D&D 5E strong smelling books

[Mike Myler]

My copy of The Book of Exalted Darkness smells like fear, spoiled meat, and the tears of lost children. Is that the same sort of problem do you think?

FEED THE MEAT

Spoiler

Got a supplement coming to BED soon too (ordering the proof this week with a handful of books for other things)

Spoiler

 

[GreyLord]

What I do (though normally for older books that have been exposed to dampness or cigarette smoke) is use dryer sheets. You use about 1/3 of a sheet between pages. Use about two sheets total. Cut them around lengthwise into 6 strips. Place one strip on the inside covers in the front and back (so that's two strips), and then place the rest of them equally through the book as close to the spine as possible in between the pages.

The sheets should absorb any smells or other particles (though your books will smell like the dryer sheets for a while after that instead).

The benefit to this is that you get it in between the book and you do not break the spine. Baking Soda will remove the smell, but if the book is closed, it will not be able to get it from inside the book covers, where a majority of the smell comes from. In order to do this, you either need to have the book wide open (which can hurt the spine over time), or actually put Baking Soda in it (which also is bad for the book).

If you want, you can put the dryer sheets in the method above, but then also put the book itself in a container with the baking soda (but keeping the powder from touching the book, unless you like dusty books and such).

 

[pukunui]

Just an update: my BG and Wildemount books still reek. My Theros book smells a little bit but nowhere near as bad. My newest book, Rime of the Frostmaiden, doesn’t smell at all.

I’m also fairly certain it’s the glue in the bindings, not the ink.

I wonder if maybe there’s been a bit of an over-correction with extra binding glue to account for the early books that didn’t have enough and were falling apart.

 

[Ancalagon]

I haven’t tried a fan but I did leave the Descent book open for the better part of a day. Didn’t really help.

It's off-gassing, it may take several weeks unfortunately :/

 

[pukunui]

It's off-gassing, it may take several weeks unfortunately :/

I’ve had the BG book since it was first released so like a year ago?

 

[Ancalagon]

I’ve had the BG book since it was first released so like a year ago?

That's not good...

 

[pukunui]

Admittedly I haven’t kept it open that whole time but yeah, it still smells so much I literally can’t read it.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Check where it was printed. Printers in China and the Baltic states cut lots of corners; the use of basic formaldehyde-based glues is not uncommon, and would explain the horrible smell.

 

[pukunui]

Check where it was printed. Printers in China and the Baltic states cut lots of corners; the use of basic formaldehyde-based glues is not uncommon, and would explain the horrible smell.

As far as I can tell, all the 5e products are printed in the USA.

Just picked up my hard copy of Tasha's. Sadly it also has the glue smell, but it's more along the lines of my Theros book. The Baldur's Gate book is still, by far, the worst of the smelly ones.

 

[Zardnaar]

As far as I can tell, all the 5e products are printed in the USA.

Just picked up my hard copy of Tasha's. Sadly it also has the glue smell, but it's more along the lines of my Theros book. The Baldur's Gate book is still, by far, the worst of the smelly ones.

Can you roll it up and smoke it?