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!
I read somewhere a while back that an onion – halfed – left in a room will absorb odors. Worth a try. Also a bowl of vinegar should help, another bit of info I picked up over the years! I would just wipe the inside with vinegar and lemon juice before leaving onion in overnight. Mixed greens optional.
K
Reading tigerdyne’s suggestion, about the piece probably not having a high gloss finish you want to keep, gives me another idea. You could shellac the inside of the wardrobe, which would seal in the old moth ball odor.I guess varnish or paint would also work, but shellac dries much faster. There are also white alcohol-based primers (like BIN) that dry fast and should work.
speaking of smells, does anyone know how to get rid of a musty basement smell in a trunk? I have tried: lysol, meyers all purpose cleaner, Coffee grounds, as well as cedar cubes and spray. Ill give the baking soda a try but does anyone have any other suggestions?
Okay, this is something I know about and can help you with. I’m going to assume the inside of the wardrobe isn’t a high gloss finish that must be preserved, so your going to need to give it a little sanding on the inside and re-release the wood smell in there. The baking soda is not a bad idea, but You would be better served with lavendar sachets (aphrodisia). Basicly, the sanding will help eliminate the mothball scent by actually gettin rid of it and the lavendar will provide a new scent to cover it up. Unfortunately, there is nothing that will counteract the amonium produced by mothballs (which creates it’s smell). Anyway, if you don’t feel like doing any of these things, I’m more than happy to take the piece off your hands and refinish it myself. it sounds gorgeous.
Google Smelleze.
Get some of those cheap air fresheners that dangle from the rear view mirror or better yet, that glass bottle of scented stuff the taxi drivers use. 🙂
I’m not sure if the baking soda will do the trick but I have heard that ground coffee works. Newspaper and/or activated charcoal are also supposed to work.
Re DIBS’ comment, cedar actually smells a bit like moth balls so I doubt that will help much. Absorbing odors with pans of baking soda and/or coffee beans is a good idea. In addition to airing.
Ahh, the wonders of baking soda! I should have thought of that myself.
Will give it a shot over Christmas and with any luck will have an odor-free closet.
Thanks!