How to get rid of mothball smell from furniture and clothes

Getting rid of the smell of mothballs in the house

Naphthalene has a wide range of applications, it is used as a disinfectant in surgery, in industry to obtain various dyes and explosive components, and in everyday life it is known as an excellent remedy for moths.
However, the substance has a big drawback - it has a terrible and very persistent smell! As is known, naphthalene has a toxic effect on the human body and it is extremely undesirable to stay indoors for a long time, where its persistent “aroma” is present. The same applies to things for which this substance was used. They should not be worn while a strong naphthalene amber is felt, as migraines, nausea or vomiting, irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, cough, allergies and, as a result, deterioration of health may occur. The smell of mothballs, emitted by even the smallest tablet, will occupy a closet or pantry, permeate all the things in the wardrobe and will be very difficult to get rid of. And now about the most important thing!

Possible complications

Intoxication often occurs as a result of using moth killing agents. Unpleasant symptoms of naphthalene poisoning quickly lead to the development of negative consequences. What can happen after poisoning? Consequences:

1. impairment of kidney and liver function;
2. the occurrence of jaundice;
3. disruptions in the functioning of the nervous system;
4. convulsive manifestations;
5. coma state.

You can avoid poisoning by following safety rules. Do not store naphthalene near food; wash your hands well after using the compound. In industrial environments, it is necessary to wear personal protective equipment: goggles, gloves. Good ventilation is required in the room.

We recommend: Concor poisoning (overdose) - what is the lethal dose?

How to get rid of the smell of mothballs?

1. If clothes are saturated with mothball odor, you can eliminate the unpleasant odor by hanging it in the sun for two or three days: a breeze and direct sunlight will remove the bad odor. After the procedure, you must wash your clothes thoroughly. During washing, add a little table vinegar to the water. Attention! Wardrobe items made of leather and smelling of mothballs should be hung in the fresh air strictly in a shady place, since exposure to direct sunlight is fraught with danger. Items may change color and become stained. 2. How to remove the smell of mothballs that is firmly ingrained in clothes for which washing is contraindicated? You need to pack your things in a whole airtight plastic bag and place a “deodorant” of plant origin in there. Lavender or dry tea rose leaves are perfect for this. Plus, lavender itself is a wonderful moth repellent. Thus, when things come into contact with such a “deodorant,” a double effect occurs: the clothing stops emitting the smell of mothballs and the moth completely loses its interest in it. 3. But how to remove the smell of mothballs from furniture? It is very difficult to remove it from furnishings in the house, because this corrosive aroma penetrates so deeply into the structure of the wood that it cannot be removed quickly. You can eliminate the mothball aroma using special odor absorbers made for refrigerators. It is very important to ventilate cabinets as often as possible and use air ionizers. The products that are available in every home, namely baking soda and regular activated carbon, perfectly absorb the naphthalene smell. Any of these odor absorbers can be placed in a bag and put in a closet, where quite quickly there will be no trace of the nasty mothball odor. 4. How to remove the smell of mothballs that has settled in a chest or chest of drawers, as well as in a wardrobe or suitcase? The mothball spirit can be easily eliminated by adding mustard powder and keeping the furniture closed for two days. Afterwards, the mustard must be removed, wipe the surface with a slightly damp cloth and let it dry thoroughly.

In conclusion, I would like to add the following, so that the smell of mothballs does not cause concern, it is important to use the product exactly in the amount indicated on the package. And, of course, you can’t heat it up, as some do, hoping in this way to enhance the effect of the substance. It is forbidden to scatter naphthalene powder on the surface of objects and things, as its smell and microscopic particles will quickly spread throughout the home, and then penetrate into the respiratory tract with the air. In addition, the moth repellent effect will be weakened. Therefore, you need to pour mothballs into thick, woven bags and fasten them to your clothes or place several on the surface of the carpet before rolling up the product.

What can cause an unpleasant odor?

Before you try to get rid of a bad smelling odor, it is worth finding out the reasons for its occurrence. A bad smell can be caused by one or a combination of several factors, each of which adds its own note to the conglomerate emanating a stench.

