I bought a bag that was very clean but the suede lining had a strong suede smell to it. I sprayed it with alcohol/water, set it outside, repeated, set outside again...then set in under a ceiling fan in the house. that all helped. it's fine now.
How to get a smell out of a bag
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I haven't read any of the other posts in this thread so I don't know if this has been suggested. I recently had all my bags stolen. Police managed to retrieve 3. 1 bag had clearly been used in the 1 month it was gone. There were 3 theives and this one had been passed to his wife. It came back absolutely disgusting. Sticky, strong perfume and cigarette smoke smell. It was also in brand new condition but came back with heaps of wear inside and out. If the bag was in the room, you could smell it.
Anyway I did the best I could to remove the odour. This bag together with the other 2 bags police retrieved are currently getting spa'ed in Paris.
I used a bag, which was half a kilo of bicarbonate soda every day for 3 weeks. I would place half of the bag of bicarb on a plate and place a cooling rack on the plate to place the bag on top. I put the other half of the bicarb in a bowl which I placed in the bag.
I placed the bag with the bowl of bicarb in it, on the tray of bicarb and enclosed it in a garbage bag.
Every day for 3 weeks I would refresh the bicarb with a new half kilo bag. The bicarb would stink of the bag every time I checked.
After 3 weeks, the bag still smelt of smoke. At this point I would place the entire bag with the bowl of bicarb in it, on the tray of bicarb in the garbage bag into my warming drawer in the kitchen. I set it at the lowest temperature setting of 40 deg C for 1 hour and I would leave it there for a day. If I came back to it during the day I would set it for another hour.
This opened up the pores of the leather and more odour was able to be absorbed by the bicarb. I did this for a week.
In total I did this for a month. Went through 15kg of bicarb. I couldn't detect any of the perfume and smoke after 4 weeks.
I don't know if I'll keep the bag after it comes back from spa, but thought I'd share what I did anyway.
Anyway I did the best I could to remove the odour. This bag together with the other 2 bags police retrieved are currently getting spa'ed in Paris.
I used a bag, which was half a kilo of bicarbonate soda every day for 3 weeks. I would place half of the bag of bicarb on a plate and place a cooling rack on the plate to place the bag on top. I put the other half of the bicarb in a bowl which I placed in the bag.
I placed the bag with the bowl of bicarb in it, on the tray of bicarb and enclosed it in a garbage bag.
Every day for 3 weeks I would refresh the bicarb with a new half kilo bag. The bicarb would stink of the bag every time I checked.
After 3 weeks, the bag still smelt of smoke. At this point I would place the entire bag with the bowl of bicarb in it, on the tray of bicarb in the garbage bag into my warming drawer in the kitchen. I set it at the lowest temperature setting of 40 deg C for 1 hour and I would leave it there for a day. If I came back to it during the day I would set it for another hour.
This opened up the pores of the leather and more odour was able to be absorbed by the bicarb. I did this for a week.
In total I did this for a month. Went through 15kg of bicarb. I couldn't detect any of the perfume and smoke after 4 weeks.
I don't know if I'll keep the bag after it comes back from spa, but thought I'd share what I did anyway.
I'm so sorry to hear about your bags getting stolen but glad that you were able to find an effective way to remove so much of the odor at home without damaging it further. Using the warming drawer was a very smart idea!
Wow, so committed and then you're now sure if you'll keep the bag(s). I understand, though, it's been in someone else's hands/house and it's just now yours anymore. Felt the same when someone tried breaking into my house and only got into one room.
I've not had to contend with strong smells in my bags yet, but I sometimes deal with old books pre 1960s. I cover the books, place them in a shoebox and fill it with bicarb / coffee beans / rice to absorb the smell. I'd probaby wrap some coffee beans or rice in a muslin cloth and place it inside my bags if I found this was an issue.
Sorry to hear you went through that. I did end up selling the bag. I just couldn't bear to keep it knowing it had been in someone else's hands. The effort was worth it though. Even with full disclosure I still got back the full rrp + hermes spa cost.
great that you recouped your costs.....I wonder how someone could put so much wear on a bag in a short time....disgusting. I know they were criminals but ...
