I just picked up a Hamer Cruisebass Bass Case from a guy on the Hamer forum and It has a Horrible Musty Stench...Like it was in a flood...Moldy smell...seller NEVER informed me of the smell...I tried Febreze...then Lysol..then I even tried some pet Enzymes.....I even left it out in the sun...Nothing....F'ing sucks.. I spent a lot of money on it. Someone on some other forum mentioned an Ozen machine....that fire restoration people have those...But where the hell am I going to find one of them that will let me use it for my bass case?? My wife coughs every time I have the damn thing in the house...Can't even put my bass in it because it leaves a stench on the bass. Really a bunch of BS. Anybody have any ideas???
Send it back to the seller. Seriously, if all you've done to it makes no difference it may be a lost cause.
Throw some tea bags in the case, and also an open container of bicarb soda - the tea bags will soak up any moisture, and the bicarb will soak up the smell
Go to a local janitorial supply store. They can recommend something you likely will not find in a Home Depot.
If it got wet and dried wrong you might need some enzyme based product....clean the case and let it dry in a well ventilated area. Maybe have a commercial carpet cleaner guy clean it with his machine. Those machines can mix in an additive to kill smells and then suck most of the moisture back out after they clean it. Those guys also clean car carpeting. I would think a stinky guitar case would be similar to a stinky carpet/car interior.
The only concern might be loosening up the glue that holds the liner in the case.
Quote from: Aussie Mark on September 07, 2014, 06:02:13 PM
Throw some tea bags in the case, and also an open container of bicarb soda - the tea bags will soak up any moisture, and the bicarb will soak up the smell
^^^
This. And don't skimp on either.
Don't know about doing it on a bass case, but what I've done with really awful musty rugs is: Sprinkle an entire box or two of baking soda over the entire surface, i mean really liberally cover everything with the baking soda, and then leave it alone for a good long while - an entire day if possible. Then dump, scoop, or sweep out the bulk of the baking soda into a garbage bag, let the dust settle, and then vacuum vacuum vacuum to get out the rest of it
Hate to say it...but it might be better to go buy some news interior material at a fabric store and replace the insides.
My '72 EB-3 has earned the name "Stinky" because it smells musty. It smelled bad when I got it in 1980. It smelled bad when I sold it a year or so later. It smelled bad when I bought it back 15 years after that. It smells bad right this very minute. My wife knows when I've played it because it makes the room smell bad. My guitar repair guy writes "Stinky" on the work orders - not my name, just "Stinky".
Good luck in your odoriferous crusade, Baz - but I think you may be pissing in the wind. ;D
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now that's funny!
Baz.....Just found an ad by Bootsy Collins that says that is his old bass case that he used to throw in the trunk of his Lincoln. Ad says "smells like ass."
Might be worth money. Keep it original. :)
I think the varpet cleaner idea might be your best bet. Fabreeze leaves it's own sweet oder that definitly seep into the instrument. Baking soda and ozone machines good, but not 100%, alwyas will leave a bit of that offensive odor underlying.. Most likely that odor has also seeped into the case material itself. That, or send it back for non disclosure. You do mot want to put an instrument in that.
All depends on what's causing the smell. Maybe nothing will work, but at least you can try some of the suggestions.
Thanks for your input. I got a couple of Hooker to pee in it. No just kidding. I left it out in the sun and sprayed some Ozium in it. seems to be working...
Does that musty smell remind a bit of incense? That is pretty common in older cases, some kind of mold (I'm even allergic to it). Leave the case open in a dry, preferably heated place and it will gradually go away, takes about a year or so.
YES.... or Dirt.....the guy claims that he had it closed and left in his attic since 1995.......I thyink leaving it out in the sun and spraying some Ozium did the trick.
Sun does wonders!
Mine must be some kind of super NY Metro stench, then. I tried all of the tried and true methods, but this thing still bunks. It's become a part of its charm.
Quote from: uwe on September 10, 2014, 09:24:00 AM
Does that musty smell remind a bit of incense? That is pretty common in older cases, some kind of mold (I'm even allergic to it). Leave the case open in a dry, preferably heated place and it will gradually go away, takes about a year or so.
Yeah, but you've got a warehouse full of them...
Uwe's Case Emporium...Bargains...! Bargains...!! Bargains...!!! :mrgreen:
I've had spore contaminated cases like that which gave me an asthma shock, no kidding. That stuff is vile if you're an allergic like me. Basses stink then too - my Triumph had that incense stench for a year or so (all the while standing exposed in a stand), but it eventually went away. Ultraviolet rays are a good idea. Yes, they bleach out the "fur" in the case, but who cares. Spores don't like it. And once they're dead, vacuum them out.
Ah... sun-lamp therapy...
Uwe... why is your avatar byline now your ring-tone and maybe a hint as to your other new non Henry J text got it... ;)