The smell of the materials from which the new cabinet is made

In the production of cabinet furniture, chipboards, complex compounds of industrial chemicals, laminating films, varnishes, and glue are used. All these components have a characteristic chemical odor. Chipboards are made from wood-based materials. For gluing, phenol-formaldehyde resins are used, the vapors of which are released through the uncovered side sections of the furniture.

The cause of the strong suffocating odor may be poor-quality materials used in the production of the cabinet. Thus, according to GOST, for the production of household furniture it is permissible to use chipboard of emission class E1. In such a board, the formaldehyde content per 100 grams of wood raw material should not exceed 8 mg. But the less formaldehyde resin a board contains, the more expensive its production is, so unscrupulous manufacturers sometimes violate technological standards and produce unsafe products.

A strong chemical smell coming from a new cabinet may be caused by poor quality materials.

Video: reasons for the unpleasant smell of new furniture

Musty smell

High humidity can cause mold to form and heavy, musty air to appear. This problem can be encountered if you put wet or insufficiently dried items in the closet, for example, after washing. High humidity throughout the room will certainly lead to dampness and mold on the cabinet walls. Another cause of mold and musty smell may be a closet located near the outer wall of a corner apartment. In the cold season, due to temperature changes, condensation will accumulate on the back wall, and, as a result, mold and a characteristic odor will appear.

The cause of a heavy musty odor may be increased indoor humidity and mold.

Mothball smell

The cause of this specific unpleasant odor is the moth repellent of the same name. According to experienced housewives, naphthalene does an excellent job of eliminating harmful insects, but the smell firmly eats into all things stored in the closet and, without additional airing or washing, makes them unfit for wear.

The smell of mothballs firmly eats into all things stored in the closet, making them unsuitable for wear.

The smell of old age

The source of such a smell can be either the closet itself or things that were stored in it and not used for a long time. Clothing and footwear have a certain service life, after which the structure of the material changes. If after washing the product still emits the same unpleasant odor, it is better to get rid of it; it will no longer be possible to restore the original qualities.

Old furniture can harbor unpleasant odors

The smell of sweat

If there is a dirty and sweaty item among other things, it emits a very unpleasant sour smell. The enclosed space is quickly saturated with this smell and a general atmosphere of stench is created. Other clothes that have absorbed this stench will smell bad for some time after they are taken out of the closet. A strong, nasty smell in your shoe closet can be caused by dirty or insufficiently washed shoes and sweaty insoles.

Dirty shoes with sweaty insoles have a strong, unpleasant odor

Tobacco smell

A very persistent amber that permeates the clothes of smokers. If an item with such an aroma is hung in a closet, the nicotine scent will spread to other items. Another reason is the closet in the room where people smoke. Even with the doors tightly closed, it is not a sealed space and, with a high degree of probability, the things placed in it will smell of tobacco.

Smoking in the room leads to a persistent unpleasant smell of clothes in the closet

Medical smell

If you store medications with clothing, the clothing will acquire a characteristic medical smell. And it will take some effort to clean the products and the air. If there are no medicines in the cabinet, but there is a smell, you should look for its cause. Sometimes a medical smell comes from objects that have nothing to do with medicine. For example, chipboard, plywood and some other materials contain phenols and formaldehydes, the smell of which, under certain conditions, can resemble a medical one.

The cause of an unpleasant smell in the closet may be medications stored with clothes.

How to remove the smell of mothballs from clothes: several proven methods

Modern housewives probably no longer know what naphthalene is. But about 20 years ago, white balls of this substance were actively used to combat moths in closets. They performed their function very well, but they smelled so bad that they could easily provoke a headache, or even a worse reaction. Today, the question of how to get rid of the smell of mothballs may arise only when unpacking long-stored clothes, or inheriting a closet with supplies from a grandmother. If you encounter this problem, we will tell you how to deal with the unpleasant aroma!

How to get rid of mothball smell on fabric

Naphthalene is a very volatile substance. It is this property that determines its active effect on insects. The smell of this poison spreads throughout the surrounding space quite quickly, filling it with itself. But it disappears just as quickly. That is why things in closed chests and cabinets were usually sprinkled with mothballs.

