Lately several of my recent purchases on the secondary market (that nameless auction site E@$%), have arrived smelling of mold, or worse sewage?
The items themselves are unblemished and in many cases look to be " as described", unused. They were good deals. Sellers with favorable feedback, from different parts of the country. Sold as "used".
They smell of mold. The original styro smells of mold. The outer cardboard smells of mold. No visible mold present.
Had a few with factory packaging that showed signs of bsmt, garage, storage...they really smelled. Tossed the boxes.
I have wiped down with white vinegar and water. I have used antiseptic spray, wiped down with a solution of 'Dawn' and water, Wiped down with amonia and water, some items still stink.
I put fish tank charcoal "activated?) In a linen cloth bag in a boxcar and it helped..a little.
A recent steam loco purchase ( really was a mint un-run piece), I left it outside on the porch one day to air out and to "cook" in the sun .... that helped. Had to keep checking to make sure nothing got too hot. A few tinplate items got the same treatment and it seemed to help. But you can't leave boxcars and others in direct sunlight for too long or they warp. Paint can fade. (Diecast and tinplate can warp too).
Recently someone suggested using "Ozium".....DON'T. Don't spray Ozium in the same room as people, pets, or your food. An average sized room only needs about a 1 second spray (think "one-one-thousand"). Done. Wait 15-20 minutes to enter the room after you spray it. READ the warning label on the can. It's extremely toxic, and, who knows what it might do to painted surfaces.
I have heard you can use coffee grounds to "mask" the smell. But I ' d rather not smell coffee all the time.
I got a set of passenger cars from Oregon. Seller said they were salvaged unburnt from a fire. Even after several wipe downs they still smell of smoke. The packaging is hopeless.
Maybe there needs to be a tutorial done about how to store our trains and packaging.
Maybe it's just people buying at estate sales for resale and not properly storing.
Maybe theres lots of leaky basements and flood damage occuring..maybe lots of folks are unable to smell the mold.
Anyone else experiencing the same issues?
Anyone else have suggestions to eliminate the odors ?
( a side from not buying on the BAY. )
My last train show purchase had a stinky box, but I wanted the car and the seller cut me a discount). (I don't run the box. Tossed it. Dont want to contaminate my box collection with someone else's mold or mildew).