Last weekend I sat with some quilting friends and watched a DVD by David McClallum on how to care for my feather-weight sewing machine. It was really good. One of the parts I was particularly interested in was how to get rid of the FW case smell...So for the past couple of days I have followed his directions. They do work but I learned a few things along the way.....
First, putting together the light to go inside is really easy - toughest part was stripping the wires for which I had to dig through my beading supplies. Parts cost less than $8 at the home improvement center (I had a 150 watt bulb on hand as well as some scrap wood.) All good....
Second, the inside of your FW case looks much worse in bright sunlight then in the semi-cave-like depths of the sewing closet. How embarrassing is this! In the past I have done all the FW case tips like spritzing with Lysol, putting soap inside, putting it out in sunlight - all sort of work. McCallum says the smell is primarily cause because the glue used was horse glue which leads to bacteria and mold (all that organic stuff....) Since so many folks have emailed or commented on their issues with the smell then maybe it isn't solely FW abuse on my part...phew.
Third, well I almost got this step right. A 150 watt bulb generates a lot of heat. I put the case on the tiles in front of my fireplace (which also happens to be near the kitchen fire-extinguisher.) Thankfully it was by the back door as well because when that case heated up boy did it stink! I mean really STINK....I turned out the overhead fan, the kitchen fan and sprayed lots of de-stinking stuff. (Even Macbeth turned up his nose and hid in the bathroom!) I ended up stopping at 4 hours, waiting until the case cooled a bit them moving the whole operation outside! In all my case "cooked" for about 10 hours (McCallum says it can be done in 8...but I still had some grey "stuff" in one corner so let it go on longer.) BTW, the lid is closed and one latch snapped for the 8 hours - I just opened it up for the photo...
Fourth, Did I mention how hot a 150 watt bulb gets? Be very careful taking the bulb out of the case. In hindsight I should have worn my oven gloves...enough said. Also, when a mixture of 50% Clorox is sprayed onto a warm surface it is noxious (hope that is the right word...) anyway you need to spray from a distance and not with your head right over the box...no, I did not do that but very well could have!
Bottom line though...it seems to have worked! There is no visible mold or spots on the inside of the case. I'm letting it air-out a bit before I do the sniff test but it seems a lot better.
And to get rid of the smell it has generated in the house I baked a pecan pie....that does a great job of making the house smell better!
12 comments:
I really liked your story and especially the remeady for making your house smell better.
Hi I liked the info that you have just given us. I have one and it really smells I have just kepted it opened upstares so I must go to see what its like now. Can I ask where did you get the DVD on the care of your feather waite. I would like to make sure I took good care of mine. Thanks for sharing.
interesting, i think I need to get one of those!
Pie, eh? Wow, now that's an unusual cause and effect! I don't have an FW but now I'll know what to do :)
Thanks so much for the tip. I guess sitting the case in the sun won't do enough. I love my FW but when I use it the stitches are great in the beginning but the tension seems to get loose as I use it. I have had it serviced and it still does it. Any ideas?
Thanks for the update. Hmm, being smelly may be a problem for me. I may have to wait for spring so I can air the house out during the process. There's not too many warm days between now and March in Southern MD. I used yesterday to wash my 2 big hairy dogs.
Pie always smells and sounds good!
Blessings,
debbiem
Glad you shed some "light" on this :o)
Seems like you were putting smells out with smells...hope the pecan pie was good!!
What a great sharing of ideas!! I have one of the newer FW...when Singer made the pale green ones. It was my Mom's, and it definitely has that "smell." The case is light green and beige rather than the traditional black, but maybe was made with the same materials. I will definitely try this method. Thanks for sharing!
In stitches,
Teresa :o)
I think a pecan pie makes a lot of things better!
wow- I don't own a FW but this was interesting! thanks for sharing ...
R
little container of cloves in your case and also Bi Carbonate soda works. Like the idea of baking a pecan pie though :-)
Cheers
Lynne
I found a wonderful product, well actually my husband found it after an "accident" from one of our puppies.
He sprayed Stain & Odor Remover EXTREME and the smell was completely gone and never returned. Plus the spray has a very pleasant smell and not too over powering like some of the odor removers.
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