gallon of cold water. (Hot or warm water is a mistake because the ammonia vapor will overwhelm you in a bad kind of way. Be careful to never mix ammonia with chlorine because it gives off a toxic gas.) Wear rubber gloves. Work in a well ventilated space. Wipe it down well with a rag or sponge. Dry it off if it gets too wet. If it needs more help, then pour some full strength ammonia in a small dish and put a bag over it to allow the ammonia vapor a chance to penetrate. I would not seal the bag, and I'd put it in a garage or shed.

If the ammonia fails, I think the last option is to coat them with shellac or some sort of varnish to seal in the stink.

Edit: It seems to me the tolex is plastic and probably isn't the problem. If there is unfinished wood inside that's what absorbed the odors. You might try coating the inside raw wood with paint, shellac, or varnish. I like Aurora's idea about the ozone generator, too.

[Aurora]

Over in this corner, ozone generators are used for removing odors from e.g. cars, etc.... somewhere you can hire one and put everything in a small closet or tent of sorts.... ?

[xtian]

they reek of cologne, incense or some other hideous aroma

Consider yourself lucky! Typical odors are nicotine and sour beer.

[ViperDoc]

If all of that fails, you can always paint the inside of the cabinet. We bought our house from a man, a woman and two dogs who could apparently urinate wherever they pleased. It didn't smell good. We pulled up the carpets and bleached and painted all the subfloors. Problem solved.

[maxkracht]

I'm with Aurora on the ozone generator. You can find cheap ones on ebay, or build your own. I have one that I built into a plastic storage tub to defunk microphones and other small items. For big stuff, put it in a garbage bag to keep most of the ozone in and let it sit a while. Ozone is fairly toxic in concentration, so don't breath too much. Also damaging to organics and plastic, so don't leave stuff in longer than necessary. I would not recommend doing this in a cab with vintage speakers that might use hide glue.

I once moved into an apartment where the previous tenants kept chickens inside. No, not a normal Iowa thing. The landlord hired the kind of crew that cleans crime scenes, and they put in giant ozone generator fans. After a few days of those running, no more livestock smell, just the occasional feather in odd places.

[Phil_S]

I was surprised. Many choices for an ozone generator on Amazon for under $20.

[Vertigo]

Thanks all. I'll check out ozone generators and will pull the speakers first so they don't get damaged. The only reason I bought these is for the EVM12L's that came in them. If I can't get the funk out, maybe I'll keep the speakers and see if I can get a bite on the cabinets on CL

[TUBEDUDE]

Giant garbage bag and a can of Ozium.

[Vertigo]

Just an update...

Got the ozone generator and set it up in the garage for a few hours with the cabs. Didn't work. It's only a 1-car garage but I thought maybe the space was too much so I shut them in my van for two hours with the ozone machine. No Good. Tried it four more times after that ending with a three hour session today.

These cabinets are going up on CL this weekend.

[Phil_S]

I can understand the sentiment. Maybe you see your way to trying ammonia. It is a very effective cleaner, and cheap, too.

[thetragichero]

i have an old peavey combo sitting in the florida sun for about a week now to destinkify. i first scrubbed with dish soap and warm water and right now they're at the point where you have to stick your nose to em to smell any stink... almost there!

nothing is as bad as the 70s acoustic amp i bought online that was SO BAD that the amp, box, and packing material immediately went onto the porch. that one i threw the kitchen sink at and eventually just soaked in cologne which, mixed with the last remnants of smoke smell, certainly gave it mojo

[Vertigo]

Ick.

Since you've tried vinegar and detergent with no luck, I suggest that ammonia is the next step. Dilute about 1 cup ammonia in a gallon of cold water. (Hot or warm water is a mistake because the ammonia vapor will overwhelm you in a bad kind of way. Be careful to never mix ammonia with chlorine because it gives off a toxic gas.) Wear rubber gloves. Work in a well ventilated space. Wipe it down well with a rag or sponge. Dry it off if it gets too wet. If it needs more help, then pour some full strength ammonia in a small dish and put a bag over it to allow the ammonia vapor a chance to penetrate. I would not seal the bag, and I'd put it in a garage or shed.

If the ammonia fails, I think the last option is to coat them with shellac or some sort of varnish to seal in the stink.

Edit: It seems to me the tolex is plastic and probably isn't the problem. If there is unfinished wood inside that's what absorbed the odors. You might try coating the inside raw wood with paint, shellac, or varnish. I like Aurora's idea about the ozone generator, too.

I'm going to try the ammonia since I've done everything else possible. I found a few things to be interesting...when I get right up on it I can't smell it except on the rubber parts like the feet and the handle which can be easily replaced. I pulled them inside last night to play through them while my family was out roller skating and removed all the feet and handles first. Within minutes the smell permeated the house and gave me a headache. I wonder if there was a spill and am assuming that cologne is scented with an oil. Despite cleaning the tolex several times with various solvents and soaps, there are oil spots where rubber feet rested on the tops of the cabs that get washed away with each cleaning and reappear after a day. I'm guessing that the tolex absorbed the oils in those spots and that it'll just slowly percolate to the surface until it's gone. I have no idea if any of that is actually happening but I'd rather build some cabs from scratch than redo the tolex on these without being certain that it'll make the stink go away.

[Phil_S]

I have a feeling your instinct to put them on CL is probably right. Sell 'em to someone you don't know!

[professormudd]

I recently purchased a guitar that had a case that smelled like it was completely saturated in cologne. The only thing that worked for me was filling up a spray bottle with technical-grade isopropyl alcohol, spraying the whole thing down until all of the fabric was damp, then letting it air out before repeating the procedure. After a few applications, the smell was almost entirely gone.