The volatility of the substance provides the simplest answer to the question: how to remove the smell of mothballs from clothes. Just hang all smelly items in fresh air, preferably in the sun. After a couple of days, the smell will completely evaporate from the fabric.

Attention! If leather items smell of mothballs, it is better to ventilate them in the shade. Direct sunlight can damage your skin.

Once you have finished airing, wash your clothes as usual. After washing, rinse everything in a weak solution of vinegar (a couple of tablespoons in a basin of water). This treatment most often helps to completely get rid of the unpleasant odor.

Mustard vs mothballs

As a rule, the suffocating mothball odor is absorbed not only into the fabric of clothing, but also into the wood of the cabinet in which it is stored. Airing furniture does not always help, plus it takes more time than washing clothes and is therefore quite inconvenient. After all, before you remove the smell of mothballs from the closet, you will have to remove all the contents from it and store it somewhere while airing it out.

You can kill two birds with one stone by treating both the furniture and its contents from the smell. Lay newspaper on the cabinet shelves and sprinkle a thick layer of dry mustard on it. Close the doors and leave the cabinet alone for a few days. Mustard powder will absorb unpleasant odors living inside furniture, including odors from clothes. All you have to do is remove the newspaper with the sprinkles and throw it away.

Ventilation organization

In addition to dust, dirt and insects, the reason for the appearance of a specific odor in a wardrobe can be improper storage of things. Crammed, overcrowded boxes are completely deprived of the possibility of natural ventilation. When laying out things, it is important to leave a little free space so that the clothes can “breathe”. A few simple techniques will help ensure additional air circulation:

• When leaving home, closet doors should be left open.
• To quickly “disperse” stagnant air, you can use a hairdryer.
• When ordering and assembling furniture, it is advisable to drill several small holes in the back wall of the cabinet or plan for an air vent through the ceiling of the wardrobe.

If the cabinet is installed in a poorly ventilated room, for example, in a dressing room without a window, the issue of air exchange will be helped by installing room supply ventilation - a breather. It not only fills the space with fresh air, but also quickly copes with unpleasant odors.

How to remove the smell from old (antique) things?

Good afternoon, masters and craftswomen!

There were a lot of vintage items that had been lying on the wardrobe for many years and the following question arose.

There remains a not so pleasant smell of “grandmother’s closet”, which does not go away even after washing using washing powders and Lenores, even when soaking.

Please help me get rid of it.

Best regards, Master Tiana!

I had old blankets... just from my grandmother's closet), I washed them, re-washed them, hung them up to air in the summer... and still nothing helped. Then the blankets sat there and the smell intensified...

Here is the same system).

Although I often bought scratches at vintage exhibitions, there is no smell, which means there is something that removes this terrible smell... Some kind of medicine.

I don’t even know what to call him.)

I should try it, but won’t it make the fabric bad?

A household air ozonizer will get rid of odors! If, of course, you have this device at hand. Just point it at the item for 5-10 minutes, then you can wash it. There will be no smell.

Ehh..What is not there is not there.

Oksana is right: ammonia kills any unpleasant odors. You don’t have to be greedy, add not just a few drops, but more. By the way, it is also good as a bleach.

Great, does that mean the fabric doesn’t deteriorate after using it?

Try placing the item in a bowl of cold water and a shower head under the item. Cold running water in a thin stream for 2-3 hours removes all old energy, which is the cause of the smell. Then do everything recommended above.

Whatever they come up with))) Energy is the reason for the smell of old things that have been lying around for a long time)) Live forever and learn!

if the water is clean. if it is not clean, then within 1 hour at the place where the streams pass, a stain of hardness salts or rust will form, which floats in the water.

Hang it in the wind for a few days, maybe a week, especially good in humid weather somewhere on the terrace. Then it smells like “alpine freshness”)). I always do this with all things except porcelain.

