for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Last Updated: , Created: Friday, January 11th, 2002

How to get rid of mothball smells.

Nellie has inherited an old chest from her grandmother and it is charged with moth ball smells. How to get rid of that smell since Nellie doesn't have any more woollens that need protecting?

The answer is bicarbonate of soda, and lots of it.

This common power actually changes the pH of different odour molecules, neutralising the odour.

Sprinkle about a quarter to half an inch in the bottom of each drawer. Leave it overnight and then vacuum it out. You will probably have to repeat this several times.

Using it wet is good for cleaning, but it is more effective in its dry state for odours. I have even successfully removed the oil odour from a wooden floor that used to have a leaky oil tank sitting on it. It took quite a while and lots of soda, but it worked, and the soda is not expensive.

Just an aside: why is it called Armand Hammer Cow Brand soda? Because Armand Hammer bought out Cow Brand and they seem to be the only company left. What did Cow Brand mean? I haven't found anyone at Armand Hammer who knows. Do any of you?


Keywords: Cleaning, Odours, Smell

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