+CYBret Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 I noticed Wednesday that 2 out of the 4 caches I hit had developed a "funky" smell, probably due to being in the hot, moist, humid weather (if not actually wet), and one of them due to containing an opened can of fish food (No idea who left it, but what were you thinking? At least you made about a thousand ants happy). Anyway, my trades still have the funky smell (even though they were in baggies) and I'm wondering if there's a way to keep this from happening. Has anyone stuck a dryer sheet or anything in the cache? Also I was wondering about those little packets of silica gel. Yeah, I know it's kind of a "girlie" type topic, but I took my favorite girlie with me when I hit the fish food cache. I think I'll have a better shot at taking her back if the cache is April Fresh. Bret "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44 Quote Link to comment
+welch Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 I noticed Wednesday that 2 out of the 4 caches I hit had developed a "funky" smell, probably due to being in the hot, moist, humid weather (if not actually wet), and one of them due to containing an opened can of fish food (No idea who left it, but what were you thinking? At least you made about a thousand ants happy). - depends what smell(s) your talking about, sometimes its something let in the container from its previouse use(s). or if its a tupperware it may have gotten moisture and started mildewing, or if its an ammo can they have an smell. im not sure what causes it(who would think sitting around for years with ammo inside would make them smell? ) and when the cans repainted its smells like fresh paint for a little while... Anyway, my trades still have the funky smell (even though they were in baggies) and I'm wondering if there's a way to keep this from happening. Has anyone stuck a dryer sheet or anything in the cache? Also I was wondering about those little packets of silica gel. -is it a bad smell? did they get wet and mildew? or is it suppose to smell that way? before placing a cache i generally rinse it out, wash it with diluted bleach, dry it, paint if needed, and air it out for a few days... the silica packets have been talked about before, the things i do remembers is that you have to keep replacing them as they get wet and stop working, and they are toxic so make sure that a child/or pet cant easily get them and eat them. it was also brought up that there are non-toxic products you can buy that do the same thing. Quote Link to comment
Jeremy Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 I have some stinky ammo cans, probably due to 50 years of old air inside. I wonder if a few squirts of Febreeze would work? Jeremy Irish Groundspeak - The Language of Location Quote Link to comment
Luffliffloaf Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 Perhaps putting a packet of silica gel in your cache would be a good idea? It absorbs moisture. Is this an ok suggestion? It *cannot* be eaten though as it is poisonous, and I don't want anyone to eat it! But it is desperately needed in many damp caches around here. I was thinking about buying maybe 30 small packets of it and leaving it as trade items. What do you think? It's not the cheapest stuff in the world mind you. Loomis Quote Link to comment
+georgeandmary Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 How about the trusty old box of baking soda? george Remember: Half the people you meet are below average. Quote Link to comment
+CYBret Posted August 9, 2002 Author Share Posted August 9, 2002 quote:Originally posted by georgeandmary:How about the trusty old box of baking soda? I thought about that too . . but I'm guessing finding a cache with white powder in it is going to freak somebody out Whatever you do, don't put any of those little decorative soaps in the cache . . I found one with them in it and MAN . . that was nasty! "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44 Quote Link to comment
+brdad Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 I use a product called OdoBan I got at Sam's Club on clothes with fish/lobster smell on them (right in the wash) and I also use it inside my '74 Grand Prix which aquires an odor after being stored Winters. It is also supposed to be anti-fungal and a cleaner. It works real well for those purposes, I have not placed a cache yet so I have not tried it on tupperware/ammo boxes. I do have some empty ammo boxes though, I just wiped a few with some to see if it gets rid of the Army smell. The only downfall with using something like this is you'd have to wipe your container out with it when you did maintenence on your cache, but it should last quite a while depending on how tight the container is and how often it is accessed. No one has mentioned air freshners yet, and I for one am glad - I only have one allergy, and it is for those #$*%*&^#$ things! Especially those flat ones they sell to hang from your rear-view mirrior. I know they bother a lot of other people too. As far as the silica gel, I'm not sure how well they will remove odor, but you can buy them in little (~1") round tins that could be hot glued to the inside of a container. These type can be "recharged" as well by heating in the oven (unglue from tupperware first!) I'd think they'd last quite a while in a tightly closed container where dampness could only enter when it was opened, but not long in one that would let dampness in. Warning: Objects in GPS may be closer than they appear! [This message was edited by brdad on August 09, 2002 at 05:21 PM.] Quote Link to comment
