I was cleaning old wood china cabinet, about 65 years old, it came clean, but now ....?

Question

there is a smell coming from it.

I used Murphy's oil soap, washed it down, two coats of Pledge, and a one coat of Oil English.

The former owner smoked and I got off all of the soot, and the tobacco smell, and it looks much cleaner, but now it has a kind of not so nice wood/musty smell coming from it.

Any one have any ideas?

Answer 1

I had this happen too! My husband and I washed a cabinet we bought at a garage sale to lose the smoker smell only to find a new smell.

Our cabinet no longer smells but it took a while before we were sure the smell was gone. To get rid of the smell we placed our cabinet in a sunny room where the air would move throughout the cabinet, opened up all the drawers and doors and put a few cans of gel odor remover in each area. Between drying it out, moving the air and the odor removers (bought at Home Depot or Lowe's) a few weeks later ... No smell!

Good luck!

Answer 2

It may have mold growing inside the wood itself.

Try making sure you keep it in a dry location, put cedar blocks in the drawers or on the shelves....DO NOT USE MURPHYS AGAIN UNTIL YOU'VE GOTTEN RID OF THE SMELL!!

Getting your wood wet will only promote mold/mildew growth!

It may also simply be that the wood itself is an Aromatic wood which then the smell is NORMAL and natural for that type.
But unless I knew what kind of wood it is, I can only guess.

Answer 3

White vinegar removes odors. Place a small bowl filled with white vinegar in the cabinet and close doors leave for 24 hours.
If the intensity of the smell has decrease in 24 hours do the process again.

Answer 4

I have missed you. I do have special children. Grandchildren, too. The almost three year old granddaughter is, as we "speak", lining crayons up end to end across the room. Can i borrow the 10 month old apprentice of the spiffing guru to help clean them up later?

Answer 5

sounds like the wood got too saturated. i would give it a tad to dry out and see how it smells after that. if it still smells try cleaning it again with only the pledge this time to coat the surface again.

Answer 6

I agree with the person to whom this also happened-- altho I would put the piece in the sun with all the doors/drawers open-- make sure it doesn't get wet again. Sun shine does so many good things!
good luck.

Answer 7

Hi, I think it's from all those cleaners you used. I hope you were in a well ventilated area.

Answer 8

that smell is natural but try fabric freshener

Answer 9

some mold could be their

Answer 10

Mold it must be?