Greetings all,

I recently acquired a large collection of Model Railroader magazines on flea-bay, (I mean e-bay); 1950 to 1967 vintage, (complete years). They arrived today with a heavy mold odor. Visually, they are in excellent condition- no stains, no warped pages, perfect color- that's how I got suckered. Even in person; they appear in excellent condition- just that terrible odor that gives me a stuffed head and a sore throat with cough; I'm allergic to mold.

I've been dreaming of the day when I could start building my MR library and now I feel like ramming my head in the wall instead.

I've gone to a couple of websites and have read strange advice. One place advocates putting them in the freezer overnight; however, I'm leery to do that because of the condensation when I take them out. Another place recommends putting moldy books in a microwave- but I can't do that because the metal staples will cause arcing.

Right now, they are "airing out" on my front porch. I suppose sending them back is an option; however, I'd have to rope in a neighbor to carry them to post office and I kind of hate to get rid of them in the first place- they're great magazines and getting harder to find. I'd like to save them if I could.

Has anyone else here had to deal with this and if so, were you able to get rid of the smell? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

All the best,

Sean C.
CNW400

Your question got me thinking and I found this.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5553683_mildew-smell-out-magazines.html

I don't think you can beat sunshine, sort of like my Wife saying how nice the washing smells when its been hung on the line compared to using a clothes dryer

Place all the magazines in an air tight box and put bicarbonate of soada into a couple of open containers inside the box with the magazines, i had this problem with some old magazines i had stored in the loft it work a treat.
Will take a few weeks to do but well worth the wait from the sounds of things 

I got this advice from a very old aunt.. always made me wonder if she used it for herself