How can I remove the smell of moth repellent from an old cedar chest? I have tried sanding it down, wiping it with vinegar, setting it out in the sun, wadding up newspaper to absorb the odor and many other things as well. Nothing has diminished the smell. I love the chest, but I don't want anything I place in it to smell like moth balls! Please help. Thanks in advance.
By Laurie from Waldo, ME
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How do you remove the scent of mothballs from an old cedar chest?
Rad
will activated charcoal remove moth ball odor from a cedar chest?
I HAVE THE ANSWER!!!!
After trying MANY options over the years, nothing worked except this:
I have a beautiful old solid cedar chest from my grandmother that until now was unusable due to the mothball odor.
So I went to a store that sells aquariums and bought a 39.00 container of activated charcoal kernels (about 1/2 gallon size). I spread them out all over the bottom of the inside of the chest, then loosely crumpled up newspaper pages (about 10 sheets) and floated them above the charcoal. Within a few days the mothball smell was COMPLETELY gone!
Then I just vacuumed out the charcoal.
Trust me...this is THE best option!
Wow, thanks for letting us know. That's a great tip.
Thank you I will try it
I would use baking soda, but don't just open the boxes and put those in the chest. I would dump them inside the chest and after a couple of weeks I would vacuum it out. Then you can proceed with sanding if necessary.
I just inherited a lovely cedar chest and put some blankets in it, and in a month, everything reeked of moth balls that had formerly been in the chest. After trying a few web suggestions, one suggestion, spraying Fabreeze in the chest, actually WORKED! A furniture maker also said that heat (space heater or blow dryer) and air movement will help the chemicals in the mothballs dissipate. Haven't tried that yet. So far, the Fabreeze is holding! Can't believe my nose!
I tried Febreeze in my Cedar Chest and it did nothing whatsoever.
I don't have an answer but wish to offer a perspective based on my knowledge of chemistry. Moth balls are usually either 1,4-dichlorobenzene (AKA para-dichlorobenzene) or napthalene, though sometimes, camphor. All of these are semivolatile non-polar compounds. They will not react with acids (vinegar) or baking soda. Fabreze kills odors by sorbtion, and will only work short-term. The mothball chemicals are designed to vaporize and condense on the clothing stored in the chest, but they also condense in the wood, which is somewhat porous, and a bit oily--the cedar oil is why cedar chests work to protect clothing. So it takes a long time for the chemicals to re-vaporize and leave the wood. So heat and ventilation should accelerate the process, but it will take patience. If kept warm and ventilated, it should eventually disappear, but it may take weeks or months.
So, the cedar chest company suggested wiping the entire interior surface with mineral spirits. Stating it would draw the naphalene out of the wood when it evaporates, may take several time. Once the smell of napthalene is neutralized then sand the interior of cedar chest with 400 grit to create a fresh cedar surface.
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I've seen countless posts on "what to try" to remove mothball odor from a dresser and I've tried many of them without success. I also don't see any follow up posts of folks saying what actually worked for them. My next attempt will be to cover the entire inside with polyurethane. Has anyone tried this? Does it work?
I'm asking that answers don't include "what to try" -- there are so many posts on the web to that effect already. Instead, I'd like to hear "what worked".
Thanks!
By Mike D
Get a bag of cedar shavings from the pet store (hamster or guinea pig litter). Put a 2 inch layer in the bottom of the cedar chest and close it up for 2 days. Clean it out (I used a shop-vac and reused the cedar shavings as mulch) and leave the chest open to air for a day. Repeat- this was fine for me. Repeat again - passed my wife's smell test.
I don't think I would use polyurethane. That would seal the wood and not help recover the cedar smell. I am about to tackle the same problem. Hope you are successful.
I don't think I would use polyurethane. That would seal the wood and not help recover the cedar smell. I am about to tackle the same problem. Hope you are successful.
I used cedar rings and balls and still have the smell in it
I always used pine shavings/bedding from Walmart for kitty litter. It completely absorbed all the odor from a litter box. So I dumped a bunch inside a cedar chest that has a strong mothball for.
I think if the sun can get tomato stains out of plastic it should get mothball smell out of my cedar chest. I am going to set mine in the hot southern sun for a few days. Wish me luck!!
We received a family cedar chest that can't be used because of an awful smell of mothballs. Why would anyone put mothballs in a cedar chest anyway? Does anyone know of a good way to get the smell out of the cedar?
Lisa from Michigan
I would first place a couple of opened boxes of baking soda in the cedar chest, close the lid, and leave it for a few days. Then take sandpaper and sand the inside of the chest. This revives the cedar scent. The sanding also works well for cedar lined drawers, paneling, cedar blocks, etc.
KC (12/01/2000)
By admin2
I think the sanding idea will be very effective. Also, consider putting dry coffee grounds in the chest. The more the better. (09/10/2005)
By Paula in GA
