Perfumed Pen: How To Get Rid Of Odor

[dms525]

I bought an Aurora pen used from an ebay seller. There is a very strong floral, perfume smell from the section. I can only assume a previous owner had perfumed hands. The odor is quite localized. Does anyone know a non-destruction technique for getting such smells out of plastic?

 

David

[Fabienne]

Try burying it in baking soda for 24 hrs and see if the odor is absorbed.

[Keyless Works]

That's a new one for me. I would consider a very light polish if a standard cleaning isn't doing the trick.

[dms525]

Try burying it in baking soda for 24 hrs and see if the odor is absorbed.

 

I had thought of that. It works for other odors, and I suppose it cannot etch the plastic. Seems benign. I believe I will try that. Thank you!

 

David

[dms525]

That's a new one for me. I would consider a very light polish if a standard cleaning isn't doing the trick.

Thanks for the suggestions. Errr ... What do you regard as "a standard cleaning?" And "a very light polish?" Can you specify a product?

 

David

[Keyless Works]

Mild soap and water. As for the polish a nonabrasive polish like Flitz liquid polish. For me though polishing would be a very last resort on a shiny modern pen. Plastic is tricky, the dry baking soda idea is worth a try.

 

If made into a paste I have had success in getting odors out of plastic food containers with baking soda but I certainly wouldn't do that to a pen.

[torstar]

For pen smells, I loop string or dental floss through the clip and immerse the pen in shampoo overnight, or for a few nights if that's what it takes

[viclip]

Ground coffee is used to rid hats of odors.

Some swear by newspaper.

 

Don't see why the above wouldn't work on pens.

 

Regardless, the odor doesn't disappear overnight, so leave it be for a week or longer.

[dms525]

Thanks, everybody, for all the suggestions! I would definitely prefer the aroma of coffee to that of perfume! I assume it should be renewed every morning, fresh ground. However, I am trying the baking soda first. I stood the pen up in a small jar, buried in baking soda to the top of the section. I'll give it 24 hours and report back.

 

David

[ironwampa]

Rinse with water and if brass dry. Is entirely plastic you can also submerge in water and let sit. For particularly delicate pen place it in a room you don't go in much and wait.

 

All of the above methods may be repeated as necessary.

[tinkerteacher]

Another way to remove odours from objects that doesn't involve liquids, and that works even better than Fabienne's excellent suggestion is Kitty Litter.

 

Leaving the smelly object in a bag of kitty litter (a unused bag of kitty litter mind) overnight will work wonders on even the most foul, stubborn odour.

[torstar]

Another way to remove odours from objects that doesn't involve liquids, and that works even better than Fabienne's excellent suggestion is Kitty Litter.

 

Leaving the smelly object in a bag of kitty litter (a unused bag of kitty litter mind) overnight will work wonders on even the most foul, stubborn odour.

 

Multiples of a certain pen arrived smelling like they'd spent a few years aging in a used bag of kitty litter, well documented on FPN.

[dms525]

I tried burying the pen, sans nib, in baking soda up to the top of the section. It worked moderately well. I then screwed the nib in and the cap on. The next day, I was reminded that the smelly section had been living in the cap, which had now reciprocally transferred the perfume back to the section. So, I buried the section again and also the cap. Next day, moderately better. Reassembled the pen. Then I discovered that the feed and nib carrier had also picked up the perfume.

 

I ran out of time. Had to go out of town. Pen in safe deposit box. I wonder if the whole bank is going to smell perfumed when I retrieve my pens.

David

[Brianm_14]

The oils of the perfume have penetrated the plastic of the section. They were "applied" in a somewhat concentrated form from the hand in question. They now leave the pen by diffusion, both as oily molecules continually coming to the surface, and as the individual odorant molecules you detect evaporating and diffusing into the air. Absorbant and adsorbant materials such as baking soda, kitty litter, etc., can only remove the molecules at the surface or in the, and prevent them from returning to the pen. While the perfuming may have been accomplished in a relatively short time, alas, the "de-perfuming" will take longer.

 

Perfumes are designed to become more volatile at near-body temperature, which is why women usually prefer to evaluate a fragrance after application to the body. You might take advantage of this by string the section and cap, packed in baking soda, in a warm place -say, about 90 degrees F. It is about the only thing that will speed up the dissipation if the odor. (Solvents, if course, can extract oils but are not a good option here.)

 

The only other possibility is to use a counteractant such as Fabreze (spelling?) odor neutralizer. Place the pen section and cap in a container with a paper towel saturated with Fabreze liquid. There is no need for direct contact if the active ingredient in the Fabreze diffuses from the liquid into the air and thence onto the pen. I can't see why this would be detrimental to the pen parts, but it is all only an educated guess from a former chemistry professor.

 

Good luck! I wonder if the previous owner intended to attach a favoredfragrance to the pen, as an alluring touch?

[dms525]

The oils of the perfume have penetrated the plastic of the section. They were "applied" in a somewhat concentrated form from the hand in question. They now leave the pen by diffusion, both as oily molecules continually coming to the surface, and as the individual odorant molecules you detect evaporating and diffusing into the air. Absorbant and adsorbant materials such as baking soda, kitty litter, etc., can only remove the molecules at the surface or in the, and prevent them from returning to the pen. While the perfuming may have been accomplished in a relatively short time, alas, the "de-perfuming" will take longer.

 

Perfumes are designed to become more volatile at near-body temperature, which is why women usually prefer to evaluate a fragrance after application to the body. You might take advantage of this by string the section and cap, packed in baking soda, in a warm place -say, about 90 degrees F. It is about the only thing that will speed up the dissipation if the odor. (Solvents, if course, can extract oils but are not a good option here.)

 

The only other possibility is to use a counteractant such as Fabreze (spelling?) odor neutralizer. Place the pen section and cap in a container with a paper towel saturated with Fabreze liquid. There is no need for direct contact if the active ingredient in the Fabreze diffuses from the liquid into the air and thence onto the pen. I can't see why this would be detrimental to the pen parts, but it is all only an educated guess from a former chemistry professor.

 

Good luck! I wonder if the previous owner intended to attach a favoredfragrance to the pen, as an alluring touch?

 

Thanks for the input. And welcome to FPN!

 

It's kind of like chelating lead in a patient who has had a chronic exposure. You pee some out, and more is mobilized from bone stores.

 

I have no idea whether the scent contamination was purposeful or inadvertent, but I am not allured!

 

David

[sd10521]

I like how the content related advertising at the bottom shows up with kitty litter and baking soda.

Could be handy if someone lives 100 miles from the nearest grocery store.

And good luck getting that smell out, some of the cheaper perfumes people wear just makes me sick, another reason I don't work retail any more.

[ironwampa]

Wow. A month and still no luck.

[dms525]

Wow. A month and still no luck.

It's really just 3 days of active work on the problem.

 

David

[pajaro]

Do you know that perfumed ink was not used in the pen? Montblanc has made seasonal perfumed inks.

[dms525]

Do you know that perfumed ink was not used in the pen? Montblanc has made seasonal perfumed inks.

No. I don't know that perfumed ink was not used.

 

David