7 Methods of Removing Mothball Odor from Cedar Chest

Mothball odor is annoying, right? It doesn’t deodorize easily. Yes! You read that right. But there is no problem without solutions. And here you can get the right way to remove the smell out from your cedar chest.

There are thousands of ways you may have heard to get rid of that mothball scent. Trust me all are not effective. So, the question; what are the most effective ways?

Alcohol and vinegar mix, heat treatment, mothball deodorizer, charcoal, and wood finish are the most effective ways to revive the cedar chest. But you should know how to apply those on cedar chests to get the best result.

And in this article, I will help you to remove the mothball odor from your cedar chest with the 7 effective and practical methods step by step.

So, without losing your time, let’s get started-

How To Get Rid Of Mothball Odor From Cedar Chest?

A few years back I dealt with a similar issue and guess what? Now I can assure you that I can clarify some way that will assist you with 100% accuracy to eliminate mothball scent from the cedar chest.

 Method 1:Mixture of Rubbing Alcohol and Vinegar

Required Materials:

1. Rubbing Alcohol(our pick: Vaxxen Isopropyl Alcohol 99% Rubbing Alcohol)
2. Vinegar or Lemon Juice
3. Cloth

Procedure-

1. Soak the cloth into the solution
2. Rub the chest gently
3. Keep the lid open and let the chest dry

You can also pour the solution into a sprayer and spray the solution on the chest surfaces.

Method 2: Using Baking Soda and Newspaper

Required Materials:

1. Baking Soda(our pick: Arm & Hammer Baking Soda)
2. Newspaper
3. Bowl

Procedure-

1. Fill the bowl with Baking soda
2. Place the bowl into the cedar chest
3. Fill the rest of the chest with Newspaper
4. Close the chest and wait for a weak or more
5. Repeat the process if needed

Method 2: Wash with Detergent

Required Materials:

1. Detergent
2. Cloth
3. Water

Procedure-

1. Mix 1-3 tablespoons of detergent into 1 liter of water
2. Soak the cloth and rinse the chest
3. Let them dry and rub them with a clean cloth

Method 3: Use Hairdryer

Required Materials:

1. Hairdryer

Procedure-

1. Use a hairdryer to heat the cedar chest
2. The heat will deodorize the smell
3. Use the hairdryer every day for a week to remove the odor completely

 Method 4: Activated Charcoal

Required Materials:

1. Charcoal Bag (Our pick: Nature Fresh Bamboo Charcoal Air Purifying Bags)

Procedure-

1. Spread out the charcoal all around the inside part of the chest
2. Freely fold-up paper pages (around 10 sheets) and float them over the charcoal
3. Within a couple of days, the mothball smell will be totally ou
4. Then vacuum out the charcoal

 Method 5: Air and Heat

Procedure:

1. Take the cedar chest outside in hot weather
2.  Open up the cover for 15 to 30 minutes every day for as long as three days. 

 Method 5: Refinish The Cedar Chest

Required Materials:

1. Wood Finish (our pick: HOPE’S Pure Tung Oil Waterproof Natural Wood Finish and Sealer)
2. Cloth/Brush
3. Sandpaper

 Procedure-

1. Sand the chest with small grit sandpaper
2. Clean the dust properly
3. Brush or wipe the cedar chest wood finish on your chest surfaces
4. Recoat after 12-24 hours
5. Let the top coat dry

Method 6:Using Moth Ball Odor Remover

 Required Materials:

1. Mothball Remover (our pick: SMELLEZE Reusable Mothball Smell Removal Deodorizer)

 Procedure-

1. Simply place the mothball remover on the cedar chest
2. Let them work
3. The odor remover will absorb the odor

Method 7: Using Air Freshener or Fabric Spray

 Required Materials:

1. Air Freshener or Fabric Spray(our pick: Febreze Extra Strength Fabric Refresher)

 Procedure-

1.  Spray the freshener into the cedar chest
2. Close the lid
3. Repeat after 24 hours

Precautions

1. Be cautious while you are working with substances like baking soda, white vinegar, and charcoal.
2. Stay outside the room until the smell has completely gone.
3. Cover your nose and mouth when you are working with scent remover substances.
4. Wear gloves while you are mixing up any solution.

Conclusion

Mothball odor makes the cedar chest unusable. Because most people hate that pungent smell of storage. So, removing mothball odor from the cedar chest is the only way to get the refreshed room for further storage.

And you will get here the best way to get rid of the mothball odor from the cedar chest permanently. I hope the article will help you. Don’t forget to share which method you tried and what was the result.

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