Leather handbag

[mrsmurphey]

I have been given a beautiful patchwork leather handbag, but oh1 what a terrible smell it has. Has anyone any ideas how to get rid of it, It i not a "leatherylike" smell.

[boxtops]

Cover it with a teatowel which doesn't touch the leather, and Febreze the cloth - or leave the bag out of doors in the daytime to air?

[mrsmurphey]

what is fabreze? I live in an upstairs flat without a garden so cannot try that.

[Mosaic]

Soak a tissue in a nice-smelling essential oil , wrap losely in another tissue (so the oil doesn't stain) and put that inside the handbag for a while...
Or fill it with some pot pourri.....

[Tilly2]

Is it the inside or the outside of the bag that smells?

[mrsmurphey]

Thankyou mosaic, I can try that as I do not know fabreze. Is it a product?. As I am over 80 and completely nhousebound, I have nit been in a shop for years,

[mrsmurphey]

Till it is the whole bag that smells

[Tilly2]

It's probably damp. If it's a new bag, it might have been stuffed with smelly damp paper. It needs to be aired. Is it posible to turn it inside out and hang it out of the window? Febreeze is a spray which supposedly takes the smell out of smelly fabrics. Haven't used it myself.

[boxtops]

Febreze is an air freshener for fabrics, sorry I didn't realise that you can't get out - but it's in all the shops.

[hc4361]

Bicarb of soda. Put loose bicarb inside the bag, put the bag inside a big plastic bag ( a supermarket carrier if it's big enough) and put more bicarb inside that - and shake.
Leave for 24 hours. It should absorb all the smells and not be too difficult to clean off.

[sandraallen]

I tried this homemade solution for my leather jacket I bought from http://www.jafrum.com. You put your leather bag on a plastic where it fits or in a pillow case then pour enough baking soda and a small amount of vinegar and shake it a little and leave it for about 5-7days. After a week, you can get your item and brush off some baking soda and apply leather conditioner to restore its look. It is really effective.