New blue girl arrives ... with ... issues...

[Alliecat]

I've been drooling over photos of J-Doll Andrassy ever since I first saw her. And waiting and waiting in hopes the price would go down or there'd be a big holiday sale. The exchange rate is around 40% Finally I said heck-with-it and ordered her New Year's Eve. I've been checking the tracking daily; it seemed she was stuck in Montreal forever.... wasting walks to an empty mailbox... finally I trudged up there today in a 40kt gale, nearly got blown into the ditch multiple times, and YIPPEEE, she was here!!


Alas, no one near the mailboxes to witness the genius of MacGyvering a bag handle from my ice treads...



So far so good... Such a pretty shiny box.



...maybe kitty's nose told her something...

Because, unfortunately, this doll is... MUSTY.

When I took the box apart, there were little white specks all over the inside of it. Guess that's one doll box that won't be saved. Then I sniffed her and... yes... she smells like some of the things that've been in my cellar too long. It's not really strong, but it is there. She's standing on the table beside me right now, and I can't say I can easily smell her from here; it's very faint. But, up close, she is definitely musty.





There's "stuff" on the plastic strips too.

Augh!!! I can't believe it. My long-wished-for somewhat-grail-ish J-Doll.
I hope she will eventually air out. I'll try the kitty litter suggested in fishy's baity-Celsiy thread, and I don't drink coffee but if the kitty litter doesn't work maybe I'll have to buy some. Not crazy about a coffee-scented doll either. I don't know if newspaper wrapping would be enough, especially if I have to put something around her to keep the newsprint off. It's too cold to air her out outside.
Augh!!!
I e-mailed Pullip Style with the photos.
Have any of you ever received a moldy/musty box from them?
I understand it's an older doll that might have been in storage for some time, but still... new in box... Most of my girls are second-hand and I've never had any problems like this with them.
Oh, and, her belt immediately fell apart; it seems pretty flimsy.

Well, she's still gorgeous... but wow, it's SO disappointing to find this in a "new in box" doll
Couple of crappy-light late-night photos:



She's holding her belt on.



I know, maybe too much blue.

[Marsian]

Yay for getting a grail doll! So sorry she has some issues, i hope the cat box fill stuff will help take the scent off. But she sure does look beautifull, her hair is so vibrant and i love her outfit. There is so much detail in it

Did you contact PS about this, I can imagine that it would be usefull information to know that their storage room might have some humid or mold issues.

Edit: sorry i misread, you emailed them.

[DeadlyNova]

She's gorgeous! I'm not big on J-Dolls myself, but I do have to say I love this one!

It really sucks that she has issues, though. Hopefully that smell will go away. Maybe a good clean up and soak in cat litter will do some good for her. <3

[Missy_Crane]

Oh, she's gorgeous!

Sorry to hear about the musty-ness As long as any of those white spots didn't actually make it onto her of her clothes, she should eventually be ok after a bit of airing-off. Maybe you could gently wash her clothes??

Hope you get a helpful response from PS. I'm still waiting on a reply about my Silane's broken hand from before Christmas. (Beginning to think I should message them again but don't want to be a pest )

[Offgenemi]

You can also use baking soda for the smell. I would wash her clothes and shoes (with vinegar and cold water). Vinegar can both take away smell and sterilize (kind of) Make sure they dry. If you had some sun I would say sit the clothes under sun but of course you don't. I would keep her and her clothes in a different box/ bag until I am sure she is not contaminated.

[TrueFan]

You can also put a fan on her (since it's not nice enough to leave her in the breeze from an open window). I've had that help quite a bit. My NRFB Mercu was in similar shape, and she eventually stopped smelling.

[Little mouse]

I am so sorry about this.........I didn't realise that it was a PS purchase until you said. They have to do something as something is severely wrong at their end.
I am extremely scent/smell sensitive and I wouldn't be able to have her in the house!

I hope you hear back from them asap.......you have no idea what kind of spores are in those white spots! This is not acceptable!


This is such a shame as she is a lovely doll *sigh*

[martah]

So sorry that she came in such state but nonetheless she is very beautiful. She has the best hair out of all J-dolls.

[fishy]

The belt and mold/must make me think that she must have gotten damp at some point...
I'd soak her clothes in vinegar for a bit to sanitize (and color-fast) them- and I'd definitely keep her and her things isolated from the other dolls in case of spread.
I'm sorry this happened to you. Maybe they could just send you a replacement, and double-check to make sure that it doesn't have some doll form of spreading leprosy? ;__;

[KiraKira]

She's so very gorgeous--I love her blue hair and her stock outfit is so awesome.

