Stinky safe

[Maia007]

I have a new AMSEC gun safe. Now it is in the house.

I saw in the factory literature that the safe needs "airing out". My safe Really Smells when opened. Enough that it stinks up the entire house when left open for a couple of hours.

Don't get me wrong...I am happy with the safe. My wife is not, however. Help me out here.....

I want to know:

(1) The cause of the odor....is it the carpet, the concrete mix interior or what? It smells chemical....if that is so what chemical am I smelling?
(2) What can I do about it? I have left it open for some hours, but after I close it for a day or so and re-open it, we are back to square one in terms of odor.

I have tried placing a fan blowing into the interior, but so far, it hasn't done much. I know that the interior humidity of the safe is about 40%....which is about 20% drier than the room air....so moisture doesn't appear to be a factor.

So all you other guys who have bought new safes....what do I have to look forward to?

 

[hoghunting]

My safe is a different brand and didn't have any odor. To help rid the odor, crumple up some newspaper and put it on the floor of the safe, and put a few boxes of baking soda inside the safe and keep the door closed.

 

[Lee Roder]

Might be a newly made safe. My Sturdy has an "odor" which hasn't yet fully dissipated after 2 months. It's not real bad, but it does smell very different than outside. I think it's from the finish as Sturdy's insides are pretty spartan, no carpeting etc. It does smell a bit like paint. Also the fact that being closed almost always, the air inside doesn't circulate and whatever volatiles there are become "concentrated" inside that space. I guess you just need to air it out some more. I never heard of newspaper odor absorbers, what's the theory there? Maybe I'll try it.

Might want to leave it open while you sleep.

 

[Zeke/PA]

Ditto on the Baking soda suggestion.
Tear open a small box and place in bottom of safe.
Wife does this in the refrigerator often.

 

[hso]

Contact them and ask them about it.

Move the safe (easy to say/difficult to do) into a place you can put forced ventilation with some heat on it to drive off the volatiles you're smelling. Adhesives can give off noxious vapors for quite a while.

If all else fails, put an activated charcoal absorber in it.

 

[dogdollar]

Stuff it with crumpled up newspaper and close the door for 24 hrs. That should do it.
DD

 

[Blue Line]

New Car Smell?

Try a container of Damp Rid or get a Golden Rod for the inside. The inside air should be the same humidity as the room unless you have an airtight safe. If the baking soda doesn't work try these ideas. Good luck.

 

[ept000]

Put a pan of BBQ charcoal inside. The charcoal will absorb the odors, and it's cheap.

 

[Super J]

Blue line is right. Try keeping the moisture down as that may help the situation.

 

[rcmodel]

If you use baking soda in a gun safe, make absolutely 100% sure none of it ever spills or comes in contact with your guns.

It will rust them bright red while you watch it happen!

We had a dry chem (sodium bicarbonate / baking soda) fire extingusher discharge in a machine shop fire once, and everything it came in contact with rusted before we could clean it all up.
A rusty South Bend lathe & mill is a sorry sight.

But not as sorry as your gun safe full of your rusty guns.

rc

 

[rondog]

If I could afford a new AMSEC safe, I'd be happy to smell the fumes!

 

[38SuperMan]

Put some coffee grounds in a shallow cup and set in the bottom of your safe, your odor will be gone in no time. I have to do this with the work fridge all the time for all the co-workers who forget about their perishable left overs.

 

[Floppy_D]

+1 active charcoal.

 

[Quoheleth]

When I paint a room, I put a candle or two in it to help get rid of the fumes.

Empty your safe and place a small candle (think tea light size; no more than a votive) in a flame-resistant container on a flame-resistant surface (brick, upside-down cook pot, etc.) on the floor of the safe. Make sure no cats, etc., can get into the room. Leave the door of the safe open and let the candle burn for a while. Be a good weekend project when you are home to keep an eye on it.

Dibs on new marketing idea: Febreeze for Gunsafes!

Q

 

[a1abdj]

There are a number of things that make a gun safe smell. Imported safes also tend to smell a bit more than domestic safes.

The paint on many gun safes will continue to cure for several weeks after it is painted. This process will create an odor. If your safe was painted right before it shipped you may smell it. If your safe was sitting in a warehouse for several months before you got it, the smell is probably not paint related.

The most common causes are the interiors. The fabric can smell to some degree, but the adhesives used are the main culprit. This isn't much different than the smell in a new car, other than new cars get a lot more air circulation than a safe. Letting the safe air out wouldn't hurt, and all of the ideas mentioned above would certainly help. I have used coffee grounds and baking soda with good success.

You will never get the smell to go away completely. I have 150 year old safes that still smell if you stick your head inside of them.

 

[Maverick223]

Smells like...victory.

I just left mine open for a couple of days, the smell dissipated greatly in that time period, but the adhesives they use in the interior sure start out pungent. If that isn't an acceptable solution, I second the activated charcoal solution.