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How to Get an Odor Out of an Old Doll

Antique dolls are fun to search out in your favorite antique stores and to collect and display. If a doll hasn̵7;t been well taken care of it can develop a musty or smoky odor. If you want to restore an antique doll you plan to add to your collection, then you need to know how to remove odors that may have accumulated during its storage. Most importantly, you want to be able to remove odors without damaging the doll. The most common odors are must, mildew and cigarette smoke.

Things You'll Need

Clean towel
Plastic storage bag
Shoe box
Tea bags
Box of baking soda
Odor-removing spray

Instructions

Eliminating Odors
- 1
  Put the doll outside on a sunny day. Don̵7;t leave the doll in the sun long enough to fade any colors, but do allow it to sit outside for two or three hours. Often this airing out is enough to remove odors, but not always.
- 2
  Wrap the doll in a clean towel and place it in a plastic bag. Put the doll inside the bag and then put the bag in the freezer for a week. Bring the doll back up to room temperature and see if there is still any trace of the offending odor.
- 3
  Place the doll in a shoebox. Wrap several tea bags in a towel and set the towel in the box next to the doll. Allow the doll to rest in the shoebox with the tea for several days. Store the box away from any moisture. You don̵7;t want the tea to get wet and stain the doll. Check the doll periodically to see if the smell is gone.
- 4
  Mist the doll lightly with an odor-removing spray, like Febreze, if any odor still remains after trying the above steps.
- 5
  Prevent the doll from accumulating any new odors by keeping an open box of baking soda in your doll storage space. Make sure you store dolls in a cool, dry place.

Antiques