Getting Rid of the Hoffee Smell

[justonwo]

Unlike New Car Smell and New Guitar Smell, New Hoffee smell is less than pleasing. I'm not sure if it's solvent from the glue they use on the case lining or solvents left over from making the carbon shell, but a pretty strong organic chemical smell hangs around for many months on these cases.

The old advice of just leaving the case open hasn't worked all the well for me. For example, the case for my Fairbanks was left open every night for 2 weeks. The smell still persists even after 10 months. Only my very oldest Hoffee cases (older than 3-4 years) have the odor completely eliminated. Perhaps a hair dryer or heat gun?

Blow a fan on high on the empty case propped wide open?

[Osage]

I have one Hoffee case and it definitely had a smell when it was new. I left it open and out on the porch for a few days and that took care of like 80% of the smell. I then would leave the case open whenever I was playing the guitar it was in and I honestly don't remember how long it too to completely go away but it wasn't that long. Maybe a couple months.

[oliverkollar]

I had a new Austin Calton that had a horrible smell much like you describe. I left it open out in the sun for weeks, still smelled. I ran a fan over it open for weeks, still smelled.

What I found that finally worked was filling up 3 socks with activated carbon I bought from Petco..... for fish tanks? Closed the case up and within a few months the smell was pretty much gone. Not 100% gone, but way better than what it was.

[usb_chord]

Cat litter in panty hose (seriously)

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by oliverkollar

I had a new Austin Calton that had a horrible smell much like you describe. I left it open out in the sun for weeks, still smelled. I ran a fan over it open for weeks, still smelled.

What I found that finally worked was filling up 3 socks with activated carbon I bought from Petco..... for fish tanks? Closed the case up and within a few months the smell was pretty much gone. Not 100% gone, but way better than what it was.

Originally Posted by usb_chord

Cat litter in panty hose (seriously)

Are you guys stuffing them in the space around the guitar or leaving them in an empty case? There isn’t a whole lot of room around the guitar, especially those with no cutaway.

[oliverkollar]

Originally Posted by justonwo

Are you guys stuffing them in the space around the guitar or leaving them in an empty case? There isn’t a whole lot of room around the guitar, especially those with no cutaway.

I left them in the empty case.

Should've said pantyhose.....not socks....oops.

[justonwo]

This is a great idea. Activated carbon is great at adsorbing organic vapors.

[drive-south]

Crazy idea. Ask Hoffee?

[rz1]

I didn't buy it for a guitar case, but I bought a portable ozonator from Amazon for around $50 to remove the mold/mildew smell in my pickup truck. It sits in the street and I didn't realize until it was too late that one of our sprinklers was continuously spraying water at one of the doors, and it leaked enough that it started to mold. Nothing else I did got rid of the smell. I put in the ozonator (about the size of a small speaker) and let it run for about 30 minutes. Smell is now gone.

Note, however, that these things generate ozone, which is toxic to humans and pets if inhaled. Therefore, you need to run it in a confined space, and then let it dissipate before entering the area.

[justonwo]

A few years on with a couple of Hoffee cases and the organic chemical smell persists. I've tried activated carbon in the cases. I've tried leaving them open for days on end. It's odd because the odor in a couple of my Hoffee cases only lasted a few months. These two cases have a very persistent organic vapor odor. It's slightly sweet smelling like the resin from Fiberglas. Not at all pleasant because those two Circas now smell like organic resins instead of, well, wood.

Jeff Hoffee doesn't think there is much of an odor to his cases (what??!), so he doesn't really have any ideas. I suppose the kitty litter route is another way to go.

[Horsehockey]

How about the old refrigerator trick: Open a fresh box of baking soda and keep the case near a warm source or in a warm location to promote more offgassing of the case materials. Leave that box of baking soda in the case closed up for a week and see if you get some relief from the odors.🤷🏼*♂️

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by justonwo

A few years on with a couple of Hoffee cases and the organic chemical smell persists. I've tried activated carbon in the cases. I've tried leaving them open for days on end. It's odd because the odor in a couple of my Hoffee cases only lasted a few months. These two cases have a very persistent organic vapor odor. It's slightly sweet smelling like the resin from Fiberglas. Not at all pleasant because those two Circas now smell like organic resins instead of, well, wood.

Jeff Hoffee doesn't think there is much of an odor to his cases (what??!), so he doesn't really have any ideas. I suppose the kitty litter route is another way to go.

Hi Juston, surprising the smell is still there after a couple of years. Have you tried baking soda as Horsehockey (^) mentioned? I actually put some in my case before. Not just the box but coated my case with it. Makes a mess trying to vacuum it up though and you never really seem to get all of it out. It helped the smell though. I've also tried coffee beans too... but then my case smelled like bad coffee.

[iim7V7IM7]

For what it is worth, one of my six Hoffee cases over the last 8-years has a residual odor. Initially, likely VOCs from the adhesive system, but longer term I suspect improperly cured polyurethane foam with locally uncured areas embedded within the padding that are still outgassing. They will never cure, but will eventually attenuate through evaporation the tortuous path of the open cell foam. The kinetics of this can vary. I do not store my guitars in my cases unless transporting them.

[The Bard Rocks]

I'd leave it open, in the sun with a fan blowing over it - during the day. And then shut it up with baking soda., cat litter, carbon, whatever inside during the night.

I got rid of a really bad chemical smell from a used truck by leaving sage on the dash out in the winter desert sun. I was just trying to mask the smell with what I had at hand, but it turns out this eliminated it. It took a couple of weeks. The sage did smell nice.