Interesting that this works, I learned that Febreze works because it blocks the receptors in your nose. So if there’s any Febreze still in the bag, all you’re doing is blocking the smell, not getting rid of it.Ooh, I just had the exact same problem! It was the leather Andrea Brueckner saddle purse that knocked me over with its cigarette smell (I blame myself since I never asked the seller). I asked on another message board and they told me to try Febreze (on the cloth interior), fabric softener sheets, charcoal...I did all of that and nothing worked. I've let it air out now for a few weeks and it has gotten quite a bit better. If the purse isn't leather, you might have some luck with Febreze. If it's leather like mine, you might just have to air it and hope for the best.
I think I posted here awhile ago with some tips for my vintage bags, but I found another method that works well for me. Mind you, it just replaces one smell with another. But if you're not sensitive to perfume and you like Chanel No.5, this one's for you.
I started placing a new, still-wrapped bar of Chanel No.5 soap (not in the box but still in its cellophane wrapping) inside my bags that have a vintage odor. Those bars of soap are so potent that the aroma permeates the entire bag inside and out, which I like because none of my other methods effectively removed the odor from the outside of the bag, they only affected the inside odor. I only have one bar of the Chanel soap and I just rotate it among my bags so that they all smell lovely, and so that the perfume aroma doesn't get too strong in one particular bag. This way, I can only detect the Chanel No.5 if I hold the bag up to my nose, or bury my nose inside. It isn't so strong that someone in the same room can detect it, so it ends up being subtle yet completely obliterates any vintage smell at the same time.
I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but hopefully that helps!
I started placing a new, still-wrapped bar of Chanel No.5 soap (not in the box but still in its cellophane wrapping) inside my bags that have a vintage odor. Those bars of soap are so potent that the aroma permeates the entire bag inside and out, which I like because none of my other methods effectively removed the odor from the outside of the bag, they only affected the inside odor. I only have one bar of the Chanel soap and I just rotate it among my bags so that they all smell lovely, and so that the perfume aroma doesn't get too strong in one particular bag. This way, I can only detect the Chanel No.5 if I hold the bag up to my nose, or bury my nose inside. It isn't so strong that someone in the same room can detect it, so it ends up being subtle yet completely obliterates any vintage smell at the same time.
I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but hopefully that helps!
Hi everyone!
I recently bought this Loewe Flamenco Knot bag from a Japanese reseller, and it has such a strong mouldy odour, to the point that the smell fills up the whole room if I let it sit outside of the box it came in. I can’t see any traces of mildew on it. Also it seems the smell comes from its exterior, not the inside (which is suede, btw). Where do you suggest I start? 😫 I really love the bag, but the smell is killing me
I recently bought this Loewe Flamenco Knot bag from a Japanese reseller, and it has such a strong mouldy odour, to the point that the smell fills up the whole room if I let it sit outside of the box it came in. I can’t see any traces of mildew on it. Also it seems the smell comes from its exterior, not the inside (which is suede, btw). Where do you suggest I start? 😫 I really love the bag, but the smell is killing me
I tried several things that helped but didn't eliminate the smell (sunlight, baby wipes, baking soda). What eventually did it was Meguiars odor eliminator. Mine had «new car smell», but it seems OK.
After the second coat there were still patches close to the top that smelled.
I decided on using a synthetic brush to get the Meguiars closer to that area without having to spray right on the bag, which would be imprecise. I haven't checked since, but most likely that did it.
It was rather pricey and I just saw a commercial for a spray meant for clothes that contains probiotics from a major laundry detergent company. Not sure it's the same thing, or if it's going to work as well, worse or better, but it's intriguing and much cheaper.
After the second coat there were still patches close to the top that smelled.
I decided on using a synthetic brush to get the Meguiars closer to that area without having to spray right on the bag, which would be imprecise. I haven't checked since, but most likely that did it.
It was rather pricey and I just saw a commercial for a spray meant for clothes that contains probiotics from a major laundry detergent company. Not sure it's the same thing, or if it's going to work as well, worse or better, but it's intriguing and much cheaper.
What about charcoal packs? I also watched a You Tube video where someone put an open box of baking soda inside, put the bag inside a plastic bag, tied it in a knot to seal it and let it sit for a couple days.