# How to deodorize sea shells? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deodorize-sea-shells/352912 "2006-04-16T21:36:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deodorize-sea-shells/352912/1 "2006-04-16T21:36:56Z")
We just got back from Spring Break in sunny Florida, and the Gas kids (7 & 10) predictably picked up any sea shell that look remotely interesting. And boy do they smell. I boiled the lot of them, then baked them for 30 minutes at 325[sup]o[/sup]F to dry them out but they still smell like Neptune’s locker room. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2006, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deodorize-sea-shells/352912/2 "2006-04-16T21:52:42Z")
[QUOTE=CookingWithGas] We just got back from Spring Break in sunny Florida, and the Gas kids (7 & 10) predictably picked up any sea shell that look remotely interesting. And boy do they smell. I boiled the lot of them, then baked them for 30 minutes at 325[sup]o[/sup]F to dry them out but they still smell like Neptune’s locker room. Any ideas? [/QUOTE] [This](http://www.seashells.org/cleaning/liveseashells.htm) looks useful. I independently developed the bleach method and it has worked on the very rare occassions I have cleaned and deodorized seashells. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deodorize-sea-shells/352912/3 "2006-04-17T02:45:03Z")
Hydrogen peroxide is good at removing lots of smells from lots of things. I don’t know if it will remove ocean funk from sea shells, but it’s worth a shot. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deodorize-sea-shells/352912/4 "2006-04-17T02:51:34Z")
Baking soda to the rescue! Bury the shells in a dish of baking soda, stir the stuff around every day, and give the shells a sniff test every couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deodorize-sea-shells/352912/5 "2006-04-17T02:52:52Z")
If there’s no more flesh on them, bury them in a shitload of coffee powder for a while. The sea funk wil be gone, replaced by the pleasant aroma of coffee. ---
**Author:** ![peri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@peri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peri)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-deodorize-sea-shells/352912/6 "2006-04-17T16:24:30Z")
[QUOTE=Stark Raven Mad] If there’s no more flesh on them, bury them in a shitload of coffee powder for a while. The sea funk wil be gone, replaced by the pleasant aroma of coffee. [/QUOTE] Will you then hear the sound of a percolator when the shells are held to your ear?