getting rid of musty smell inside a cabinet

[pyotr filipivich]

greetings

I glommed a cabinet some time back, and I have used it for the under cabinet and support for the work bench. But it has been out in the shop for years, and it has gotten damp over the years. And developed an accompanying musty smell. Out in the shop it didn't matter - much. But having moved it inside (for reasons) the exterior part dried out and stopped smelling after a couple days (rah). But the interior still has the musty smell which is obvious when I open the cabinet. Pew! So, suggestions on drying/deodorizing the interior of this cabinet? I'm not overly concerned about it, just wondering.

tschus pyotr

[whit3rd]

Wood does pick up aromas; my own approach would be to clean it off and then apply boiled linseed oil. The oil will stink for a few days while it cures, but after that, it's a barrier to other volatiles.

The odor of linseed oil, though, will still be discernable. Not unpleasant, IMHO. If you're energetic, you can overcoat the linseed with shellac, and/or reapply BLO from time to time.

[Scott Lurndal]

Open it up and leave it out in the sun for a few [warm, dry] days.

[Michael Trew]

Drying it out in the sun is my best guess. You might not like my next suggestion, but I bet moth balls would get rid of the lingering odor -- but it will be replaced with the odor of moth balls. I don't mind the smell personally, it reminds me of my grandmother's basement... lol

[Brian Welch]

Not sure if it's worth the effort, but after a good drying and wiping down, a coat of shellac or 2 should seal the surface...you could always try the Arm and Hammer approach as well...

[Leon]

Home Hepot, Bed Bath and Beyond sell Odor Absorbing gel and beads. These work remarkably well even on the strongest of odors.

[Leon]

Hey Scott! Are out of harms way with the storms?

[Scott Lurndal]

Hi Leon,

4.24 inches over a 14 hour period (4.75 24-hour total).

Bit of water in the barn and the pond (which was dry) is now full and the ducks have already arrived. I expect the frogs to start singing in earnest tonite or tomorrow night (at 100db!).

A start on the drought, but we've a long way to go yet.

(Mt Tamalpais, just north of the Golden Gate bridge got almost

27 inches in 48 hours).

We were lucky that there wasn't a lot of earth movement (slides) in the fire zones, and the rain did a good job of stamping out the remaining fire danger for this year.

It was enough rain to restart Yosemite Falls (which is usually dry until the spring snow melts), as this was a warm early-season storm - most snow was at elevations above 8000ft.

[Leon]

Well I am glad to hear that you are doing OK.

Funny that you mentioned Yosemite Falls restarting.

We had hurricane.tropical storm Harvey in 2017. We got the tropical storm/rain part, further south they got the Hurricane part.

The amount of water that fell in the Houston area was compared to Niagra falls,

Anyway From Friday afternoon Aug 25 through Sunday night Aug 27 my location got 37", some parts of the Houston area got over 50" in that 60 hour period.

One mile north of us the street crosses a levee into the shallow end of Barker reservoir. Homes in the shallow end has 1~2 feet of water inside. As you went several miles to the east and north, the homes took on more water. Every time I drive over that levee I am grateful that we did not buy on that side. ;~) And strangely enough those homes ranged from $400K into the millions of dollars. AND the residents complained that their homes flooding. Well, if you buy home situated in a reservoir,,,,,,,

Moral of the story, if you have a lot of money it does not mean that you are smart enough to investigate before buying.

[krw]

I bet shellac would work. We had "cat smell" in our laundry when we went to sell. I painted the walls but used B-I-N first and it completely sealed in the "aroma". Cat is a little worse than basement.

[pyotr filipivich]

I think I'll just leave it open. Moving it is not really an option, add in that this is the pacific north west, the next few warm dry days is - June? July? (I just reorganized that room, and while I can get around better, sidling along sideways kind of mitigates against moving.)

[pyotr filipivich]

Ooh, mothballs. Cool. Now where did I put those cedar closet deodorizers.

[ck]

Le 27/10/2021 à 20:46, pyotr filipivich a écrit :

You must wash the interior of your cabinet with a mixture of 20% lineseed oil and 80% turpentine olus some drops of oil drying agent (using a paintbrush), it always work.

[Puckdropper]

pyotr filipivich [e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Two things immediately come to mind: Air and UV. If you don't want to set it out in the sun (or you won't see the sun for a while like us), put a fan on it and maybe a UV light. I don't know if you'll need a UV lamp (they cost about $10-20) or can just get a UV bulb for a few bucks. Some fluorescant bulbs can put out useful levels of UV.

The other thing that came to mind was dehumidifying beads. Looks like Leon suggested that sort of thing a few days ago.

Puckdropper

[pyotr filipivich]

Puckdropper [e-mail] on Thu, 28 Oct 2021 09:16:44 GMT typed in rec.woodworking the following:

I have ("somewhere") a dehumidifier unit, which I once I find again, I could put in there.