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Musty smelling turntable???

dobyman

dobyman

Turntable Addict
I recently picked up a gorgeous Denon DP-60L turntable, but whoever had it before me must had stored it in a damp basement or garage and it smells pretty musty. I cleaned and wiped everything down and I have been placing rags soaked with Frebreze on in a cup under the dustcover, alternating with rags soaked in Oust. It has helped a lot, but I know when I bring it in the house, my wife is going to give me all kinds of hell if she smells it, and SHE WILL!
Is there any great things or ideas out there to take this smell away? I was thinking maybe putting it in a plastic garbage bag with a bag of rice for a week? Or maybe Damp rid? I'm open to suggestions and I'll try anything.
Thanks in advance!!!
 
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Is the smell coming off the platter mat itself maybe? I found a turntable once that had a musty smell and it wound up being the rubber mat.
Mold must have gotten into it. Even after cleaning the mat it just came back. Did you clean the inside of the base also?
 
Lavane said:
Is the smell coming off the platter mat itself maybe? I found a turntable once that had a musty smell and it wound up being the rubber mat.
Mold must have gotten into it. Even after cleaning the mat it just came back. Did you clean the inside of the base also?
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Didn't do the inside of the base yet. I did do a major soaking and cleaning of the mat. Maybe I'll remove it and see if the smell is still there. I did order some Ozium so I'll try that too. Supposed to be good. After that I'll try Pooph.
Thanks all!
 
Dismantle turntable into subassemblies & put everything out in direct sunlight for a couple days. Sunlight: a great disinfectant. However, barring sunlight try other's suggestions. UV light perhaps.
 
I have some Epicure M50 speakers that had an intense musty smell when I got them.

I made new grille frames, put on new grille cloth but they still reeked. After removing the drivers, I sanded and oiled the cabinet exteriors. Once the oil odor dissipated in a week or so, the musty smell became prominent again. Seems it was originating from the inside of enclosures.

After a year or so the smell was gone or at least minimized to the point of not bothering me.

The manufactured particle board which the boxes were made from appeared to absorb and hold onto that smell. A turntable base is likely made from the same material.
 
Ozone generators do work well for stink, but its also a nasty oxidizer. Thats why it kills smells but it can cause rust or corrosion on metals so be careful with it. Also its hell on your lungs so you don't want to breathe it.

I have one that I bought for my car. Mice moved in one winter and I couldn't get the stink out even after lots of cleaning. Two 20 minute cycles of the ozone generator a week or so apart got it though.
 
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gadget73 said:
Ozone generators do work well for stink, but its also a nasty oxidizer. Thats why it kills smells but it can cause rust or corrosion on metals so be careful with it. Also its hell on your lungs so you don't want to breathe it.

I have one that I bought for my car. Mice moved in one winter and I couldn't get the stink out even after lots of cleaning. Two 20 minute cycles of the ozone generator a week or so apart got it though.
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i bet i didn't run mine for 10 minutes in a small enclosed area. i was pretty amazed that it worked so well.
 
After the first cycle it didn't quite get it, I found another nest in the kick panel area that I had missed previously. Likely would have done the job in one if not for that. Just removing that mostly got it but I wanted no random whiffs of mouse pee while driving so I gave it another cycle.

In something that isn't basically a living room on wheels it wouldn't need so much time.
 
Lavane said:
Is the smell coming off the platter mat itself maybe? I found a turntable once that had a musty smell and it wound up being the rubber mat.
Mold must have gotten into it. Even after cleaning the mat it just came back. Did you clean the inside of the base also?
Click to expand...
UPDATE: I got most of the smell out but there was still a faint smell, and when I brought it in the house, my wife with the drug sniffing dog nose said I SMELL MOLD! I was just about ready to sell it, even though it was killing me to lose this table, but if I kept it, I would hear about it every day of my life. Then I had a thought. What if Lavane was right?? I took the mat out to the garage and grabbed one of the many extra mats that I have and put it on and sprayed a rag with Ozium, set it on the platter and closed the lid for 24 hours. Next day the wife went over and sniffed all around the table and said NO SMELL? The table is staying. I am a happy camper. Meanwhile, just for fun, I have the original mat buried in baking soda, hoping for a miracle. Thanks Lavane!!!!
 
I'm glad you found the offending smell. Mold can grow on anything.
Once mold's "roots" get into something just wiping it off won't get rid of it. It just grows back. Things like bleach, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, etc., can help get rid of it, but some of these things smell worse than the mold. There are mold killing products you can buy. Baking soda alone might kill the small for awhile, but it may cone back.
 
Yeah, I thought about the bleach but I really don’t want to soak the black match in bleach because of my luck. It’ll bleach the color out of it. It’s not the end of the world the mad I have on now is almost identical to the one that came off of it so it’s the baking soda works it works if it doesn’t it doesn’t I’ll keep trying and stuff. But thanks for the heads up.
 
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