This is one of the reasons I really hate used books (one of many, though). I would never have bought this book except that it is a Pléiade book that is out of print and I was unable to find it anywhere else. The book is Conteurs Français du XVIe Siècle and it includes, inter alia, the Heptameron of Marguerite of Navarre.

I froze the book for two full months, which I believed killed any mold infestation that might have been on the book. There were also about 20 silica packets in the Ziploc bag with the book, which was then wrapped in yet another Ziploc to keep out moisture. The smell, however, remains. I wiped the book down (including the edges of the pages) with tea tree oil and now that the smell is fading, the mold smell is returning. I have isolated the book by putting it at the end of a shelf and putting a piece of cardboard between it and the neighboring books. However, I really don't know what to do. If it were a more readily available book, I'd just throw the damn thing away. Unfortunately, it's a Pléiade book and it's out of print. If I could find a nice French-language version of the same stories in hardcover, I would despite its value throw it away. But I can't.

Suggestions that don't involve buying expensive equipment?