Monday: My neighbour has a run-in with her ex. (Despite the restraining order.)
Tuesday, early evening: I loan my neigbour my phone while I'm out for the evening so she can call her mom to make arrangements to move back to her home province. I ask her to put it back in the bag on the door when she's done so that it doesn't smell as smoky as it has the past few times she borrowed it.
Tuesday, late evening: The phone is in the plastic bag hanging from my doorknob... but it's wet. With something scented. She tried to be helpful, but I'm allergic to perfume and scented stuff. I wipe it down as best I can, and put it back on the receiver.
Wednesday evening: a friend calls, but I can't talk because the phone is still perfumed.
Thursday morning: I leave a note for my neighbour, saying that I know that she meant well, but never *ever* do that again.
Thursday evening: My dad calls, but the phone still stinks. I talk briefly, but keep it short so that I don't get a headache. I try wiping the phone down with rubbing alcohol, but it still stinks.
Anyone know how to get perfume out of plastic? The phone body is hard plastic, they keys are soft plastic, and both stink. *sigh* Do I wait it out, or do I spring for a new phone? (Why do things keep costing me money this term? I know I'm earning more because of the teaching, but I'd really like to save that extra cash for a new laptop to replace my five-year-old one, and ideally a vacation too... at least for bus fare to the lake and back.)
5 comments:
wrap it in newspaper (in a box with crumbled newspaper)... might work. newspaper absorbs scent. maybe also add some baking soda but I am not sure how that will work on hard plastic. sorry about that (from someone else sensitive to perfume and the like). :/
I could see baking soda. Or activated charcoal. Or kitty litter.
Or telling your neighbor to buy you a new phone since she ruined your old one. (I'm betting that won't work, but it's what SHOULD happen.)
Ideally that would be the case, but she still isn't getting her child tax benefit, and so is trying to live off of $400/month, and has two kids as well. :P (If I do get a new phone, I'm not loaning her that one.)
I would go to a pet store, they have a lot of products for deodorizing. Maybe they sell some type of wipe.
Hmmm... I'm not sure how well things like baking soda or newspaper would work, since they probably just absorb the smell that's already off-gassed, not what is still soaked into the plastic. I might try it if it keeps up. Newspaper is probably better than powder, since the powder would get in where the keys come out, and in the charging area.
Do the pet wipes work on smells in general, or do they focus on denaturizing specific proteins found in urine, etc? And do they come in "unscented"? (If not, they'll probably just make the problem worse. :P )
Thanks for the suggestions! I'm not sure if any of them will work, but I still appreciate them. :)
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