Any saving a second hand toy that stinks of smoke?

[Shinysilverlamp]

I’ve been a bit daft. I bought a second hand child’s tape cassette player off a woman on gumtree the other day. In the interests of social distancing/covid safety I was just handed a bag and I put it into quarantine for a couple days. I’ve now taken it out the bag and not only was it filthy with dust and grime but it reeks of cigarette smoke.
I’ve scrubbed the outside with anti bac wipes, left it outside for an hour, wiped it with white vinegar and it’s now locked in a box with bicarbonate of soda. I’m gutted! I’ve been looking for one for ages (mil has lots of old nursery rhyme tapes and my little one would love it!) and to buy one on eBay that plays actual cassette tapes was out of my budget.

Has anyone saved a toy that stinks of smoke? I’m hoping a few days of sitting in the bicarb helps a lot, but will it always have a smoke odour?

Won't sitting in bicarbonate kill it from working? I'd leave it in a shed or garage if you have one for a week and then reassess.

No I don't think anything will help.

Why don't you just buy a normal cassette player? It doesn't have to be a child's one.

However I'd give mils tapes a play on the stinky one first as there's no use spending money on something if they turn out to be all warped and unplayable.

I’m hoping the bicarb won’t kill it? It’s sitting on a bed of powder rather than it covering the whole player and getting into all the nooks.

The tape player came with story book cassettes so it will at least play them if mil tapes don’t work.

I was reluctant to buy new because I’m sure little one would love just pushing all the buttons and I’m afraid it would break.

I’ve rescued a leather bag that stank of smoke after buying from a charity shop and not realising until I got home. Put it in a black bin liner and pad around it with scrunched up newspaper. Leave it in the cupboard for as long as possible, check after 2 weeks. This totally worked for my bag and a stinky new leather jacket. Left no smell at all, the newspaper should absorb it.

Sounds a bit weird, but do you have any barbecue charcoal? Put it in a box with a couple of lumps. Charcoal is an excellent deodoriser and this has worked wonders on musty vintage furniture.

Charcoal or cat litter. Might need to leave it for quite a while though.

I do have some charcoal, I’ll try that next.