+Team Screamapillar Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 I opened an ammo can that someone had put "wildberry" scented incense in. POW! It about knocked us over the scent was so strong. "Everybody wants to save the world, but nobody wants to help mom with the dishes," -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Link to comment
+Web-ling Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 It helps me locate the cache by sniffing for it. Quote Link to comment
+Runaround Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 That would take the funkiness to a whole new level. Now where did I park my car??????? Quote Link to comment
+LaPaglia Posted August 9, 2002 Share Posted August 9, 2002 quote:I have some stinky ammo cans, probably due to 50 years of old air inside. I wonder if a few squirts of Febreeze would work? Last weekend I used Fabreeze on a unpainted woden box that had been closed for 20 years with an uncleaned pasta machine inside. it worked!!!! try it on the ammo cans. Couldn't hurt Lapaglia "Muga Muchu" (forget yourself, focus). Quote Link to comment
+GOT GPS? Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 I use a slightly smaller Rubbermaid container inside another Rubbermaid container. The inner containers have gotten great comments from cachers, that they were dry and in good condition. ------------------------ My home page about GPS units and information Quote Link to comment
magellan315 Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 I love the smell of a Geoccahe in the morning, it smells like victory. Quote Link to comment
Salvo Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 Dang! that was my line! The stale ammo can smell is a combo of stale air, paint, and a light coating on the cartridges. Seriously, I get excited by that particular smell! Now that funky smell, that's generally from some bacteriological or fungal action, and I don't believe anyone likes THAT! Wiping the container out with a sufficient cleaner and tossing the contents if they cannot also be cleaned in a similar fashion is in order. Quote Link to comment
+TerraX Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 Silica gel packets would be the way to go. Just make certain they are marked as "non-edible" or "not exactly kosher" and stick'em in there. When you visit your cache several weeks later swap the stale one out for a fresh one. Now here is the best part, take the stale one home, put it on a cookie sheet in the oven at 225 for a half hour, and they are ready to roll again. We use big ones for storing optical equipment (telescopes). Chris Quote Link to comment
+CYBret Posted August 10, 2002 Author Share Posted August 10, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Postmaster P:Silica gel packets would be the way to go. Just make certain they are marked as "non-edible" or "not exactly kosher" and stick'em in there. When you visit your cache several weeks later swap the stale one out for a fresh one. Now here is the best part, take the stale one home, put it on a cookie sheet in the oven at 225 for a half hour, and they are ready to roll again. We use big ones for storing optical equipment (telescopes). Chris HEY! Better yet, how about a Silica Gel travel bug!?!?!? It could freshen up caches as it racks up the miles! "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44 Quote Link to comment
+Team StitchesOnQuilts Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 I do not recommend this for actual caches, especially if there is any chance that the cache could get moist. But for cache treasures you bring home, try putting them into a plastic bag with a bar of Safeguard soap for a day or two. This works very well for taking odors out of quilts. The Safeguard smell dissipates pretty quickly once you take the item out of the bag, but the original smell is gone as well. What seems to happen is that the soap draws in the odors. I know I've run across soap that has been in with smelly items, and the soap winds up smelling pretty skanky. Shannah Quote Link to comment
+brdad Posted August 10, 2002 Share Posted August 10, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Team StitchesOnQuilts:I know now I've run across soap that has been in with smelly items... Oh, never mind, I'll keep my mouth shut... An update on my ammo boxes with the OdoBan in it - seems to have worked, the old army smell has left my ammo boxes. I Kinda miss that smell now though... Warning: Objects in GPS may be closer than they appear! Quote Link to comment
