Mothball Odor?
My parents have an antique (circa 1910) wardrobe that has gorgeous inlay. It belonged to my great-great grandparents and has been passed down in my family. My parents have offered it to me and I’m excited to take it, but there is one problem: mothball odor! My parents and grandparents have used the wardrobe for…
My parents have an antique (circa 1910) wardrobe that has gorgeous inlay. It belonged to my great-great grandparents and has been passed down in my family. My parents have offered it to me and I’m excited to take it, but there is one problem: mothball odor!
My parents and grandparents have used the wardrobe for storing winter clothes for the past 60-odd years. The entire armoire REEKS of mothballs.
I am a 20-something guy and, while the odor of mothballs brings up happy memories of my grandparents, I’m afraid that if I put my clothes in this thing, they will come out smelling like Grandpa (minus the Ben-Gay).
My parents have not used mothballs for about 15 years (so they say) but it still smells.
Is this an odor that I can get rid of by simply airing the piece out? Or has the smell so permeated the wood that the piece is essentially ruined?
The piece is still at my parents’ house, so I’m not going to go through the hassle of moving it to my apartment if the smell is going to be a problem . . .
Thanks!
Wow all great suggestions, thanks a lot!
Agreed, musty smell (as opposed to moth ball smell) is mold. This isnt a big deal though. if there is paper lining you may need to replace it. But warm sunshine does kill mold, that’s what much of the “airing” business is all about. Bleach water solution will also kill mold but may be overkill and damage the trunk or wood finishes. In many cases with mold and musty things, wiping down the surface with even just a damp towel will help a lot if there’s moldy dust on the surface. Spraying rubbing alcohol in musty drawers is supposed to help and may work well with the trunk but alcohol will dissolve shellac finishes so that may be an issue with furniture. Try the gentlest treatments first–airing in the sun and wiping down with a clean damp cloth. I have a musty old trunk in the garage waiting for the summer for some heavy duty airing. FWIW I was worried by the “musty” smell coming from things stored in the built-in drawers in my linen closet until I realized that it was cedar-lined. EAB some trunks were lined with cedar.
Wow, thanks everyone, super helpful.
Wow, thanks everyone, super helpful.
Moth balls are a known carcinogen. So if it still smells then some of those dangerous chemicals may be lingering in the drawers. I would first try wiping out the drawers with a mix of white vinegar and water to get any residue left in the wood out. Don’t soak it or anything, you don’t want to warp the wood but a good wiping might help. To absorb the odor I might try charcoal.
EAB: RE: your question, nothing is working on that musty smell because mold is still present. You have to deal with the problem before you can deal with the smell.
FYI baking soda hardly absorbs any odors….just google it, one of the biggest scams on the planet that still makes arm&hammer a pretty penny
I had a car my dad stored for a few years. He put a couple of bags of mothballs in it to keep mice out. I took possession of the car the day I got married – it smelled awful but it had a v8 engine so who cared. I had a bridal bouquet made of gardenias, and threw it into the car after the event and the car with the gardenias stayed baking in the sun for 36 hours or so.
My car smelled like the ground floor at Bonwit Teller’s for a few weeks after that but eventually the gardenias won.
You probably don’t want to smell like a gardenia, but probably essential oils on a paper towel stored in there might work. Try sandalwood?
EAB–If we get a few warm days with lots of sunshine, I would let it sit outside in the sun. Heat can really kill that musty odor.
Re the musty basement smell, you might start by wiping with a mix of bleach, dish soap, and hot water. That’s what they use against mice urine, and bleach also works against mold.
My plumber recently recommended molecular odor remover sprays for getting rid of sewer smells. He says they really work. I can’t remember the name of the specific one he suggested, though.
You might try both of those, then follow up with something that smells good.
If you want to spend some money, I like Santa Maria Novella’s spray for wool. You spritz it on the paper cards that come with the spray and put them in a drawer (or closet or trunk). It’s made of cloves, lavender, mint, and cedar. Since 1602. I doubt it would do in a moth, but it’s fun.