Bought a cab....and it smells horrible. Any suggestions?

[FUBB]

I recently bought a used amp. Every time I switch it on I can smell air freshener being forced out of the front by the fans, those plug-in type smells that everyone seems to use these days, and it soon fills the room!
Thing is those type of smells cause me to have migraines. Ive tried to clean the inside many times but the smell remains. Any tips?
Have had a similar problem with used basses too, aftershave smell on the neck!

 

[somebrains]

 

[Sleedo]

Ozone

 

[Brio]

My first amp was a cheap Peavey 115 off of CL and it stunk badly of smoke. I wiped the tolex inside and out with a citrus cleaner and left it outside with a couple of dryer sheets stuffed inside. It got better but the smoke smell never fully went away.

 

[catcauphonic]

In case it hasn't already been said, now's an ideal time for you to take up smoking

 

[MultiScaleMale]

You may be able to clean the surface, but you'll never get the smell out of the stuffing inside the cab.

 

[bolophonic]

I still don't understand why people are recommending that the OP should put a bunch of elbow grease and/or waste time airing out an unusable cab instead of just returning it. The previous user ruined it. The seller needs to re-list the item as damaged and sell it to another smoker.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Ozone

This is true and actually works. A colleague built an ozone chamber out of an ozone generator and appliance carton. Used it to deodorize oxygen concentrators: lots of plastic and insulation!

Riis

 

[guy n. cognito]

I still don't understand why people are recommending that the OP should put a bunch of elbow grease and/or waste time airing out an unusable cab instead of just returning it. The previous user ruined it. The seller needs to re-list the item as damaged and sell it to another smoker.

Well, the OP did actually ask for tips for defunking the cab, even if he subsequently decided to return it. It would seem those offering advice were answering the exact question asked in the OP...

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Whenever I buy anything used on-line, I always message the seller and ask if it is cigarette/odor free. That pretty much covers everything from cigarettes to patchuoli to bar barf. Even if the seller has 'no returns' in his listing, I now have buyer protection for if it arrives smelling of anything, I can claim 'item not as described'.

 

[jnsnj]

For the archives - this can be dealt with. Technology courtesy of the marijuana growing crowd and used car detailing crowd. The answer is in a product called an Ozone Tube or Ozone Generator. Ozone is great at breaking down odor causing pollutants in the same way the sun's UV rays do. Ozone tubes / generators create copious amounts of ozone and allow it to directed / distributed to control and eliminate odors. Marijuana growers use them to control the horrendous stench of a grow room. Used car dealers use them to clean up offensive smelling vehicles which is MOST used cars.

If the OP were to place the cabinet in a small room or closet with an Ozone tube for a couple days, the smell would be significantly diminished or completely removed. The problem in this case is that the OP has 2 days to work it out which isn't likely. But it could be dealt with. If he likes the cab, he should get wit hthe seller and propose an extension of the trial to see if this could be worked out.

I passed on a killer marshall guitar stack for this same reason about 10 years ago. This was before I knew about ozone. Wish I had THAT decision to make again!

Ozone is the answer to getting the smoke smell out. I work in insurance and it's what we use in smoke damaged homes. For hard porous surfaces they could clean it with a chemical sponge first also. The only issue with ozone is that it's an irritant also. So to do this they would need to place it somewhere the ozone isn't getting into the rest of the house.

 

[chadds]

Return it!
I had weeks of labor getting Febreeze smell out of a cab. Baking Soda rubbed and let sit into fur, ground coffee inside of cab and throwing cover in trash and ordering new one was the fix. A quick spray towards cones of that organic orange spray and all is perfect.

Ozone for a short period at a distance. It dries out rubber and shrinks plastics! So beware!

 

[Shannon]

For what it's worth, I got a hard case years ago that reeked of cigarette smoke whenever I opened it. I hosed it down with Febreze several times over a month or two and then kind of fell off on the effort. Every time I would open it I would get another whiff of the smoke and Febreze it again. After a couple years it now smells like Febreze whenever I open it If I were doing it again, I would probably try the red bottle of Nature's Miracle first.

Oh no, man... you need a spray bottle of liquid smoke to restore the vintageness!

 

[40Hz]

I have had it outside on the back porch for a few hours now and, believe it or not, as it gets hotter it is smelling worse....like the cabinet lit up a fresh cig on my back porch and is just waiting for me to bring it a beer to go along with it.

You are awesome!

 

[40Hz]

I'm an IT guy in real life, so of course that means working on people's personal home computers from time to time. You wouldn't believe the gunk that accumulates inside of smoker's computers. The fans are just sucking it in constantly and it just coats the inside with nastiness.

Yep. Why you never allow smoking in a server room. I was at a client's one time where a day laborer snuck into the main hub room to sneak a quick smoke.

It set off the halon extinguisher system, prompting an office evacuation and summoning the local fire department. Hilarious.

 

[BassmanPaul]

[QUOTE="Old Garage-Bander, post: 20300956, member: 274006”].......... back in the 70's when men were men[/QUOTE]

AH the good old days when men were men and sheep were nervous!!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Ah, so Bassman Paul is Welsh

 

[Rabidhamster]

Whenever I buy anything used on-line, I always message the seller and ask if it is cigarette/odor free. That pretty much covers everything from cigarettes to patchuoli to bar barf. Even if the seller has 'no returns' in his listing, I now have buyer protection for if it arrives smelling of anything, I can claim 'item not as described'.

This vague question calls for a vague answer, which is why I would answer "I notice no unusual smells and don't smoke tobacco" because I can't have people returning a guitar case that smells like guitar case. Every piece of gear in existence has SOME kind of odor. If it's gear odor, it's ok. If it's someone's house smell, maybe maybe not. If it's vinegar and piss, or cigarette smoke, that's generally stink, no one likes it.

But really - some people would want to return a guitar case because it smells like guitar case glue. sorry no- that's just how it is. You can't return your keyboard because it smells like plastic either.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

This vague question calls for a vague answer, which is why I would answer "I notice no unusual smells and don't smoke tobacco" because I can't have people returning a guitar case that smells like guitar case. Every piece of gear in existence has SOME kind of odor. If it's gear odor, it's ok. If it's someone's house smell, maybe maybe not. If it's vinegar and piss, or cigarette smoke, that's generally stink, no one likes it.

But really - some people would want to return a guitar case because it smells like guitar case glue. sorry no- that's just how it is. You can't return your keyboard because it smells like plastic either.

I've only had to return one item because of smell in 10 years. And that was before I began asking the question. It was an equalizer, and the cigarette odor was so fierce, I noticed it even before I opened it up. The seller apologized and offered a refund. I think he felt bad, he said he was something like a chain smoker and was trying to re-evaluate his life.

 

[seamonkey]

If it's legal in your state, put it in a plastic bag and puff in some Legal Marianna smoke. Let it sit for a day. It'll smell like it should in no time