# Why do most used book and CD stores smell nasty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995 "2005-07-18T17:09:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/1 "2005-07-18T17:09:14Z")
My wife and I were walking to a farmer’s market yesterday and passed a CD store specializing in used discs. The door was open, and even across the sidewalk we could smell the musty air pooled in front of the store. My wife turned to me and asked why every used CD store reeked. As soon as she said it, I realized that matched my experience – almost every used CD or book store smells strongly of must and mold. I’d always associated the smell specifically with used book stores\*, but CD stores have it too. It’s not a smell I associate with stores that sell new books or CDs, so it can’t only be a matter of what they sell. My guess: profit margins on used media are slim, which means that those stores tend to be located in cheap, old buildings that tend to smell musty. And they rarely run air conditioning, again because of the expense, which doesn’t help. Basically, it’s expensive not to reek, and used media merchants don’t have the cash to invest in fresh air. Am I right? Are there other forces at work? Are our perceptions skewed – are stinky used book and CD stores the exception? \*“Used bookstore” sounds like the store was used, but Google has a few thousand more hits for that than for “used book store.” Ah, usage. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/2 "2005-07-18T18:29:24Z")
Wouldn’t you suppose it’s because old books smell? When you go to someone’s house and smell their books, they probably smell like the things they cook and smoke in that house. You wouldn’t notice how your books smell because they smell like the rest of your house. Used book stores are full of books that have been in storage or have sat in someone’s house absorbing smells for years. If you put it all together, it will smell bad. The Salvation Army store always stinks too. They use a lot of deodorizer and things, but that makes it smell even worse. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/3 "2005-07-18T18:51:51Z")
I _love_ the Old-Bookstore Smell! Makes me think of . . . umm, old books! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/4 "2005-07-18T18:54:03Z")
Yeah, that’s a good smell to me. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/5 "2005-07-18T18:54:46Z")
[Ask a Scientist - Old Book Smell](http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen99/gen99988.htm) > [@](#): > > There could be some volatile compounds that are present in the paper, but > I suspect mildew is the probable cause. It has a characteristic “musty” odor > and only takes a small amount of moisture and darkness to activate mildew > spores. > > # Vince Calder > > Somebody correct me if I am wrong. Books are (or used > to be) made of acidic paper. Over time, the paper > breaks down. The smell could be a by product of the > decay. Another reason might be that the paper absorbs > moisture. The moisture allows mildew, bacteria, etc. > to grow. This is what causes the smell. > > Hope this helps > -Wil Lam ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/6 "2005-07-18T18:56:49Z")
Old Bookstore smell is one of the best odors I know. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/7 "2005-07-18T18:59:05Z")
Another one who loves that smell…if I was rich, that’d be my job, running an old bookstore. I’d open at odd hours, glower at people, make things smell funny, so _no one would actually buy a book_\*. Come to think of it, maybe that’s what they already do. \*Shamlessly stolen from a Pratchett book. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/8 "2005-07-18T19:15:45Z")
For several years I worked in a used book store. The store is now closed, but the odor of book mold seeped into my clothing, and even after numerous washings, some of my clothes still have a faint scent of old books. For me, it’s a good, nostalgic smell. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/9 "2005-07-18T19:27:26Z")
These are all good answers, but they don’t explain why the same smell comes from stores that sell used CDs. Although I realized that the store we passed yesterday probably sells old vinyl albums, as well, with their cardboard sleeves. I imagine the same funky chemistry is at work with album covers as with books. Finally, while I don’t love old book smell, I don’t mind it. Some stores truly reek of it, though, and almost any smell gets oppressive when it’s turned up to 11. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/10 "2005-07-18T19:30:54Z")
[QUOTE=Interrobang!?] These are all good answers, but they don’t explain why the same smell comes from stores that sell used CDs. QUOTE] Grubby buildings. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/11 "2005-07-18T19:44:29Z")
I’ve always referred to the source of that smell as “mummy dust.” ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/12 "2005-07-18T20:37:09Z")
I’ve always thought that used CD stores smell way worse than used bookstores. They smell different to me. CD stores just reek, I don’t know why. Bookstores smell like musty old books–mostly good, but then the owner might not clean well, which makes it bad. One local used bookstore here has hideous festoons of dusty cobwebs over all the shelves; it does not help. He charges enough for the books, you’d think he could run a broom around every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/13 "2005-07-18T20:44:36Z")
Of course if it’s a comic-book store, that smell is your fellow patrons, not the books. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/14 "2005-07-18T21:07:21Z")
\*vinegar \*from non-acid-free paper ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/15 "2005-07-18T22:04:43Z")
> [@Interrobang!?](#): > > These are all good answers, but they don’t explain why the same smell comes from stores that sell used CDs. People keep the good CDs. They only sell off the ones that stink. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/16 "2005-07-18T23:30:05Z")
The only time the smell in a book store bothered me was in a new book store. When Barnes & Noble opened a branch in Amherst, NY they installed hundreds of feet of shelving - all newly finished. The building had basically no ventilation except the front door. A year later and you could still smell the chemicals when you entered the store. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/17 "2005-07-19T01:34:06Z")
I just noticed that, for whatever reason, I called bookstore smell “nasty,” rather than funky. Mental glitch. That explains the defensiveness in some earlier posts… ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/18 "2005-07-19T15:17:07Z")
Years ago I boxed up a bunch of my parents old paperbacks, and some of mine, and took them to a local used book store to sell for credit. The proprietor bought only two of mine that were fairly new and nothing else. When I asked why, she held one of the older books up to my nose and asked if I smelled that. Though I didn’t smell anything in particular, I said yes, and she said that, if she put these books on her shelves, within a month every book in the place would smell like mine did. I still have those old books. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/19 "2005-07-19T15:37:32Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > When Barnes & Noble opened a branch in Amherst, NY they installed hundreds of feet of shelving - all newly finished. The building had basically no ventilation except the front door. A year later and you could still smell the chemicals when you entered the store. I remember that store, but it was more the smell of offgassing from new carpets and laminates than books. Unlike the chains, the two Talking Leaves stores in Buffalo have a distinctive new book smell, but it’s more of a sharp scent than the warmer musty old book aroma. Whenever I’ve been in a used record store, incense was always burning somewhere. I’ve also _never_ encountered a used record store that didn’t sell incense. Maybe that’s what the OP is smelling? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995/20 "2005-07-19T15:56:12Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > Old Bookstore smell is one of the best odors I know. I agree. If there were “Old Bookstore Scented Candles” I’d buy and burn them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-used-book-and-cd-stores-smell-nasty/312995.md?page=2)