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The smells of storage
Dec. 15th, 2024 11:37 am In response the events of my moth vs. wool blanket research, I investigated some more with the buyer of said blankets.
He was 100% sure the smell people were experiencing was insecticide, which was my originally hypothesis I had talked my way out of.
Turns out these Blankets are at least 50 years old, packed away for some reason or another. And each one has a label saying its been treated with anti-moth agents.
Is this agent different than moth balls?
This turned the topic around into an entirely different argument.
Is the smell of moth balls a "gasoline" scent?
I've smelled a lot of moth balls in my life, from childhood games of hide n' seek at grandma's house to adding moth balls to the tarp storage bag to keep mice from chewing holes in my pool cover. I personally don't think I would characterize any of it as a gasoline smell. I would characterize it as an entirely different smell, instantly recognizable as a "moth ball" scent.
Does this mean I need to do some sort of blind-folded comparison. Do I need to cover my eyes and huff some gasoline and moth balls and see if I can tell the difference?
Bad news. I'm too old. And I have too few brain cells left to risk on such an endeavor.
The Smells of Storage
There are 3 main categories of smells when dealing with military surplus (or anything, really, that's been in storage for a very long time).
1) Moth Ball / Gasoline Smell - I don't know what to tell you, I think these are different smells. But moths don't like it, and that's the main thing.
2) Mildew smell - This is the classic "basement" smell that pervades all sleeping bags after a time. You keep them in the basement, garage, or under the stairs for a long time, there's just a little bit of moisture. Voilà, mildew smell.
3) Vomit smell - As a human being, this is my least favorite smell. And no, I'm not talking about actual vomit, but a similar acidic smell that comes from plastic off-gassing over long periods of storage away from fresh air. While mildew most often strikes soft fabrics, the unfortunate vomit smell strikes plastic materials like vinyl bags and tents.
In all cases, getting rid of these storage smells usually just involves opening the product up to fresh air, ideally outside (especially in the "vomit" category) and, for an even better experience, exposure to direct sunlight.
He was 100% sure the smell people were experiencing was insecticide, which was my originally hypothesis I had talked my way out of.
Turns out these Blankets are at least 50 years old, packed away for some reason or another. And each one has a label saying its been treated with anti-moth agents.
Is this agent different than moth balls?
This turned the topic around into an entirely different argument.
Is the smell of moth balls a "gasoline" scent?
I've smelled a lot of moth balls in my life, from childhood games of hide n' seek at grandma's house to adding moth balls to the tarp storage bag to keep mice from chewing holes in my pool cover. I personally don't think I would characterize any of it as a gasoline smell. I would characterize it as an entirely different smell, instantly recognizable as a "moth ball" scent.
Does this mean I need to do some sort of blind-folded comparison. Do I need to cover my eyes and huff some gasoline and moth balls and see if I can tell the difference?
Bad news. I'm too old. And I have too few brain cells left to risk on such an endeavor.
The Smells of Storage
There are 3 main categories of smells when dealing with military surplus (or anything, really, that's been in storage for a very long time).
1) Moth Ball / Gasoline Smell - I don't know what to tell you, I think these are different smells. But moths don't like it, and that's the main thing.
2) Mildew smell - This is the classic "basement" smell that pervades all sleeping bags after a time. You keep them in the basement, garage, or under the stairs for a long time, there's just a little bit of moisture. Voilà, mildew smell.
3) Vomit smell - As a human being, this is my least favorite smell. And no, I'm not talking about actual vomit, but a similar acidic smell that comes from plastic off-gassing over long periods of storage away from fresh air. While mildew most often strikes soft fabrics, the unfortunate vomit smell strikes plastic materials like vinyl bags and tents.
In all cases, getting rid of these storage smells usually just involves opening the product up to fresh air, ideally outside (especially in the "vomit" category) and, for an even better experience, exposure to direct sunlight.
