Smelly plastic

April 16, 2007 3:11 PM

How do I get the smell out of the plastic cases i just bought?

I bought a box of 100 slim DVD cases. They are black plastic with a clear sleeve on the outside. Here is the exact product [supermediastore.com]

They smell terrible. Like they were locked up in a closet full of bad air. They must have been sitting in a factory for a really long time.

I have tried washing one with soap and water, but the smell is still there. It is also a pain to dry out because of the clear plastic cover (water won't dry sandwiched between).

How do I get rid of the smell? I've noticed the ones that have been used and are on my shelf arent as bad as the ones in the box, but they still smell.

posted by mphuie to home & garden (5 comments total)

They're probably off-gassing, which means that the smell is coming from within them. Eventually this process slows down, but not completely, which is why your old ones still smell. I doubt there's much you can do.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 3:31 PM on April 16, 2007

Sit them outside in the sun for a day, spread out so the sun gets to all of them, and preferably sitting on something irregular so the breeze can get underneath (empty cases only; don't put DVD's in the sun).
posted by flabdablet at 3:42 PM on April 16, 2007

Bi-carb absorbs smell amazingly. Tip a box out into an esky throw the cases in on top pop the lid on and check it periodically. Depending on how stinky they are it may not take that long. The clear kind of kitty litter is great too. Not the one with the blue bits mixed through it though (useless) only clear bits. If your house now has a funk fling bi-carb around then vacuum up the next day. It'll be smellin' like nutin' in no time!
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 3:53 PM on April 16, 2007

The smell is coming from the materials used to make the plastic. It'll only go away with time, but gentle heating and air-flow, as suggested above, will speed up the process.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 4:24 PM on April 16, 2007

You might soak them in warm water with vinegar. I haven't found any smell that stands up against vinegar.
posted by kc0dxh at 7:53 AM on April 17, 2007