My dear husband built me the cabinet/bin I'd wanted for the kitchen. However.... the smell of wood stain (inside the bin) will not go away. It's been in the house and completely dry for a couple of months, and I still can't put anything in it that will absorb the odors (like crackers, cereal, etc.) as they then taste like the smell. (I learned the hard way.)
I've tried:
baking soda--several boxes activated charcoal--several boxes open vinegar containers--several tubs paper towels soaked in vanilla
And just in case it was caused by unvarnished stain, I got some spray shellac and re-coated the inside of the cabinet. (This helped quite a bit, but not enough.)
Right now I've got a brand new 3 1b can of coffee coating the 'floor' of said cabinet as someone told me that coffee grounds would remove odors in old wood. It was probably a waste of perfectly good coffee, and I'm glad I have a strong shop-vac.
Each of the 'deodorizers' I've used has been given a fairly long trial--at least a couple of weeks, except for the vanilla because that didn't seem to work *at all*.
The cabinet is not built in, so I can remove it without too much trouble if sunlight is actually a viable suggestion, but it's awkward, so I don't want to do that unless there is reasonable assurance that will really work. (However, I'm ready to try anything, so I'll give even that a shot if no one has an easier solution.)
Marilee, ready to try just about anything!
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