Odor -- Musty Or Possible Smoke

I bought some stamp lots from ebay dealers. They are all in great shape (no visible damage or mold) but they do have a musty (old book) and possible nicotine/smoke smell. The smell is mild but noticeable. I have searched the internet and found many contradicting points of view on how to handle this.

-Is the smell a contagious issue that can jump to other stock pages or other books?

-Will putting them in the stockbook stop any further smell/mildew/etc. from growing?

-Can I just rinse out the smell by either:
1.) Dip in almost-boiling water -- quick rinse to kill any mildew?
2.) Water with some mild anti-bacterial soap?
3.) Water with bleach?
4.) Water with vinegar?

-What about using baking soda?

The stamps all look great, they just have a mild smell!

Thank you for any ideas.

p.s. all my stamps are inexpensive so I am not asking about investment/archival, but rather just to keep my fun/topicals/geography/history/etc. as nice collections in stockbooks.

p.s.s. My location is Maine, USA so we have humid summer and dry winter.

Hello,
As a native Mainiac, I can agree about the weather.
Honestly... The nicotine smell will dissipate in time, just let the stuff air out. (as long as you don't smoke). That has been successful for me. As far as mustiness goes.. I'll leave that to the experts on here to advise.

Yes, the "smoke" smell on the stamps will dissipate with time. When that happens to me, I usually let the stamps air out for a couple of days. It really doesn't take much time at all.

I don't know what the stamps were contained in. If it's an album, it is unlikely the smell will go away anytime soon. Albums tend to have a much larger surface area. I do not reuse albums that have a smoky smell.

Regarding the "musty" smell. Quite frankly, that is not a good sign. You should check out the stamps/albums with a filtered long-wavelength UV lamp. That will pick up any mildew/mold before it gets out of control. Problem stamps/albums, you will see "splotches" under the UV. The splotches may be round or odd-shaped, dark or bright, depending on whether it is mildew/mold/acid. I don't recommend disinfecting and adding any problem stamps directly into your collection, unless you really really know and are confident of what you are doing. It's simply not worth the risk of spreading mildew/mold to the rest of your stamps. Any problem stamps should be kept isolated/separate.

If the stamps/albums show up clean under filtered long-wavelength UV, then just air out the stamps. Sometimes it's not mold/mildew, but just the previous owner's "house smell" or "storage smell".

I am annoyed at my self for giving away a black light at a garage sale last year... I knew I should have kept it.

Most standard consumer grade black lights don't work well for fine-detection on stamps. A philatelic or research grade (i.e., filtered) UV lamp is much preferred. (My opinion, of course).

Good advice above,

this, I would leave well alone, or you will do irreperable damage.

-Can I just rinse out the smell by either:
1.) Dip in almost-boiling water -- quick rinse to kill any mildew?
2.) Water with some mild anti-bacterial soap?
3.) Water with bleach?
4.) Water with vinegar?

-What about using baking soda?

Thanks for re-emphasizing that, Rod!

Anti-bacterial soap won't reduce anything on a stamp except it's resale value.

The bleach/vinegar/... is only partially effective, but there is a high risk for irreversible and major damage to the stamp. It also depends on exactly what you are trying to remove. Anything you do to remove mold/mildew/toning will leave a tell-tale sign.

Any water-based solution will remove gum.

Again, my suggestion is keep those problem stamps isolated.

However, if you simply want to keep the stamps for sentimental reasons without regard to future retail value, then do whatever you want. I know of some collectors who painstakingly cleaned and repaired their original childhood collection, even though it would have been cheaper to buy replacements. Few things trump "sentimental" value.

I haven't bothered trying to treat the original stamp collection my Mom gave me -- I just keep it isolated, and enjoy thumbing through it every once in a while! Same thing with my original childhood collection -- I keep it separate from my current collection just for the memories, even though there are actually a number of stamps in there that are not in my current main collection!

k