I hope this is the proper category for this question. I have 19 fleeces that were stored in garbage bags with mothballs to keep the bugs out. (It wasn't me that did that!) The mill will process them for me but cannot guarantee that they won't still reek of mothballs. Anyone have a foolproof de-mothballing remedy? They really are smelly.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), July 10, 2001

Answers

Might want to try those enzymatic scent removers (kitty odor sprays) or even the Febreeze stuff (its sorta like that, not just a covering fragrance.) If these don't work (give them a few applications to set in) then your commercial cleaning supply center should have a super- duper odor remover formula that you (or maybe someone you know with a business license - sometimes they are picky about that) could get. Just remember, somebody has to make burnt out, but habitable, homes smell pretty again, and it's your commercial cleaners' supply that has all the stuff that does it. Most of the scent removers are relatively safe, both for the wool and for the spinner, but read the labels. Some things are irritants just because of the sheer concentration they're in.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), July 10, 2001.

The only thing that comes to mind to me is a product called Trail. We use it to spray on the carpet if one of the dogs has an accident. It eliminates the odor very well including (pardon me for being a little graphic) doggie diahrea which can really be horrendous in odor. It replaces the odor with a light scent. You can walk out of the house (to adjust your nose) and come back in and not be able to detect any foul odor. It doesn't harm the carpet so I would think it would be okay on the fleece.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), July 11, 2001.

As a quilter, I get fabric of all kinds, from all over. Some of these fabrics, including wool, have the wonderful stench of moth balls also! I have found, quite by accident, that if I place the offending material in a paper bag with a handful of mint leaves, and place this in the sunshine for a while, the odor completely disappears! I do this also with packages that come from my moms house, because she and dad smoke and the smoke order permeates whatever she sends us. I have put handfuls of mint in suitcases, purses, pillows, etc., that she has sent us with great suggest! Give it a try, and let me know how it works for you. In His Grace, Sissy

-- Sissy Sylvester-Barth (jerreleene@hotmail.com), July 11, 2001.