We use mustard powder

Place regular paper newspaper on a flat surface in your clothes or shoe closet. Sprinkle fresh mustard powder on top using wave-like movements, always distributing fresh mustard powder evenly over the entire paper surface. After a few days, mustard will literally draw out the unpleasant odor from clothes or shoes. Then you need to carefully, without scattering, remove the newspaper with mustard powder, which has absorbed all the impurities from the air and pungent odors that were previously present in the clothes. After this, not even a trace of the smell of mothballs will remain in your clothes or shoes.

Apply gauze with dry mustard

Take a piece of gauze fabric and cut it into four identical squares with a side of about twenty centimeters. Fold the gauze squares into three layers. Then pour three or four tablespoons of dry mustard into each gauze square. Form gauze squares into bags filled with fresh mustard and tie them at the top. Place ready-made gauze bags with mustard around the entire perimeter of the closet for clothes or shoes. Leave them there for a few days. This method helps to remove persistent odors not only in clothes and shoes, but also the old smell of mothballs in the closet itself.

The advantages of this method of combating the smell of naphthalene:

• it is convenient to use and quickly move mustard powder, compactly packaged in gauze bags;
• dry mustard from bags does not crumble and does not leave traces on the surface;
• a relatively easy and cheap method that does not require special skills;
• You can regularly change the contents of gauze bags with fresh mustard powder.

Industrial neutralizers and absorbers

Specialized products to combat odors will help housewives deal with the problem faster. Popular Products:

SmelIOFF

A universal odor remover in a convenient spray bottle. Effective on various surfaces.

Can be processed:

• shoes,
• clothes,
• animals,
• furniture,
• carpets and so on.

Does not cause an allergic reaction. The average price is 550-700 rubles per 0.5 liter.

Selena

Budget granular odor absorber, versatile and non-toxic. It is enough to open the hole on the lid of the container and place it in places where heavy air accumulates. The average price is 20-38 rubles per 1 piece.

Emix-O

Emix-O concentrate:

• neutralizes odors,
• disinfects,
• effective in combating animal odors.

It is economically used: a teaspoon is enough for one treatment. The average price is 350-420 rubles per 100. To achieve results, you must carefully study the instructions on the packaging and strictly follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Using dry cloves

The persistent smell of mothballs from clothes and shoes can be removed with the help of clove seeds. First, grind the clove seed through a coffee grinder to obtain a powder. Pour the ground clove powder from a coffee grinder into a small clay container, such as a clay pot. If you place such a container with clove powder in a closet for clothes or shoes, then for several months you can easily remove the tart smell of mothballs from the clothes closet, replacing it with the subtle aroma of cloves.

Preventing unpleasant odors in the closet

• Do not store clothes and shoes in the same closet. If this is not possible, zone the closet space so that shoes are stored in a separate compartment from clothes.
• Do not store medications in the closet with your clothes. There should be a special separate cabinet or first aid kit for medications.
• Place only clean and well-dried clothes and shoes in closets.
• Check your clothing regularly. Take it out of the closet, shake it, rearrange it. This procedure should be carried out at least once a month.
• Make it a habit to get rid of things that haven't been used in one year.
• Fill your closet with pleasant aromas: dried herbs, perfumes, essential oils. And then there will be no room left for an unpleasant smell in the closet.

Soaking in soda solution

Fill the basin with regular running water. Pour one tablespoon of regular baking soda into it. Next, stir the soda solution thoroughly. Then take one tablet from the package of acetylsalicylic acid, throw it into a basin and wait until it is completely dissolved. After this, you need to put into the prepared solution something that smells strongly of mothballs, for example, a woolen skirt, trousers, jacket, etc. Leave the clothes soaked in this solution for about one hour. Then rinse these clothes well in running water. After this procedure, the pungent smell of mothballs will disappear and the item will smell normal.

The most effective ways

Ventilation

Poor ventilation is one of the reasons for the formation of stench, so ventilation plays an important role. Over time, this preventive measure even allows you to get rid of the smell of tobacco smoke, but removing the aroma of mothballs, which people often put out to kill moths, will be very problematic.

It is very important to regularly ventilate the chest of drawers: take out all things from there and take them out into the sun, and leave the doors open for at least a couple of hours.

If you follow this simple requirement, your cabinet will smell great all year round.

