Tools, Sharpening and Power Machinery - Odor in ToolBox

I have a plastic toolbox. Ive kept tools in there for a number of years & the tools have picked up a vinegar like odor. It is pretty bad. I tried putting bounce sheets in there. Didnt help. I tried leaving my tools outside. That didnt help. Then I cleaned all the tools by hand & the odor is still there. I hate using those tools & am considering replacing them all. Any idea what may have caused the odor? Thanks/Jina
:wall:

I can't imagine the tools obsorbing much odor - at least not the steel portion. Are you sure it's the tools that have the odor and not the plastic box?

Have you tried wiping the tools down with an oily rag?

You have described exactly the odor in my old fishing tackle box. How do I get rid of the odor in the box?

@ wirepuller...quit fishing and give away the box....lol

@OP...fill the box with cat litter (the stuff with a smell like Tidy Cats) and leave the tools in if there is room. Let it sit for a week in the sun. Then dump it and check for smell. Or just buy a new toolbox and do what I said with the tools in a cardboard box.

simple green, wash the tools, although i can't for the life of me figure what could possibly cause that oder. other than break down of the plastic.

are you going to cowboy up or just lay there and bleed?

Wipe tools with WD40 to clean and place in a new tool box.

i was drawn to this post .
i had the same issue. turned out to be the plastic pouch that a set of craftsman nut drivers was in. dang if i could ever figure out why, but that pouch stunk to high heaven. i dumped the pouch and all was well.

It's the old Craftsman screwdriver handles. The plastic in them starts to smell over time.

i was drawn to this post .
i had the same issue. turned out to be the plastic pouch that a set of craftsman nut drivers was in. dang if i could ever figure out why, but that pouch stunk to high heaven. i dumped the pouch and all was well.

:) I noticed that too when I bought a set of taps from Sears. You could track them from the other side of town. What makes it smell so bad?

I've never had trouble with the screwdrivers, but I had a set of wood chisels that you could smell from the next county. Beats me what kind of plastic they used.

I had the same thing happen to a set of nut drivers but not sears. I actually took the box,nut drivers and dumped them in a bucket of soapy water and left them. They were fine for about
a couple weeks and then started the odor thing again. I finally determined that some lubricants,sprays we use to prevent rust on our tools when it mixes with the plastics on the handles and the boxes it creates a odor. I have decided to just live with it.