Musty particle board furniture?

[milli...]

Hi. I inherited a platform bed that is made of particle board. Very sturdy and I'm happy with it. The surfaces that show are all covered in a veneer so that's easy to clean off. But the backsides of components are bare particle board. It smells kind of musty, like an old rug. I can air it out in the sun for a couple of days to help. Wondering if (after I air it out) I should just throw a coat of any type of paint on those bare surfaces? would that help? would that hurt? Any experience and advice is welcome. Thank you. Theodore

[Dean Hoffman]

Would spraying it with something like good old fashioned Clorox mix help?

[Ed P]

I would do that, let dry well, then a coat of polyurethane or shellac.

[micky]

I agree that the heat and the UV or IR of sunlight is a good first step. After that I have no opinion.

**Is it the UV or the IR?

[milli...]

Yep, I was thinking the same! I just sprayed all the bare surfaces with 50/50 bleach, and put out in the summer sun. Will repeat sun exposure for a couple of days while the weather is nice. And then a coat of poly or (to go cheap) maybe I'll see if I have some ugly color leftover acrylic paint. Thank you all.

[micky]

Be careful. If I knew the bottom of the bed was painted pink, I wouldn't get a wink of sleep all night. Ain't no way I'm sleepin in a pink bed.

[Clare Snyder]

Kilz or Bullseye shellac based primer???