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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.
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.
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, 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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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?