Thread: Removing Odors From Costumes by Freezing

I just came across this article on taking odors out of things. Might work on a costume. Anyone every try this?

Remove odors
Got a musty-smelling book or a plastic container with a fish odor? Place them in the freezer overnight. By morning they'll be fresh again. This works with almost any other small item that has a bad smell you want to get rid of.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/...eezer-2412274/

An alternate use of a freezer: place pillows in a plastic bag, close bag via tape or twist-ties and place bag in freezer. Leave overnight. Place a vacuum hose in the bag to remove all debris. Kills dust mites and such. Due to serious allergies I use this technique each month and replace pillows each year.

Who needs a freezer - I could just hang them out on the balcony, as cold as it is now! ..l;,

Let's try it....

MEISSOUN

Originally Posted by meissoun

Who needs a freezer - I could just hang them out on the balcony, as cold as it is now! ..l;,

yup - I was thinking the same thing!!

Hm, if I'd suspect that freezing and thawing can contribute to removing moisture, depending on the environment conditions. And, probably some odor-related bacteria can be killed by cold, if the temperature is low enough and applied for a sufficiently long time. So, to that degree, it is plausible that some odors can be removed. However, I doubt that freezing is a miracle cure beyond those effects.

Er... except I know my freezer has a few funky smells of its own... I would hate to swap one and pick up another. ..c::

Just make sure there is some baking soda in the freezer too!

Ooh, interesting... I have considered hanging my costumes out on the balcony in the winter, just to give them a good airing... Only right now there's about 30 cm of snow there ..l;,

Well just thought I would share.

I actually wash my costumes in the washer, cold water, Woolite, super slow hand wash and then put the costume on a towel and aim a fan at the costume. I change the towel and turn the costume over every couple hours until dry. I use styrofoam balls in the bras so they keep their shape. I've washed Pharonics, Sims and about 4 Bellas, and they come out looking brand new.

Interesting. Kind of leery about it since I store my bacterial stocks in the -80 freezer (I work in a lab) and they come right back to life when they reach their normal temperature zone.

Who knows. It seems that people do this with shoes and report it working.

When all else fails, send me your costume and I'll autoclave it :)

Hmm good to know. Wouldn't autoclaving a costume melt it? Or do you use gas?

Originally Posted by tigerb

Er... except I know my freezer has a few funky smells of its own... I would hate to swap one and pick up another. ..c::

LOL! that was my first thought ..l;,

I wonder if the beads would crack?

Originally Posted by Yolanda

Hmm good to know. Wouldn't autoclaving a costume melt it? Or do you use gas?

LOL yes the sequins and plastic beads would definitely melt. Don't know about spandex. I'll have to experiment.

Quaternary ammonium gas might work better if it is dye friendly :)