You can use a product called Natures Miracle that you can find in lots of places like Tractor Supply, Walmart or a pet store of some sort.  Spray that case till its good and wet and zip it up for a few days.  Then do the outside and leaving it unzipped put it in a trash bag and leave it for a few days.  If it still smells try it again and it should be pretty much OK...........just make sure you let it dry out really well.  Some folks have put their dulcimers in a plastic bin or bag with lots of shred newspaper for a day or so and they have told me that it helps a great deal.  I have not used that idea, but the Natures Miracle stuff works really well...........get the Red bottle it is a stronger enzyme solution and it has worked for me quite well.  When I busted my hip my old hound decided that since I was stuck in a Nursing home for a month or so. she decided that my new recliner made an excellent roost.   Three sprays and it was good as new.  Give it a try and let us know if it helps.  What have you got to lose other than a few bucks for the small spray bottle.  I am assuming it is a chip board case, if so don't soak the sorry card board they are made out of, if it's foam have at it.  McSpadden sold me four new foam ones for $40.00 bucks each, plus shipping.  Give them a call the might still sell one if they are available.

updated by @salt-springs: 09/08/26 09:19:28PM

Great suggestions about sun and air for deodorizing the dulcimer. One thing on the soft case--perhaps a dry cleaning establishment may have some way to get all the dog hair and dog smell out of it. 

Otherwise, I would invest in a new case. 

I like John's idea of putting the dulcimer outside in the sun. Perhaps an hour or two each day it is nice out until the odor dissipates, As for the case, I'd go with a new one. You'll probably spend more time and money trying to rid the case of the smell and perhaps never achieve that goal.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

If there was 'lots of dog hair in the case', then obviously a dog was using it as a bed for a while. This is not due to the instrument and case merely being in a house with dogs- the case was used as a dog bed .  The dog smell from the case is transferring to the dulcimer, not the other way around.

You said it's a soft case- soft cases are not too expensive. IMHO you are never going to get all the dog smell out of the padded foam/fabric soft case. I suggest just dumping the case and buying a new one while you concentrate your energy on getting the smell out of the dulcimer, which would be less difficult. Just my opinion.  We had an old cardboard guitar case that smelled of cigarettes... never could get the smell out.

You dulcimer looks nice though!

--
Site Owner

Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
updated by @strumelia: 09/08/26 12:18:36PM

Congratulations, Aditi!  You have some nice instruments there. 

As for deodorizing, I'd suggest exposing them to sunshine as much as possible-- wind and sun deodorize to some extent.  Or there's Febreze spray, which has helped me in situations over the years. And in extreme situations, there are disaster-relief places like Belfor that can treat them with ozone or some such substance.  After a devastating fire at a place where I worked, they took our furniture and document files and treated them so that they didn't smell like smoke anymore.  Hope this helps!

Hi FOTMD! I recently drove up to Connecticut to acquire a well-loved and well-played McSpadden—all cherry wood as far as I can tell, M12CC, Nov 1999, George Looney signature. The dulcimer belonged to a man who recently passed away at 100, so I'm not sure how much use it got over the last few years, or if it was mostly in its soft case.

Both the case and the dulcimer smell pretty strongly of dog (there was lots of dog hair in the case, I've vacuumed it/lint rolled it as best I can). Do you have any tips on how to safely deodorize them? Charcoal? Baking soda? Air and time? 

Pic of the McSpadden attached, as well as the McSpadden next to my cardboard beauty and the custom 5-string Grant Olson dulcimer I acquired a few months back.