the bkr archives

You just scored a beautiful new sleeve on posh, waited a week for it to ship, open the box and…it STINKS. What are you supposed to do now??

Here are our best tried-and-true tricks for getting odors out of bkr sleeves, collected from members of the bkr exchange community.

VINEGAR SOAK – light odor

The first method is the baking soda vinegar soak. In a mixture of water, vinegar, and if you’d like, baking soda, make sure that your sleeves are fully submerged and soak them for as long as you want.

My experience – I’ve let a particularly bad sleeve soak for 6ish hours, in a small bowl of water, just enough to cover the sleeves, with about a cup of white vinegar and a good squeeze of Dawn dish soap – this method is definitely for light odors, because it did help a little, but the smell was still lingering.

FREEZER – medium odor

The next method is also very time consuming, and meant for light/medium odors. Put your fully dry bkr sleeves in the freezer, and leave them (at least) overnight to see if the odor is absorbed in the freezer.

Member Experience – “Valentina & Everly were super stinky when they arrived to me, so I popped them into the freezer for a full week and then ran them through the dishwasher and that made the smell go away.” -@whisky.wine.everythingfine

BAKING – strong odor

The last method, which does seem to be the most successful with our members, is to bake your sleeves. A lot of suggestions are to bake the sleeve at a very low temperature, around 250°, for 30 minutes up to an hour depending on the severity of the odor. Make sure the rack in the oven is at its lowest setting, so that the sleeve is not too close to the heat source (to prevent any scorching). It is also recommended to place your sleeves on a baking sheet.

This method can give the best results but beware – whatever odor is coming off of your sleeve can dissipate into your kitchen, making it smell bad. You might need to air out the house afterward!

Member Experience – “I did it in a clear glass Pyrex dish on its side. I did periodically flip it, but I’m not sure that was necessary. I started at 250 and went up to 300 for about an hour at a time. Some smells take longer than others to get out. Just note that whatever the sleeve smells like will temporarily make its way into your house while you’re baking it.” @sweet k

LET IT AIR OUT – chemical smell

If your brand new sleeve has a weird chemical smell, the best thing to do is be patient. According to the @mybkr Instagram, “If it’s a new sleeve smell, the best thing to do is let it air out for a few days. The smell is not toxic. It’s just a result of the manufacturing process and it will fade with air and time.”

Do you have any other methods of odor removal that we haven’t covered here? Send us an email, and we would be happy to add it to the list! You can also find lots of discussion posts in the group by searching “smell”. Good luck!