+Bluespreacher Posted August 12, 2002 Share Posted August 12, 2002 quote:Originally posted by brdad:I use a product called http://www.cleancontrol.com/odoban.asp I got at Sam's Club on clothes with fish/lobster smell on them (right in the wash) ..... No one has mentioned air freshners yet, and I for one am glad - I only have one allergy, and it is for those #$*%*&^#$ things! Especially those flat ones they sell to hang from your rear-view mirrior. I know they bother a lot of other people too. ..... _Warning: Objects in GPS may be closer than they appear!_ [This message was edited by brdad on August 09, 2002 at 05:21 PM.] Those air fresheners attract animals, too. I had a cache in a tupperware-type container (stupid choice). Someone left one in it and it was ravaged by a raccoon! Maybe Funky is better? Bluespreacher "We've got the hardware and the software, the plans and the maps ..." -- Citizen Wayne Kramer Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted August 13, 2002 Share Posted August 13, 2002 Darby the Wonder Pup uses it to home in on the cache. Quote Link to comment
Dinoprophet Posted August 13, 2002 Share Posted August 13, 2002 I found two caches yesterday (Tupperware-type, both by GOT GPS?) that someone had left bars of soap in. Got a big whiff of Walmart-brand Irish Spring when I opened them. A little overpowering, but better than stale air. Quote Link to comment
+Team MGGPS Posted August 13, 2002 Share Posted August 13, 2002 I would have never thought this thread would last this long. Quote Link to comment
+Bullwinkle Posted August 13, 2002 Share Posted August 13, 2002 Originally posted by CYBret:I noticed Wednesday that 2 out of the 4 caches I hit had developed a "funky" smell, 'snip' I was at acache on Saturday and it had moth balls in it... The screwdriver I traded for still smells Bullwinkle Quote Link to comment
+CYBret Posted August 13, 2002 Author Share Posted August 13, 2002 quote:Originally posted by sbell111:Darby the Wonder Pup uses it to home in on the cache. Maybe I need to specify that the "funky" smell I'm talking about is that musty, slightly moldy smell that you get from anything that's been closed up and left out in the heat. Well, that and the cache with the fishfood in it. . . but that was a whole different kinda funk! One cache had a t-shirt in it. I'm not sure if the shirt contributed to or was just the main recipient of the funk, but it certainly was . . funky. I'm thinking the silica gel packets are the way to go. I've even found some that are edible (anyone want to try that out for me?). I'm still not sure where to get them, but I think it might not be a bad thing to throw in a box. As for mothballs---PHEW! That's just naaaasty! Bret "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44 Quote Link to comment
Lyra Posted August 14, 2002 Share Posted August 14, 2002 I've noticed that the little silica gel packets that are included in shipping boxes of things you buy have printed on the side "Do Not Eat." No matter how hungry I might be, I've never been tempted to open the little packet that came with my stereo and eat it. Usually, I just go to the fridge. Quote Link to comment
+LaPaglia Posted August 14, 2002 Share Posted August 14, 2002 They look similar! on the main thread, place 1-3 charcoal brickettes in a open weave bag and place in the cache. the carbon in the charcoal absorbs odors for 2-3 months. For really strong smells crack the charcoal open into a few pieces. it exposes more surface to the air. Change every 2 - 3 months. Just hope that no one leaves a hot dog to go with the charcoal. Lapaglia "Muga Muchu" (forget yourself, focus). Quote Link to comment
kyleebrock Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 HAHAHAHAHH http://lunarpolicy.net/misc/silica.php Quote Link to comment
+Desert_Warrior Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 All it does is absorb moisture and turn pink. If you eat it, you will just get very thirsty. Drink plenty of water. Yes, it will turn pink, but you will have to check that out for yourself. Mike. KD9KC. El Paso, Texas. Citizens of this land may own guns. Not to threaten their neighbors, but to ensure themselves of liberty and freedom. They are not assault weapons anymore... they are HOMELAND DEFENSE WEAPONS! Quote Link to comment
+beckerbuns Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Loomis and Bughead:Perhaps putting a packet of silica gel in your cache would be a good idea? It absorbs moisture. Is this an ok suggestion? It *cannot* be eaten though as it is poisonous, and I don't want anyone to eat it! But it is desperately needed in many damp caches around here. I was thinking about buying maybe 30 small packets of it and leaving it as trade items. What do you think? It's not the cheapest stuff in the world mind you. Actually, silica gel is not poisonous. It's a salt. It says do not eat on it just to let people know that that is not its purpose. I found this out one time when my toddler ate a packet of it and I called Poison Control. ------------------------------------- Becky Davis San Jose, CA How many geocachers can you fit into an ammo box? Quote Link to comment
+W8TVI Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 Silica gel is silicon dioxide (SiO2). Not salt. http://www.howstuffworks.com/question206.htm GeoX Geocaching gear! Quote Link to comment
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