That being said, I hope that PS responds to those issues--that's pretty serious. I would think that baking soda would help take away the musty smell, but I'd be much more worried about the mold spreading...

[Alliecat]

Oooh, I had another thought. Cinnamon is a great anti-fungal agent and I'd rather have a cinnamon-scented doll than coffee... but then again, I think it has to contact the mold. Probably not a good idea to sprinkle it on her!

Hope you get a helpful response from PS. I'm still waiting on a reply about my Silane's broken hand from before Christmas. (Beginning to think I should message them again but don't want to be a pest )

Oh great. And I looked at my e-mail today and thought, "Oh, they didn't reply yet." You should be a pest -- broken parts aren't acceptable either! I don't want to be that annoying customer who goes all over the internet leaving reviews, but these days it seems that sometimes if you want a company to respond to a problem, you have to make a lot of public noise. It hasn't yet been 24 hours... I'll wait a few days...

You can also use baking soda for the smell. I would wash her clothes and shoes (with vinegar and cold water).

Proportions...? What about the pleather/vinyl/suede in the outfit? That doesn't sound vinegar-friendly.

I am extremely scent/smell sensitive and I wouldn't be able to have her in the house!

I am too! Mostly to smoke & synthetic perfume though. Sucks, doesn't it. She hasn't bothered me allergy-wise but then I'm not sniffing her a lot!

I'd soak her clothes in vinegar for a bit to sanitize (and color-fast) them- and I'd definitely keep her and her things isolated from the other dolls in case of spread.

Straight vinegar?
Spread... ugh... Well, it's not like this house is totally sanitized and mold-free, but this makes me think of some lenses someone gave me which had some mildew in the elements, & there seemed to be a great concern among some photographers on a forum where I asked about it, that using them could transfer the stuff to my clean camera. I haven't done anything with them other than having the best one cleaned.
If she and the other dolls are out in the air, and outside, there shouldn't be as much danger of spreading...? But I will keep them separate till I figure out what to do.
Thanks for the sympathy, y'all

[Offgenemi]

You just need a little bit. Like fill up a bowl with water and add one or two spoons of vinegar. I wouldn't put in pure vinegar it is acidic. It also colorfasts fabric.
I don't know about suede but I found this
http://www.ehow.com/how_5979118_remove-mold-suede.html

did they answer your email ? I feel so bad for you I don't know how the mold grew this much the shop is in Arizona , there is no humidity problem there.

About keeping her together with others. The problem is I don't know how washable the doll's face is. If I were you and I don't want to return the doll for another girl, I would wash that girl. Comb her hair and wash her again. Then dry her throughly. I would do the same with clothes and shoes. Than keep her in a different room to get her air. I would take photos of her and body to see if there are any spots appearing. I would do this for a few months. Yes I am psycho )) the good thing is you don't live in a hot and humid place. I am guessing she got this a while back. Let's hope spores were mostly dead. And they liked the spongy paper more than the plastic doll.

[fishy]

You just need a little bit. Like fill up a bowl with water and add one or two spoons of vinegar. I wouldn't put in pure vinegar it is acidic. It also colorfasts fabric.
I don't know about suede but I found this
http://www.ehow.com/how_5979118_remove-mold-suede.html

did they answer your email ? I feel so bad for you I don't know how the mold grew this much the shop is in Arizona , there is no humidity problem there.

About keeping her together with others. The problem is I don't know how washable the doll's face is. If I were you and I don't want to return the doll for another girl, I would wash that girl. Comb her hair and wash her again. Then dry her throughly. I would do the same with clothes and shoes. Than keep her in a different room to get her air. I would take photos of her and body to see if there are any spots appearing. I would do this for a few months. Yes I am psycho )) the good thing is you don't live in a hot and humid place. I am guessing she got this a while back. Let's hope spores were mostly dead. And they liked the spongy paper more than the plastic doll.

^ Yes, this sounds like a good idea.

[Cornflower Blue]

I've run into this with dolls from Japan from time to time. I'd rather have musty odors than cigarette smoke to deal with. It is most likely it was stored someplace with high humidity before it got to PullipStyle. I'd go the vinegar route, since it's not the time of year for sticking her outside in the sun and fresh air. Be careful with any snaps or metal trim, I've rusted them in vinegar colorfasting soaks.

[PullipPrincess]

Ooh, that's a shame about the smell and her belt! That's really shocking, considering you got her NIB from PS! I also have to say, you're very brave to have completely unboxed her. I would have probably stopped as soon as I saw those white spots! xI+P This is really unfortunate though, especially since she really is super cute! I hope everything gets resolved, in the end.