There’s nothing worse than opening a tool box to be welcomed by the most horrible smell. I mean horrible. I was ready to give up on my picture hanging project. I quickly closed the tool box lid.
For a while, I’ve known I had to deal with this smell. The funny thing is, these are all the tools I have. Oh, I lied, I do have a hammer and a staple gun, but I knew they were not the smelly culprits.
So, a five minute picture hanging project turned into a two hour long project.
I got my bucket out, I put the tools in it. I added some dishwashing soap, baking soda, water and then some vinegar. Wow – it was a sizzling explosion in the bucket.
After half an hour, I scrubbed my tools in the water they were sitting in. Dumped water, rinsed the tools, put tools back in bucket. Then, added more water, detergent, baking soda and vinegar.
After another half an hour, I decided to add more baking soda and vinegar. Again the sizzle.
Finally, after an hour, I decided I was done. I rinsed the tools, put them on the towel to dry.
RESULT – Only one tool has a very faint smell. The second one from the top. The others, nothing.
BIG QUESTION – Will the smell be gone forever OR will it come back after some time? I’m not sure, but boy is it nice not to have my tools smelling so bad.
How have you dealt with smelly tools?
Brilliant Viewpoint 
I got a laugh out of this one, Monica (probably not the reaction you were hoping for). I can’t say I’ve ever encountered “smelly tools” in all my years of having them – and I have a lot of tools. Frankly, my first thought here was, “Help – Why does my DOG smell so bad?” But he’s old now and can’t help some of what sticks to his fur. Good thing we have an appointment with the groomer next week 🙂
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lol – I Googled this, other people have this problem. I think it might be the plastic used on the tools.
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Now I’m finding myself humming Lisa Kudrow’s Smelly Cat 🤪
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Before I can answer, do my tools smell, what kind of smell did you encounter? Tools naturally smell, like Dave’s dog.
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Yes, it was a made dog smell or sulfur smells. And that smell gets into the entire tool box, so that everything has to be cleaned out. I Googled this, others have the problem too. It might be the plastic handles.
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My bet is the plastic or an oil applied to the metal to retard rusting.
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Yes, in Googling, it’s a common complaint.
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I’ve read about screwdriver handle stink. Something to do with decomposition of acetate or butylrubber handles on tools like screwdrivers. Some say throw them away and start over. Others say clean them all then dip them in a new rubber or something like polyurethane. There are other variations on this.
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Thanks for sharing. After some Googling, I had read similar stories. I wasn’t in the mood to buy more things to dip them in, etc. So thought I would try the baking soda/vinegar which seems to work for almost everything we need to clean or tackle, even clogged drains. Amazing, really.
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We’ve never had smelly tools and they have lived in our garage in desert heat for decades.
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LUCKY YOU!!
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Did you ever figure out what caused it?
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I did some Googling. It seems it is the type of plastic used on the handles. Other people have this issue as well.
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How very strange. I’ve never had that happen but I did have a friend who found a dead mouse in one of his boxes.
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Oh no.. OK, I’ll take the bad tool smell over a dead mouse. LOL
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My husband deals more with the tools as I am not much of a fixer upper. We have tools for everything-no smells yet.
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That’s great!!
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Some plastics do deteriorate over time and smell bad. It could also be various microbes — bacteria, fungus, stale water. I do two things to keep this from happening: 1. don’t use a tool box, I hang my tools on a pegboard so they stay dry. 2. Buy new tools all the time.
and three, I live in the desert, nothing lives here except me and my cats.
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Very good, #3 was funny. I think you are right about not having tools in a tool box.
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Hi. There’s a pretty good chance that the smells, should they re-develop, won’t be too bad if you keep the tools in an open box. Good luck!
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Good idea, air would be good!
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Hmm, my tools must all be too old to have the smelly plastic. Mine smell like old oil and cars that won’t start. Smells like a challenge to me, so I kind of like it. Glad you solved your smelly tool problem.
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LOL – Well, it was temporary. I put my tools away and they are back to smelling bad. It has to do with the break down of the plastic handle. I Googled it. I think it’s time for a few new tools. It’s only a few, not all of them. If you Google it, you’ll see it’s a big problem many people have.
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