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Mothball Smell Out of Cedar Chest?

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September 8, 20050 found this helpful

How do you remove the scent of mothballs from an old cedar chest?

Rad

 
June 30, 20191 found this helpful

will activated charcoal remove moth ball odor from a cedar chest?

 
November 22, 20200 found this helpful

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.

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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!

 

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November 22, 20200 found this helpful

Wow, thanks for letting us know. That's a great tip.

 
November 15, 20210 found this helpful

Is the mothball odor still out a year later?

 
Anonymous
January 5, 20220 found this helpful

Thank you I will try it

 

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March 9, 20110 found this helpful

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.

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Then you can proceed with sanding if necessary.

 
December 31, 20190 found this helpful

Worked for a few days then the smell came back

 
Anonymous
February 2, 20162 found this helpful

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!

 
October 9, 20180 found this helpful

I tried Febreeze in my Cedar Chest and it did nothing whatsoever.

 
June 16, 20190 found this helpful

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.

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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.

 
October 21, 20230 found this helpful

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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March 8, 2011

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?

 
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