Arrivederci Aroma: Really Smelly Beads!
I think this is more of an appeal for help than a sharing of knowledge or experience. I have some beads that smell so highly that the dog is after them! Here’s the deal:
They’re exceedingly handsome carved bone rondelles purchased from the Enormous Bead Emporium. You know the one. There are rather a lot of them (four dozen) because I want to use them in some new, affordable rosaries which I’ll be talking a lot about later. They’re absolutely perfect, and when I opened the box, it was love at first sight. However, it wasn’t love at first sniff. The website description advised that this sort of bead has a characteristic “smoky aroma” that could be taken care of by wrapping them in a fabric softener sheet.
I should have known there was a problem when the Beagle glued his nose to the box, tail wagging a mile a minute, before I could even get it open. The “aroma” hit as soon as I opened the lid, and the dog went wild. The fabric softener trick hasn’t gotten the job done. Now I have cloying perfume covering underlying stench. And they really do smell. It’s something between a house that has burned down (an unforgetable smell) and a spousal disaster with the barbecued spare ribs (an unforgettable smell of a different sort). I tried my standard antibacterial soap soak, but that didn’t work at all. I debated between burying them in baking soda and soaking them in white vinegar. The white vinegar won out, and that’s where they are now.
What I want to know is why other bone beads I’ve had over the years, even from this same vendor, have not smelled. I ordered some two weeks ago, and they didn’t smell. I have an urgent request in to them for some help, because I don’t want to give up on these beads. Maybe I should light up a cigarette…
[...] is the latest installment in the continuing saga of the smelly bone beads. The beads arrived on Wednesday, destined for a few of my new, beautifully [...]