Funky Smell

[mdjtlj]

Greetings,

I've been running around with my Empire Builder (EB) for about three years now and absolutely love it. I also travel for work extensively and use an Aeronaut for this. I've most recently been having problems with my EB in that it has developed a little bit of a "funk". (I would not been surprised if this were the Aeronaut based upon my socks....).

First off, I don't pack a lunch or food in the bag itself, so it is not something like crumbs or spilled water/soda/tea/whatever. It is strictly a computer, cords/mice, Kindle and papers. I will admit that we are in Houston, so it is quite humid all of the time. The bag does not get soaked in rainstorms or the like, so I'm a bit mystified at this point on how to get the smell out. Some days it is worse than others.

I see on the website that there is a MiraZyme Odor Eliminator, has anyone tried this? Seems awful harsh to take this entire bag and to completely submerge it, that goes against all logic for me on what you would do with a bag? If you do perform this soaking, how long does it normally take for this to dry? Assume you should remove all of the straps and brain cell before doing this.

Any suggestions on this would be appreciated.

Michael

[Darcy]

I agree that it seems strange to submerge the Empire Builder in a sink or bath tub full of water, but it's totally ok to do so. Use the MiraZyme -- it should get rid of the funk entirely (it's strong enough to even remove cigarette smoke and cat urine odors.) How long it will take the Empire Builder to dry depends on your climate and you said it's humid where you are, so you may want to wash it on a Friday night so that it has all weekend to dry. Make sure the places between the layers of foam dries completely!

[darbs]

Has anybody used the Mirazyme? I just got a LCB from eBay and it has a slight odor to it. How long does it take to dry?

[Darcy]

I've used the MiraZyme and it works great. Many customers have reported success using it, even to get rid of cigarette smoke or cat urine odors. A Large Cafe Bag shouldn't take too long to dry.... let's say it's in a toasty warm laundry room, hanging up on a line or laying flat on a towel. It should dry completely in 5-8 hours.

[darbs]

Oh, so overnight then should work! Good to know, thanks Darcy! I'll probably be calling you guys tomorrow; it needs a new strap too.

[moriond]

Has anybody used the Mirazyme? I just got a LCB from eBay and it has a slight odor to it. How long does it take to dry?

Congrats, darbs. This was the large cafe bag you were asking about? I wonder whether the interior color could be deep blue, which is a really pretty blue that was last available around 2008, I think. Take a look at this blog post with the picture of brain cells in multiple colors. The top brain cell is deep blue. (Web paste searching and editing with cut and paste is more challenging on an iPad touch screen using vital keyboard and gestures, especially when it turns out that the blog post you are looking for to illustrate the deep blue color turns out to be title "Brain Cell in Olive").

[darbs]

It could be! It is definitely darker than sapphire, but NOT as dark as Navy. The steel is darker than the steel inside my MCB but the two together work really well. I'll post pics later on (I'm hiding it from the BF for now!)
Oh, and why don't Brain Cells come in all of those colors anymore???? I would totally buy one that isn't black!

[moriond]

Oh, and why don't Brain Cells come in all of those colors anymore???? I would totally buy one that isn't black!

Economic realities. Read the thread "If the Brain Cell came in only two colors ..." to see when it happened.