Tips for deodorizing artwork?

September 30, 2023 11:37 AM

Do you have any tips for deodorizing artwork on paper with a musty smell that cannot get wet because the ink will bleed? I am currently putting it in the sun for a bit, but I am pretty sure that it will need more work.
posted by mortaddams to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Best answer: Not sure the sun is good for art. But it'll probably help deodorize. Depending on the size and quantity of artwork, I would first make sure it's extremely dry -- as in dry it in a low humidity area, maybe with a hairdryer. Then I'd put it in a very dry cardboard box with some paper towels at the bottom (everything very dry!) and I'd add a bar of dry deodorant soap to the box and close it, but allow a hole or two for air circulation. Let it sit for a week.

I learned the deodorant soap thing from the old radio NPR show Car Talk. Throw a bar of deodorant soap under the passenger seat of your car if it smells musty from water. It's less obnoxious than room deodorizers and it works great in my experience.

If your artwork is valuable, old, etc., there's likely problems with what I recommend. You might want to talk with a high end frame shop or even an art conservator depending on whether this is just fun, silly art or a $10,000 sketch. There's a lot of vagueness to your question.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:53 AM on September 30, 2023

Best answer: The American Library Association recommends MicroChamber Paper or baking soda for musty smells.
posted by oceano at 1:16 PM on September 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Can confirm that baking soda works, albeit slowly; I have bought and sold antique books many times and have gotten rid of musty or moldy smells with baking soda. I put the book/s into a plastic bin with a couple of bowls or jars full of baking soda (two or three boxes worth) and then snap the cover on. It does take several months and I put in new baking soda after a couple of months. Don't let the baking soda touch the paper.
posted by the webmistress at 2:03 PM on September 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

+1 for baking soda, though it does take a long time.
posted by May Kasahara at 2:42 PM on September 30, 2023

Putting artwork in the sun can cause it to fade - baking soda near but not touching is a better plan.
posted by leslies at 4:07 PM on September 30, 2023

I bought a cardboard-based artwork from a bar one time that smelled VERY heavily of smoke. Like, 1,000,000 cigarettes. I hung it on the wall in my back room, that smells of no cigarettes.

Eventually, it smelled like the room. Which is to say - it no longer smelled like cigarettes!

Can you put it up somewhere, where air can circulate around it?
posted by 41swans at 5:12 PM on September 30, 2023