Wet cleaning

It is necessary to regularly clean not only the apartment, but also the furniture in it from dirt. To ensure that the musty stench never haunts you, we recommend wiping the surfaces with a damp cloth once a month.

1. Take out all the items and treat the inside surface of the wardrobe wall with clean water. To add a pleasant aroma, we recommend adding a little lavender or clove essential oil, they will also help fight moths.
2. Take a towel, soak it in water and hang it inside for a couple of hours, then wash it and repeat the manipulations again.
3. Leave the furniture with the doors open for several hours to allow the moisture to dry out, otherwise a damp stench will appear.

The above method is effective even if there is a smell of cigarettes in the closet.

Remove excess moisture

Often the problem of an unpleasant “amber” occurs due to high humidity in the room, especially if it is the bathroom, kitchen or the rooms closest to them. The fact is that condensation accumulates on the pipes over time, in which harmful microorganisms (mold, fungi, microbes and other pathogens) thrive. In this case, it is necessary to make additional waterproofing of the pipes.

If the formation of a characteristic stench is not associated with condensation on the pipes, you can purchase moisture absorbers; they are also suitable for shoes.

Mold control

If the room is on the dry side or there is a lot of moisture in the air, this provokes mold. To get rid of it, you should use this method:

1. Open the wardrobe doors, then you need to take out all the things.
2. Wipe walls and shelves with vinegar solution using a damp gauze bandage. To combat mold, you can also use baking soda diluted with water.
3. Dry everything with a dehumidifier and leave the doors open for several hours.

Often, to eliminate odors from mold in the closet, the above manipulations have to be repeated 2-3 times.

Milk bath

Milk is often used to disinfect the air and perfectly absorbs stench, so its use is one of the popular ways to eliminate stench:

1. Bring the milk to a boil.
2. Place the pan on the shelf, close the doors tightly and leave for half an hour.
3. We remove the container.

The most pleasant option for getting rid of amber is to make bags with fragrant herbs: lemon balm, cinnamon, mint, cloves, lavender, vanilla. It is enough to wrap them in cloth and put them on a shelf, and after a while the disgusting aroma will disappear.

Interior fragrances

If you want your furniture to smell like a scent that you like, you can spray it from the inside with your favorite perfume or add scented soap. Spray deodorant is not suitable - it will leave marks on the wood. There are fragrances and special “freshers” for chests of drawers, sold in household chemical stores at a low cost.

It is worth considering that closet fragrances can spread to the entire room, as well as to the outfits stored in it.

Absorbers

In addition to scents, you can place homemade odor absorbers in the wall. What is usually used for this:

• Baking soda: just pour it into a bag or open container and leave it inside for a while.
• Activated carbon: a few tablets should be placed inside.
• Zeolite. It is used as an absorbent for cat litter, and is used against stench in the same way as soda.

If there are outfits that are stored for a long time and not worn, over time they acquire a bad aroma that is transferred to clean things. Here it is enough to wash everything with a laundry scent, and put soap inside the furniture as a stink neutralizer.

There is another option:

• Wash your clothes in a weak vinegar solution.
• Wring out well and hang to dry.

Additional Tips

In order not to worry about how to remove smell from a closet, you should remember a few recommendations:

• We must not forget about wet cleaning of furniture: you need to regularly wipe it with a weak vinegar solution.
• If there are clean clothes on the shelf, it is not advisable to put other things on it.
• For prevention, you should use folk remedies: put scented soap or sachets inside, and for wiping, during cleaning, dilute water with three drops of essential oil.

Prevention measures

• After purchase, it is recommended to varnish the inside of the cabinet. The product will serve as a barrier that will prevent odors from being absorbed into the furniture;
• ventilate the closet daily for 1-2 hours;
• always dry clothes thoroughly before storing them in your wardrobe;
• sort things and put them on shelves so that they do not crumple or wrinkle;
• Ventilate the room in which the wardrobe is located more often;
• put things away for storage in separate boxes;
• put only clean clothes in the closet;
• close the doors when preparing food, otherwise things will become saturated with odors from the kitchen;
• periodically – 1-2 times a year – carry out an inspection and general cleaning of the wardrobe.