Musty smelling ponies

[svleonard]

I got a lot of G3's off of Craigslist, and some of them smell really musty, sort of like an old basement.  Trying to clean them aggravated my allergies, so I suspect that there's mold or mildew inside.  Is there any way to get rid of the smell without taking the heads off and cleaning inside?

Also, is there a market for musty smelling baits?  Other than the smell, they're actually in pretty good shape.

[StoryDreamer]

Put them in a bag inside open container of clean kitty litter. It works for books, so it should work for ponies!

[BowtieG1]

I would place it in a plastic box, sprits some febreeze all over it and very quickly close the lid. Then just leave it for a couple of hours. I did that with childhood pony from somebody else.

[himmie]

The musty smell does not guarantee there is an issue inside. I have received some ponies smelling of old basement and generally a week sitting in the garage with fresh air takes care of it. I have also gotten some back cards that smelled musty, just being in my house took care of the smell. (The smell sends me into sneezing fits though too.)

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Large container of baking soda!

[achab1984]

I hope that your able to get that smell out!

[hathorcat]

I do a week with baking soda, then a week in the fresh air and repeat as many times as required.

While I agree an yucky smell does not necessarily mean a sign of something internal, you may need to be prepared that something inside the pony is causing the problem and needs to be cleaned out

[Pinecone]

I put one of mine in a cloth bag between the window and screen for a while (I didn't want sunfading). She still needs more work, but this was a so soft pony (until I ruined it) so  she might have some extra time. My other pony had a bit of tail rust and has been sitting headlessly on my shelf for months. The must seems to be fading from here too, but it could still take a long time especially since I've been slacking.

For the record, the not-so-soft Angel was fine inside, and both were in a basement for roughly 20 years.

[YellowCat]

I second the kitty litter trick, it's worked successfully for me.

Also you might want to pop off all the ponies heads and bathe them.  They could have mold problems that you can't see from the outside.

[Jemofirongate]

I do a week with baking soda, then a week in the fresh air and repeat as many times as required.

While I agree an yucky smell does not necessarily mean a sign of something internal, you may need to be prepared that something inside the pony is causing the problem and needs to be cleaned out

THIS! :-)

Yes, if the smell is caused by an issue inside it really needs to be sorted out!

Jem :-)

[svleonard]

Ok, so do I actually put the ponies in kitty litter/baking soda?

Would it help also to remove the head and fill up the pony with kitty litter or baking soda for a while?  (Provided there isn't mold/mildew inside the pony?)

[hathorcat]

Each of them works different. Baking soda neutralises the smell and kitty litter absorbs it. So neither of them technically need to touch the pony just be in its presence. Its why you should seal the kitty litter/baking powder in an air tight location [such as a tupperware] along with the pony because then the soda or litter will take the odour from the air.

However, in an extreme case of nicotine once, I did pop the head off a couple of ponies, removed the tail, covered the tail hole with gaffer tape, put 2 or 3 tablespoons of baking soda in, popped the head back on and shook the ponies. Left them in individual tupperwares with even more baking soda The smell was gone after this was repeated [4 freaking times!!!! but it was a super extreme case]. So maybe if its really bad and you have cleaned out the inside its worth considering. But in most cases you should not need this level of work.

[gypsyunicorn]

I was going to say you could also use fabric softener dyer sheets

[hathorcat]

Be careful if the fabric softener sheets touch the outside of the pony - because of what they contain I have heard of them discolouring plastic in the past. However, you can pop one inside a pony without much worry

[svleonard]

Ok, they're all sealed up in little bags of kitty litter.  After that, I'm going to air them outside (out of direct sunlight, of course).  I'll let you guys know how they turn out.