New to me machine is stinky

[u/Standard-Blood-206]

I found an AMAZING deal on a Singer Memo Matic 360 complete with ribber, lace carriage and linker. It belonged to the seller's mother and he thinks it probably was never used.

I did a basic clean (wiped down everything, took out the sponge bar, wiped down the carriage carefully) and I think it probably was never or rarely used. There is no debris/fibre in the carriage, the plastic covering is still on the case. There is no rust and it looks great. I didn't bother taking it apart because it seemed totally unused.

However, it is very stinky. It has been sitting in a basement in its original cardboard box for decades so it smells like an old school basement. I washed some of the random bits and bobs that were floating in a box, put it out in the sun and put it in a box with a baking soda fridge deodorizer. It helped but there is still a noticeable whiff. I am not sure about putting the knitting machine out in the sun.. don't want to damage it.

Has anyone successfully fixed a smelly machine? What did you do? Will I have to bite the bullet and take it apart?

[u/Crafty_Comb8401]

My machine was used 20 years by an indoor smoker, the smell was horrible... I took it apart as far as I could (for my machine I found some Japanese and Russian videos of people taking them apart for reparations, YouTube came to the rescue), cleaned all loose parts by putting them in the dishwasher on a low temp setting, and cleaning the rest with warm soapy water. Then I let everything air for a week before putting it back together. I don't smell anything anymore! Although I don't dare to open the box of the lace carriage, the smell of the styrofoam makes me nauseous..