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I decided to keep it. The leather was pretty soft. It's currently sitting in a garbage bag with coffee grounds and baking soda. Smoke I can get rid of but mold is difficult.
A trick I’ve used is spraying the inside with cheap vodka and sticking the bag in the freezer for a few days. Even just the freezer alone works magic on a smoke smell. May be worth a shot.
I’ve heard of the freezer trick before
I’ve only tried this with vintage Coach bags- the interior of those is almost always raw suede and I’ve never had an issue, but to each their own, that doesn’t mean something couldn’t happen, I’ve just had good luck with it. The freezer alone is insanely effective!
I've used vinegar before on bags to kill the mold. I wonder if it does the same work as the alcohol...?
It was either the washer or throwing the bag away. I figured the washer was the best option.
I've never tried that but I know some here have had success
It wasn't a cheap bag, but it was also from Japan and the return shipping cost was almost the price of the bag. So I kept it, thinking that I could douse it with baking powder. But every time I took it out of its baking powder bath, the mold smell would give me a bad headache. I could have disputed the charge, filed a claim with PP, etc., but at the time I didn't want to deal with the hassle. Nowadays, I deal with the hassle of returns because not all moldy bags will survive the washer.
I try my best to minimize the risk of having to return a preowned item. I'd be reluctant to buy a Japan bag even though I know a lot of people have had positive experiences with them.
