I had ordered a used GigaPets Explorer Minipet from eBay. When it arrived it had a very, very strong odor. Somothing like a holiday dessert type of Yankee Candle or those oil plug-ins, plus it had a touch of dryer sheet smell mixed in. My first thought was the seller was trying to cover a smoke odor, though I never noticed any smoke undertones. The scent was so strong it would remain on your hand of you touched it, and it was really intense and gross. Though there was not any residue on the device like something was spilled. It only had the strong smell. I guess it was stored in a box containing something smelly for a long time? I have no idea, but I found a solution to remove the scent! It was easy so I thought I’d share in case anyone else came across this problem.
At first I thought I could just wipe the device with alcohol. This had no effect.
Then I let the device sit out in the room hoping it would just tone down with time. After a month of no change I looked for another solution.
Trying to search online how to remove smells from plastic gets you a lot of results about kitchenware, and I could not dunk this thing in a vat of vinegar (though I wanted to). Other results for electronic plastics mostly dealt with cigarette smoke and leaving it in open air and sunlight. I did not want to put my device in the sun.
Then I came across some information about putting the device in a closed container with charcoal (like actual bbq briquets). This may work, but I found some inexpensive “shoe deodorizers” on Amazon which have activated charcoal in them.
I put the charcoal sachets along with my device into a ziploc baggie and squeezed the air out and zipped it tight. I left it, but checked on it every few days. At first I noticed no difference, and I was thinking it wouldn’t work. However after 2 weeks the smell is almost gone! I couldn’t believe it when I checked it recently. There is still a very faint scent so I am going to leave it longer. Perhaps another 2 weeks.
Wrapped in plastic. I removed the battery cover so any smell inside the device could more easily come out.
Charcoal shoe deodorizer sachets and the device. Be thankful that smell-o-vision isn’t a thing because this thing smelled aweful!
The charcoal has absorbed the smell, and they do not have any smell to them after doing this. I don’t know how it does it, but I’m glad it worked!
At first I thought I could just wipe the device with alcohol. This had no effect.
Then I let the device sit out in the room hoping it would just tone down with time. After a month of no change I looked for another solution.
Trying to search online how to remove smells from plastic gets you a lot of results about kitchenware, and I could not dunk this thing in a vat of vinegar (though I wanted to). Other results for electronic plastics mostly dealt with cigarette smoke and leaving it in open air and sunlight. I did not want to put my device in the sun.
Then I came across some information about putting the device in a closed container with charcoal (like actual bbq briquets). This may work, but I found some inexpensive “shoe deodorizers” on Amazon which have activated charcoal in them.
I put the charcoal sachets along with my device into a ziploc baggie and squeezed the air out and zipped it tight. I left it, but checked on it every few days. At first I noticed no difference, and I was thinking it wouldn’t work. However after 2 weeks the smell is almost gone! I couldn’t believe it when I checked it recently. There is still a very faint scent so I am going to leave it longer. Perhaps another 2 weeks.
Wrapped in plastic. I removed the battery cover so any smell inside the device could more easily come out.
Charcoal shoe deodorizer sachets and the device. Be thankful that smell-o-vision isn’t a thing because this thing smelled aweful!
The charcoal has absorbed the smell, and they do not have any smell to them after doing this. I don’t know how it does it, but I’m glad it worked!
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My aunt grows lavender and had given me sachets of it, so I tossed them in and within a couple hours it stunk of lavender. I used the purse with the sachets in it for a few weeks before taking them out. That was two years ago now and the cigarette and lavender odors are both long gone and it just doesn't smell at all. So that's an another option if charcoal isn't handy but one has an abundance of lavender(I live on my aunt's lavender farm, but I also burn incense so I have charcoal disks to burn it on, so I'm set both ways!) 
