Stink extermination thoughts

[Navydivedoc]

I experimented with an Ebay purchase of a Lambskin G&B Expedition in a size 36. To my surprise, though the Lounge was helpful here, it actually fit my normally 38-40 body. Great!

Here's the problem. It smells. Bad. Hard to pinpoint exactly; not typical cigarettes, mold or mildew maybe, generic funk? Like a Chain smoker was wearing it when buried in a swamp.

The seller claims he smelled nothing, and won't take a return or give even a partial refund. In medical terms, the only possible explanation for this is Anosmia...complete loss of the sense of smell. That's a long story that doesn't belong in this thread. Bottom line, this bad boy is mine.

I dug up some old threads on cleaning, and have seen the arguments for machine washing, dry cleaning, etc. There doesn't appear to be a particularly good leather cleaner locally. So, I've experimented with some of the other techniques.

It's spent a couple of days outside in the sun; tiny improvement.

I washed it in the machine on gentle with Nikwax tech wash; mild improvement. Air dry, did some molding, looked good.

I washed it again with standard detergent and tumbled dry on extra low heat with fabric softener; again, mild improvement.

It's gone from completely unwearable to bearable, but it leaves its strange smell on my shirts and me for hours.

So, what next? Should I scrub the liner directly with some oxyclean? Treat the leather with something even though there is still the smell? Bury it in the backyard for 3 months?

What are the usual rates for a good leather jacket cleaning(assuming I can find a reputable place)?

The one benefit is the lambskin looks much, much better now after the washings. Muted the shiny look, some early patina. It also has not shrunken. Tough stuff.

In the end, I'm looking at this as a $225 sunk cost which maybe I can salvage. Tell me what to throw at it and I'll report back. It will be an interesting experiment to see just how much this jacket can take and whether or not I can prevail over the entity!

Thanks for the help
NDD

 

[thor]

I've read on the Lounge that a washing with Woolite helps. Can you ascertain if it's the actual leather that smells bad or perhaps it's the lining? If it's the lining then a re-line could be an option. Good luck.

 

[navetsea]

how about "activated carbon" pack, stuff that are usually used as fridge deodorizer, put that pack inside your jacket would probably absorb the smell

 

[Azog]

I guess it's beyond returning now but ebay has a money back guarantee where if the item is not as described you can return it and get all your money back including postage even if the seller doesn't agree.
I would try coating it with baking soda while it is still damp out of the wash and put it in a plastic bag or sealed container for 24hours.
I've bought many bad smelling jackets off eBay (it's never mentioned in the listing) and find that you have to go through all the different techniques where each might take 10% of the smell away until you reach an acceptable level. I've found direct sunlight works well too but can take a couple of weeks.

 

[Navydivedoc]

Thor and Navetsea thanks for the tips. I tried the Nikwax which is a gentle cleaner like woolite. I'm not sure the carbon would pull the stench out so much as just take it out of the air around it??

 

[Navydivedoc]

I guess it's beyond returning now but ebay has a money back guarantee where if the item is not as described you can return it and get all your money back including postage even if the seller doesn't agree.
I would try coating it with baking soda while it is still damp out of the wash and put it in a plastic bag or sealed container for 24hours.
I've bought many bad smelling jackets off eBay (it's never mentioned in the listing) and find that you have to go through all the different techniques where each might take 10% of the smell away until you reach an acceptable level. I've found direct sunlight works well too but can take a couple of weeks.

Yes, unfortunately I didn't realize Ebay did that until I started the defunkification process. I can't in good conscience return it now that I've washed it. I will try the baking soda technique, that makes sense. Do you put it directly on the leather, the liner, or both? Thanks for the help!

 

[Azog]

The way I did it was put it over everything. Then you'll probably need to wash it again to get all the baking soda off. Two techniques I haven't tried but have read about is to freeze the jacket when damp and someone else put their jacket in a warm oven. Personally, I'd never do the oven technique - asking for trouble.

 

[Navydivedoc]

The way I did it was put it over everything. Then you'll probably need to wash it again to get all the baking soda off. Two techniques I haven't tried but have read about is to freeze the jacket when damp and someone else put their jacket in a warm oven. Personally, I'd never do the oven technique - asking for trouble.

I'll give this a try tomorrow and see how it goes. I'm skeptical of the oven as well...

 

[GHT]

It occurred to me that this subject must have come up elsewhere on the internet. It certainly has. Scroll through this site, there are some serious smartarses on there that give you the chemical compound for everyday things, but importantly, they give some ideas and solutions too. http://www.thriftyfun.com/Removing-Odors-from-Clothing.html

 

[Monitor]

What worked for me best was leaving the jacket hanging outside on the balcony for a week. But not just in the sun, the jacket was there seven days straight. Cold, misty nights do wonders for the stench... It almost completely killed the odor on my jacket, and had I left it another week, I'm sure it would've been gone completely.

