Several years ago an online acquaintance introduced me to a remarkable item. I had been complaining of an obnoxious smell which I simply could not get rid of, and he said “what you need is some of the lava rocks which Lee Valley Tools sell”. “Huh??” I thought. Rocks? Did he have rocks in his head?
But this is a person who is a font of tidbits – always useful – so I trusted him. And I checked it out.
I looked up the lava rock deodorizer on the Lee Valley site, and what I saw was a plastic mesh bag full of, well, rocks. They looked just like the white ornamental rocks, slightly larger than gravel, you often see in flower beds in people’s front yards.
Dubious, yet trusting, I ordered them.
And danged if these things don’t work!
And I have since used them to remove disgusting smells ranging from cigarette smoke clinging to things which I have ordered from eBay (even when the smell had permeated the pages of a book!) to the pervasive perfume left by our unhappy male cat when we went away on vacation.
I don’t know how they work, but they do.
According to the Lee Valley site:
Working like super baking soda, this porous bag of volcanic rock absorbs and neutralizes odors, including strong odors like smoke and perfume.
It works unattended for an unlimited length of time, although it needs to be recharged by placing it in the sun every 6 months and soaking it in salt water then rinsing thoroughly once a year. One of our employees tried it in her vehicle (it had a nasty dog smell). Within a few days, she reported that the odor was gone. Especially useful in musty basements, closets and sheds.
Made from a naturally occurring ionic rock called clinoptilolite. Weighs 2 lb. One bag treats approx. 4800 cubic feet.
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And I’m here to tell you that it’s all true! Thank you, Sheldon!
And they are only $9.95!!
You can buy them here
ut it do I in the sun first and then salt it or soak in salt water then put in sun?