How to get rid of a strong strange odor inside a vintage chest
Vintage chests often trap a powerful, pungent smell inside that hits you every time you open the lid. The intense odor makes it impossible to use the chest for storage without transferring the smell to whatever you put inside.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Steam cleaning the outside of the chest
- 2Using expensive perfumed washing detergent and softeners
- 3Using soda crystals and white vinegar
- 4Adding antibacterial laundry additives
- 5Air drying outside and using a dehumidifier
- 6Regularly deep cleaning the washing machine
- 7spraying raw wood parts with mold remover
- 8placing furniture next to a dehumidifier
- 9spraying with vinegar
- 10putting drawers out in the sun
- 11replacing pressed particle board backs
- 12sanding and refinishing
- 13Soaking the bag in warm water with washing detergent for 20 minutes
- 14Blotting the inside with a clean towel and leaving it upside down to dry with a spoon holding the pocket open
- 15Leaving the furniture outside in the sun and wind for months
- 16Treating with baking soda and wiping down with lemon juice
- 17Sanding the wood and coating it with polyurethane
- 18Using coffee grounds
- 19Using an ozonator
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Unfortunately the bottle was leaking without me realizing until it was to late, meaning my purse now smells like opioids.”source ↗
“a month later the smell is still strong enough it makes me sick. How should I go about cleaning the inside?”source ↗
“My washing load always ends up coming out smelling a bit like popcorn.”source ↗
“Ive used expensive perfumed washing detergent and softeners all the way down to soda crystals and white vinegar nothing seems to smell nice.”source ↗
“Just at my wits end”source ↗
“My partner and I bought a vintage nightstand over a year ago which smells [still] like moth balls.”source ↗
“I tried: baking soda for days, then wiped it down multiple times with lemon juice.”source ↗
“I went in that room the other day and was slammed by the odor once again. I really am at a loss.”source ↗
“inside there is this really strange and pungent odor. I genuinely don’t know how to even begin to describe it, the smell itself isn’t terrible but the strength of the smell is. It’s only when I open the chest.”source ↗
“Any advice on what it could be and how to get it to not smell are greatly appreciated.”source ↗
“We brought it home today and have found it to have a really overwhelming musty smell and quite pressingly, it is making us both wheeze and have tight chests.”source ↗
“After testing on small part of the varnished bit, we found that the spray bleached it.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 9How to get strong perfume smell out of cardboard and paper
- 3Why do my towels still smell musty right after washing?
- 5Why does my house smell like cat urine when there is no visible mess?
- 3Why does a spoiled food smell linger even after cleaning?
- 3Why does my house smell bad after taking a shower?
- 9How long does baking soda take to get rid of fridge smells?