I've discovered this after my friend found his old Hein Gericke motorcycle jacket lying burried under loads of crap, wooden boards, boxes, bags, etc. in his garage which is basically a car sized box made of a few metal sheets nailed together. His wife threw the jacket there because it had a really nasty smell and they completely forgot about it. The jacket was lying there for a decade even perhaps but when we dusted it off, it had literally no smell whatsoever and looked good as new. I coated it with leather conditioner not long ago and that jacket simply doesn't have any kind of smell.

So yeah, throw the jacket outside and just leave it there until the smell comes off. It will.

 

[el_gato]

Maybe an ozone device would help?

 

[Navydivedoc]

It occurred to me that this subject must have come up elsewhere on the internet. It certainly has. Scroll through this site, there are some serious smartarses on there that give you the chemical compound for everyday things, but importantly, they give some ideas and solutions too. http://www.thriftyfun.com/Removing-Odors-from-Clothing.html

This was very helpful, thanks!

 

[Navydivedoc]

What worked for me best was leaving the jacket hanging outside on the balcony for a week. But not just in the sun, the jacket was there seven days straight. Cold, misty nights do wonders for the stench... It almost completely killed the odor on my jacket, and had I left it another week, I'm sure it would've been gone completely.

I've discovered this after my friend found his old Hein Gericke motorcycle jacket lying burried under loads of crap, wooden boards, boxes, bags, etc. in his garage which is basically a car sized box made of a few metal sheets nailed together. His wife threw the jacket there because it had a really nasty smell and they completely forgot about it. The jacket was lying there for a decade even perhaps but when we dusted it off, it had literally no smell whatsoever and looked good as new. I coated it with leather conditioner not long ago and that jacket simply doesn't have any kind of smell.

So yeah, throw the jacket outside and just leave it there until the smell comes off. It will.

There's hope! This will be next after the current round of experimentation.

Update: I got home this morning and took a scrub brush and some fairly concentrated oxyclean to the liner. As the liner was now damp, I covered it in baking soda and rubbed it in. I also rubbed baking soda over all of the leather, especially in the seams. It's in a plastic bag now for the rest of the day. More to follow when I figure out what is next. Thanks everyone.

 

[Mark Ricketts]

Worf had a product that works wonders on stench, unfortunately I cannot remember its name. If he reads this maybe he can give us the benefit, or it is somewhere in the old threads.

 

[ykurtz]

Worf's product: GG Bean Smoke Remover

 

[Sloan1874]

I think with these things, each method will improve it incrementally. It took me four or five goes over a month or two to get a heavily smoke-infested jacket to the point where it was smell-free: hand wash, washing machine, deoderising spray, baking powder, and a month hanging in the garage.

 

[Navydivedoc]

Update: the smell is 90% gone after the baking soda treatment, 2 rinses including one with vinegar, and 2 days in the sun and a nice breeze we had. That's the good news.

The bad news, lambskin and baking soda do not seem to play well together. I put it on both the liner and some directly on the leather. The latter was a mistake. In the regions where a thicker layer of baking soda stayed, the leather became much drier and crisper feeling. It also shrank just slightly in these regions. I treated the whole jacket with some chamberlains leather milk (recommended by saddleback leathers for the bags), which was not a big help. Massaging the leather has softened the areas somewhat, and there is certainly more patina on the jacket. In the End, baking soda is not recommended on lambskin.

Ultimately, the smell was worse than the baking soda injury, so I've come out ahead. Barely. My sunk cost is still largely sunk.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Yeah, I have a pair of gloves that stunk up the place strong, but After a wash or two..then baking soda treatment andoil sunlight and air and wear...they are actually cured I would say..smell nice like fresh leather now. TIME was the important factor..LOTS of it.

 

[Azog]

Sorry to hear about the drying out of the lambskin. Maybe you can achieve a look like Indy's jacket after a few adventures.
Does the leather re-soften it you wet it again? I've had some luck with very dry stiff leather by applying some Pecards when the leather has first been softened by wetting it. Although there may be unexpected results with lambskin.
Was the leather damp too when you applied the baking soda? I know that's what I suggested but maybe in hindsight dry leather would be better.

 

[Doctor Damage]

I guess it's beyond returning now but ebay has a money back guarantee where if the item is not as described you can return it and get all your money back including postage even if the seller doesn't agree.

I think I read somewhere on e-Bay's site that the exception to the return policy is for smell, since smells are "subjective". I don't think they are, but they are for e-Bay. However, I'm working from memory here, so check.