Cindy,
We use Nature's Air Sponge Odor Absorber for odor control. Buy it at our local Ace store. It's about a 5 inch wide disk container and you just have to take the top off. It's not messy and it's also not too perfumy so the books really don't pick up a new
smell. I just replaced this one after maybe 6 months?
We keep a tote for this all the time since it's a regular problem but because it's not messy we can use the tote for other uses if necessary. We keep them in the tote about a week.
Nancy
Nancy Folaron
Assistant Director/Branch Manager
Shiawassee District Library/Durand Memorial Branch
700 N. Saginaw St.
Durand, MI 48429
989-288-3743
From: Cindy Persic via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org>
Sent: Friday, January 9, 2026 11:43 AM
To: michlib-l@liblists.org <michlib-l@liblists.org>
Subject: [Michlib-l] Smelly books
We have several patrons who return books smelling heavily of cigarette smoke as well as marijuana. We do not have a process in place to remove the odors. I was thinking of an air-tight plastic bin with maybe baking soda or activated charcoal. Does anyone
have suggestions on how to best deal with the smell? We don't want to just mask it with a dryer sheet. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Cindy Persic
Cataloging/Collections
"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
