OK, this thread is actually about her cedar chest, but that didn’t sound as good.
The problem is this: we bought this really nice cedar chest a couple of years ago from a consignment shop. It looks really nice from the outside, but the inside is the problem. When we bought it, we noticed it had a mothball kind of smell, but we figured it would fade if we just aired the thing out. Like the car in the famous Seinfeld episode, the smell has not faded at all. We have tried all of the following to try to get rid of this smell, but nothing has worked:
Sanding
Sealing with varnish
Potpourri
Air freshener
Soap chips
All of these were suggested by various people, but none has worked. Any suggestions as to how to get rid of this mutant mothball smell?
Any fish store sells activated carbon, you can get a carton of 375 grams for about 5-6 bucks. Just spread it out inside the chest, and let it sit for a week, it’ll suck up any noxious odors. Then wipe with damp sponge to make sure you remove all the carbon (it is usually a little dusty). Good luck.
She did try the baking soda (I meant to include that in my original list, but I forgot to). In fact, that was the first thing she tried. I’ll tell her about the charcoal; maybe that’ll work. Thanks, all.
You sealed and varnished a cedar chest? Thats a damn shame. Assuming the odor is in the wood, I can’t fathom how the sealing didn’t seal it into the grain. Good luck. Beyond the charcoal I’d guess you’re whipped, or else it really isn’t moth ball, but the cedar itself.
Speaking as someone who has been in actual combat with moths:
One puts mothballs into a cedar chest because cedar alone isn’t guaranteed to repel moths and other bugs like roaches and silverfish (which will also eat fabric), and if you’re talking about your mother’s silk wedding dress, you want to make sure.
In these days of acrylic clothing, people tend to forget what a serious pest moths can be {said Granny, rocking comfortably in her turbocharged Barcalounger…)
You sealed the INSIDE of the chest? Jeepers. It’s probably not much good as a classic “cedar chest” anymore. I have one, and you treat that cedar wood with kid gloves. Basically, you just leave it alone and Mother Nature does the rest.
I find it difficult to believe that after varnishing the inside, it still smells. The oil molecules that carry odor ought to be sealed off. If you have activated carbon to soak up the mothball odor, it’s also going to soak up the cedar chest odor, which many people esteem. What is it that you want to put in the chest that a cedar/mothball smell will ruin?
Whole coffee beans are another excellent odor absorber. I learned this from a friend who buys books second hand. Books that were originally owned by a smoker can retain a very strong “used ashtray” smell. If you seal the book up in a bag with some coffee beans the odor will be greatly reduced. This is why coffee lovers get so nutty about how they store their beans.
Activated charcoal is probably your best bet, but you might want to try vanilla as well. Pour about a tablespoon into a ramikan and out it in the chest for a while.
Vanilla has done a wonderful job of soaking up foul oders for me…
Yes, we realized that varnishing the inside would greatly diminish its value, but we were more interested (at that point) in using it for storage, not for looks. Trust me, it wasn’t cedar smell–IT WAS MOTHBALLS!
Cedar wood is quite porous and is easily contaminated by other odors. Unfortunately you have now “locked” the mothball odor into the wood by sealing it. It is doubtful that you will be able to get rid of the mothball odor entirely at this point unless you sand off the top layer of the interior wood that you sealed and use the activated charcoal or some other odor nullifier.
"How can I get rid of a mothball smell from a cedar chest ? "
Cedar chests are often times lined with Tennessee cedar. Which may explain how they came by the name. The Tennessee cedar emits an odor naturally, and the odor has proven helpful in keeping the moths and other bugs away. It’s the same material used in animal bedding and is often sold in chips to line cages etc. As the interior of the chests are often unfinished and the wood is very porous, it is not uncommon to have other odors such as mothballs, perfume etc. permeate the wood. The difficulty often times is that the odors penetrate so deeply they are very difficult if not impossible to remove.
Try these techniques :
First I would recommend you keep the chest open with the lid up. This will enable the air to circulate and some of the smell will diminish. This may take some considerable time depending on how strong or intense the smell is and how frequently the air circulates inside the chest.
You might also try to wipe down the interior with a solution of detergent and water. Be careful not to get the wood too wet as this will warp the wood and could do some serious damage. This might take several applications to achieve the desired results.
If these methods fail, then I can only suggest that you consider sanding the interior wood with fine sand paper, thus removing the surface in the hope that it will remove the mothball odor. This really may be the best resolve to your problem.
You can also try to apply another scent to the wood, such as a perfume or other fragrance. unfortunately, this will only result in “masking” the mothball odor and may in fact make the problem worse by adding another odor to the one you already have.
If none of these other suggestions do it, see if you can pull out and replace the interior wood. If you’re at all handy with woodworking, it shouldn’t be too hard, and you’ll restore it to the intended unfinished, aromatic cedar. Adds to the cost of the chest, but if it’s useless as is, it could be worth it.
Of course, if the lining isn’t separate from the exterior wood, this suggestion is worthless.
