I was gifted an old folding camera (Dacora II) that smells like a musty basement. The bellows appears to OK (no obvious holes or torn). I'm not planning on trying to use it but would like to clean it up and get rid of the moldy smell. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
could you spray the outside with some perfumed deodorant .on the other hand if suddenly the musty smell goes away , hello covid .
drharveys wrote:
I was gifted an old folding camera (Dacora II) that smells like a musty basement. The bellows appears to OK (no obvious holes or torn). I'm not planning on trying to use it but would like to clean it up and get rid of the moldy smell. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
I would try putting it some where in a fresh air environment and see if the musty smell dissipates.
relie
Loc: Western Massachusetts
Try putting it in a plastic bag with charcoal. The charcoal should absorb the smell. We used to do this with old cars.
Dave
The musty odour is most likely mildew, a kind of mould (fungus) that is often found on old equipment.
There are various chemical cleaners that will clean and deodorize surfaces that have been contaminated with mildew. Here is a link to a company that specializes in those products:
https://www.achooallergy.com/cleaning-products/mold/allertechr-all-purpose-nas-12-cleaning-solution-2.htmlThere is another product that is obtainable at hardware stores called "Mold Control" that I have used successfully on old cameras. Just small about spearing applied and then whipped off with a clean damp rag and the carefully wiped dry will usually do the job.
Ordinary cleaners and deodorants will not work. They might temporarily mask the bad smell but it will come back.
Some years ago, I inherited a couple of dozen old cameras for the estate of an uncle who operated a studio established in 1922 and still had someof the original gear in storage. The wooden bodieses and leather coverings were the source of the bad odour. The aforementioned cleaners did the job surprisingly well.
Longshadow wrote:
Fresh air and sunshine?
That's what I'm about to try. Thanks!
E.L.. Shapiro wrote:
The musty odour is most likely mildew, a kind of mould (fungus) that is often found on old equipment.
There are various chemical cleaners that will clean and deodorize surfaces that have been contaminated with mildew. Here is a link to a company that specializes in those products:
https://www.achooallergy.com/cleaning-products/mold/allertechr-all-purpose-nas-12-cleaning-solution-2.htmlThere is another product that is obtainable at hardware stores called "Mold Control" that I have used successfully on old cameras. Just small about spearing applied and then whipped off with a clean damp rag and the carefully wiped dry will usually do the job.
Ordinary cleaners and deodorants will not work. They might temporarily mask the bad smell but it will come back.
Some years ago, I inherited a couple of dozen old cameras for the estate of an uncle who operated a studio established in 1922 and still had someof the original gear in storage. The wooden bodieses and leather coverings were the source of the bad odour. The aforementioned cleaners did the job surprisingly well.
The musty odour is most likely mildew, a kind of m... (
show quote)
I'll check these out. Thanks!
relie
Loc: Western Massachusetts
We used the same stuff that we put in the BBQ pit.
relie wrote:
Try putting it in a plastic bag with charcoal. The charcoal should absorb the smell. We used to do this with old cars.
Dave
Where did you find a plastic bag big enough to fit a car in it?
relie
Loc: Western Massachusetts
At the big plastic bag store..lol
Just use the plastic bag trick with the camera.
relie
Loc: Western Massachusetts
With the cars, we used to put the charcoal in the car and close all the windows.
relie wrote:
Try putting it in a plastic bag with charcoal. The charcoal should absorb the smell. We used to do this with old cars.
Dave
Yowza ... some huuuge plastic bags !
I’d just put the musty camera in an electric oven and set it to Self Clean mode. Twice through should do an exceptionally thorough job.
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