I love the smell of archival quality dog urine
July 8, 2021 2:46 AM Subscribe
In a continuation of the urological saga of Frank the Adorable Wombat, I need advice on how to remove the smell of urine from paper. These papers have not been peed on, but were stored in a box that was and are now infused with the charming stench of ammonia.
These are papers I'm not prepared to scan and then burn, like my parents' original marriage certificate, divorce decree, certified copies of death certificates, name changes, estate dispositions etc. The obvious advice is to put them outside under paperweights and let the sun do its thing but it is raining because Ireland for the forseeable future.
The papers stack about one inch high so would putting the stack in a sealed plastic box with open boxes of baking soda even do anything? What is the best appraoch here?
PS: In case anyone needs the WASPiest possible name for a character, the paperwork shows that my dad's attorney was named Harrington Harlow.
These are papers I'm not prepared to scan and then burn, like my parents' original marriage certificate, divorce decree, certified copies of death certificates, name changes, estate dispositions etc. The obvious advice is to put them outside under paperweights and let the sun do its thing but it is raining because Ireland for the forseeable future.
The papers stack about one inch high so would putting the stack in a sealed plastic box with open boxes of baking soda even do anything? What is the best appraoch here?
PS: In case anyone needs the WASPiest possible name for a character, the paperwork shows that my dad's attorney was named Harrington Harlow.
Best answer: Yeah, you don't want to enclose these with anything, you want them out on the open so the smell can dissipate. Sunlight shouldn't be necessary, maybe a long table and a fan would speed the process: lay them out in as close to a single layer as possible so every page has as much air exposure as possible, paperweight, then turn on the fan. Leave for as long as possible. You can rehouse in a fresh box with a sachet of baking soda after the process if you'd like, but the air exposure needs to do the heavy lifting.
If it's a comfort, my archive is currently processing a collection that was stored in a barn. Things much worse than eau de Frank have been salvaged. Also, people of the world, do not store anything in barns. I beg you.
posted by theweasel at 4:51 AM on July 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
If it's a comfort, my archive is currently processing a collection that was stored in a barn. Things much worse than eau de Frank have been salvaged. Also, people of the world, do not store anything in barns. I beg you.
posted by theweasel at 4:51 AM on July 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you have an indoor washing line or similar, you could try hanging them up on that for maximal airflow.
posted by mskyle at 6:30 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mskyle at 6:30 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
You can get candles that neutralise dog odors, my vet sells them and they work well they have enzymes in but not sure if that works with burning in a candle or not but they do help remove the smell of urine. I would put the papers on a rack or hang them like laundry as suggested above and at a safe distance burn one of these candles.
I linked to the brand I've used with pretty good success to remove linger pee smell in my house with an incontinent dog in,google search found this. So it looks like you can get them in Ireland from sources other than Amazon.
posted by wwax at 8:50 AM on July 8, 2021
I linked to the brand I've used with pretty good success to remove linger pee smell in my house with an incontinent dog in,google search found this. So it looks like you can get them in Ireland from sources other than Amazon.
posted by wwax at 8:50 AM on July 8, 2021
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posted by flabdablet at 3:17 AM on July 8, 2021