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Thread: Mothball Smell in Cedar Chest

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Central, PA
    Posts
    416

    Mothball Smell in Cedar Chest

    I was given an old cedar chest and the inside has a pungent mothball smell. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the odor?

  2. #2
    Try baking soda,it absorbs a lot of odors.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Cincinnati, OH
    Posts
    924
    Maybe open it up either outdoors or in a garage. May take a while, though.
    Rustic? Well, no. That was not my intention!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Gibbons View Post
    I was given an old cedar chest and the inside has a pungent mothball smell. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the odor?
    I use moth crystals (paradichlorobenzene) to keep wax moths out of the wax in empty honey supers stored between seasons. It takes very little to create a strong smell to treat a tall stack of supers. Before putting the supers on the hives the moth crystal smell must be completely gone. It is usually recommended to air out honey supers for four days to remove all of the odor. I do this by setting the boxes outside on nice days, arranged so air can move freely.

    First thing I'd try with the cedar chest is open the top, set it on it's end in a protected space outdoors, and wait. I might direct a fan to move air into the chest to speed things up.

    Note that the smell cedar was once thought to protect the contents of a chest or closet from insect damage. This has been discovered to be untrue. It does smell nice though. If the cedar smell is gone you can buy cedar oil and restore the smell to some extent.

    JKJ

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio - north
    Posts
    110
    When all else fails, try one or more bags of activated charcoal with the lid closed. Available on line for about $10/bag. Lasts a month or more. If no longer active, bags can be reactivated. I think you set the bags out in the sun.

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