Sour Smelling Wood, Dresser, Speakers. Why?

Nov 21, 2003 2 Replies

I have a dresser with drawers made out of compressed recycled wood and it has this musty sour dough smell. The smell gets in my clothes and I don't like it.



Then I just bought a new pair of Yamaha Speakers from Yamaha (note they are new). The subwoofer has some wood in it and also has this same smell.



My house is clean and dry. I have no pests. This smell has been in my dresser and speakers when I got them new. WHY?



What causes sour smelling wood? Is it chemicals? Is it mold? fungus?



Should I worry about my lung health? The smell doesn't travel very far only when I open the drawers or get within 1 foot of the speakers do I smell the light sourness.



I don't see any damage or wettness. It's just the annoying sour smell coming from somewhere.



How do I get rid of it? Wood oil? Orange polish? Or Sunlight?


I've used shellac to seal wood odors from newly made drawers for wifes' girl things. Zinsser Seal Coat is 2# cut dewaxed shellac with long shelf life compared to the fresh mixed stuff I make and can be wiped on the exposed wood surfaces to seal them.

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