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."*
Cindy, We've had great luck with kitty litter! We have a large bin with litter at the bottom, and we'll keep the smelly items in there for a day or two, depending on severity. On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 11:43 AM Cindy Persic via Michlib-l < michlib-l@liblists.org> wrote:
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."* _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- michlib-l@liblists.org To unsubscribe send an email to michlib-l-leave@liblists.org
-- *Julianne Kammer* Library Director Lois Wagner Memorial Library (586) 727-2665
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." [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4y1Xx_GKTNT48GOlJ2BZ7VhkMIQR...]
At my last library, we used an Ozone machine and it worked beautifully. It removed cigarette, cat, and marijuana smells, as well as any other funky smells. We used it on books, DVDs, and random stuff. It is also not too expensive. This is not the one we had, but it probably would work (since I don't work at that library anymore I can't run and check). Amazon <https://www.amazon.com/Generator-Machine-Eliminator-Ozonator-Deodorizer/dp/B0DPD6X5F2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=KWN3M7K2EPTZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RgHXbAxOMeX6wzliyQFRsP6JLD513AGHzEbwnImZP2XPkmaCD25A2XenEbO0vEVKdNz4K5zLVrfVVdpsKaaK2M1-I-2lozgcxyjuGkWMLkhXM8PamPyuKGNbTc2C9OvuLvCKj19nC6FdO3joDEfR0mxkEM8VSpSdp2H_KGc36pjVsA45X_9nnTuN4O5Pmi8BfTXKvi8tJIq7yf3w3CGlzMNnHrVkteJ45QZHsUQspZk.UHuBSPp8ouNbX3PidYAv0dMQZ-ezETc--MtJKKE0keI&dib_tag=se&keywords=ozone%2Bodor%2Beliminator&qid=1767986427&sprefix=ozone%2Bodor%2Belimnato%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1> If you're interested, I could reach out to my old library and see which exact model they use. Hope this helps! On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 12:03 PM Nancy Folaron via Michlib-l < michlib-l@liblists.org> wrote:
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."* _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- michlib-l@liblists.org To unsubscribe send an email to michlib-l-leave@liblists.org
We have used large Ziplock's with fabric sheets; left the items in the bags a for a few days. Rebecca Parker Circulation Supervisor Charlevoix Public Library 231-547-2651 [X] ________________________________ From: Michelle Parker via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org> Sent: Friday, January 9, 2026 2:24 PM To: Nancy Folaron <nancy.folaron@mysdl.org> Cc: michlib-l@liblists.org <michlib-l@liblists.org>; Cindy Persic <cindyp@bridgmanlibrary.com> Subject: [Michlib-l] Re: Smelly books At my last library, we used an Ozone machine and it worked beautifully. It removed cigarette, cat, and marijuana smells, as well as any other funky smells. We used it on books, DVDs, and random stuff. It is also not too expensive. This is not the one we had, but it probably would work (since I don't work at that library anymore I can't run and check). Amazon<https://www.amazon.com/Generator-Machine-Eliminator-Ozonator-Deodorizer/dp/B0DPD6X5F2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=KWN3M7K2EPTZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RgHXbAxOMeX6wzliyQFRsP6JLD513AGHzEbwnImZP2XPkmaCD25A2XenEbO0vEVKdNz4K5zLVrfVVdpsKaaK2M1-I-2lozgcxyjuGkWMLkhXM8PamPyuKGNbTc2C9OvuLvCKj19nC6FdO3joDEfR0mxkEM8VSpSdp2H_KGc36pjVsA45X_9nnTuN4O5Pmi8BfTXKvi8tJIq7yf3w3CGlzMNnHrVkteJ45QZHsUQspZk.UHuBSPp8ouNbX3PidYAv0dMQZ-ezETc--MtJKKE0keI&dib_tag=se&keywords=ozone%2Bodor%2Beliminator&qid=1767986427&sprefix=ozone%2Bodor%2Belimnato%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1> If you're interested, I could reach out to my old library and see which exact model they use. Hope this helps! On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 12:03 PM Nancy Folaron via Michlib-l <michlib-l@liblists.org<mailto:michlib-l@liblists.org>> wrote: 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<mailto:michlib-l@liblists.org>> Sent: Friday, January 9, 2026 11:43 AM To: michlib-l@liblists.org<mailto:michlib-l@liblists.org> <michlib-l@liblists.org<mailto: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." [https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4y1Xx_GKTNT48GOlJ2BZ7VhkMIQR...] _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list -- michlib-l@liblists.org<mailto:michlib-l@liblists.org> To unsubscribe send an email to michlib-l-leave@liblists.org<mailto:michlib-l-leave@liblists.org>
participants (5)
-
Cindy Persic -
Julianne Kammer -
Michelle Parker -
Nancy Folaron -
Rebecca Parker