Oh my God, it smells like something died in here!
Apparently, in my circle of friends, I am the go-to person if you have this kind of problem.
I hope it’s not because my furniture and house stinks but rather because I’m always rehabbing old, musty, dusty furniture. I have a little bit of experience with getting rid of odor in furniture.
My friend, Amy, who is a real-life CSI, recently sent me this query:
You can imagine that crime scene investigators like me get interesting questions. However, tonight’s, though forensically sound, is more appropriate for my Atta Girls. Neighbor: “How do you get the smell of ‘dead’ out of furniture?” 🙂 Seems a 78-year-old, sentimental chest of drawers in her garage became home to a decaying critter without her immediate knowledge. She’s tried Fabreeze and bleach, which not only didn’t work, but also warped a thin, wood packing crate her father used to craft the piece. Any suggestions from the Atta Girls or Friends of Atta Girls?
Well, I certainly have experience with stinky furniture, but thankfully dead is not a stench that I’ve encountered — yet. So, I turned to some of my blogger friends on Hometalk for their input on Amy’s “something died in here” query.
In my experience, the best solution for getting rid of stinky odors is to neutralize them, not to mask them. Because no matter how much air freshener you use, it always seems the stench comes back. I suspect that what the neighbor’s chest needs is a good airing out — lots of sunshine and fresh air — with some neutralizing agent thrown into the mix.
Here are some tips for getting rid of stinky odors, pulled from my own experience and from the suggestions of the Hometalk bloggers:
- Clean the stinky chest of drawers, inside and out, with an appropriate cleanser. For the neighbor’s chest, the safest option may be a slighty dampened rag with water or another furniture-safe cleanser. Vinegar and water is another option. For another stinky container, like a trash can or a dirty diaper genie, I would scrub with a bleach-based cleaner and also apply Lysol liberally. The neighbor may be able to use Lysol on her stinky piece of furniture.
- Sprinkle the drawers with baking soda, which should absorb the odors. Let the baking soda sit for several days, and vacuum it up. You may need to try several applications. Alternately, you can place a bowl of baking soda inside each drawer. The longer it is left in, the better.
- Let the stinky piece air out. Leave it outside in the sunshine — for days, if necessary.
- Line the drawers with dryer sheets, and let them work their magic for several days (weeks even, if the smell is quite malodorous).
- Pour kitty litter into the drawers and leave it for several days. It should absorb the odor. Dump it out, vacuum well and sniff. Repeat, if necessary.
- Put coffee beans inside the drawers to absorb and mask the odor.
- Place a few jars of white vinegar inside the furniture. The vinegar smell doesn’t linger and it should remove the odor. Depending on how bad the smell is, you may need to leave the vinegar in place longer and repeat, as necessary.
- Furniture painting pal Lori Young of Vintage Charm Restored swears by TSP cleaner, available at home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot.
- Paint can sometimes mask and cover odors. If the neighbor paints the inside of the drawers, the smell may go away.
- Once the drawers are clean and the odor has been removed, consider storing scented candles inside the chest of drawers. The candles will cover up any lingering scent that may return over time.
Thanks to bloggers Janel at Nellie Bellie and Cheri at It’s So Very Cheri!, as well as my friend Kaaren, for weighing in with tips on how to get rid of stinky smells in furniture. And for more tips on removing odors from furniture, check out this post from Living with Lindsay, and be sure to read the comments for even more suggestions.
For answering this question, I think we all deserve a “get-out-of-jail-free” card from the other Amy! 🙂
If you have suggestions for Amy’s friend, please add them to the comments. I’ll make sure you get your very own get-out-of-jail-free card for adding your two cents.
Avi B.
I have a small antique dresser that sat in someone’s shed for years and has an odor. I have washed, stripped, re washed, sanded, wiped with mineral spirits, sprinkled with baking soda and washed again yet the smell still lingers. I’m willing to try the kitty litter, charcoal, vodka, etc. but I’m wondering if anyone tried a scented oil wood polish or mineral oil mixed with essential oils as a final step? Just hoping that once the smell is gone maybe I can get a better scent in.
Teresa
Nature’s miracle will take the cat urine smell out of anything.
nedra cummings
I have a wood cabinet with drawers that I used to store scented candles in on of the drawers. I am now wanting to move it to my kitchen to use as a bakers cabinet and would like to store baking supplies (flour, etc.) in the drawer where I stored the candles. The candle smell is very strong. How can I get rid of this and bear in mind i can’t use anything on it that is not food
friendly. Please help.
nedra cummings
I have an wood cabinet with drawers that I used to store scented candles in on of the drawers. I am now wanting to move it to my kitchen to use as a bakers cabinet and would like to store baking supplies (flour, etc.) in the drawer where I stored the candles. The candle smell is very strong. How can I get rid of this and bar in mind i can’t use anything on it that is not food
friendly. Pleas help.
Anita O'Bryan
I tried most all of the options listed here to no avail. The furniture had been in dry storage for years and nothing that I tried helped. Leaving it outside was not an option. After weeks of the terrible smell my Dad advise me to try charcoal. I did and after a bit the smell disappeared.
Lisa G
My husband bought me an antique vanity that had been “refinished” but the seller admitted it had suffered water damage. All the sanding and staining had not even touched the musty & mildew-y smell, ugh! I refused to store anything in it until the smell was 100% gone. I tried vinegar first…left bowls of it in the drawers…not much improvement. Tried cat litter left in for over a week…better but still stinky. Poured baking soda in the drawers and left in for a few weeks…got better but still not gone completely. Lastly, wadded up newspaper in all the drawers and left for over a month. Smelled 90% better! but I was too eager to get it to 100%. I added Yankee candle wax tarts to the drawers and left for a week or so. Finally, the smell was gone or I became nose blind. Every now and then when I open the drawers I can smell a faint musty smell but not anything like it was in the beginning.
Atta Girl Amy
Wow, it sounds like you were very diligent and finally were able to get rid of the odors. It’s tough with old, stinky furniture, and I’ve found that different solutions work for different smells. I am definitely going to remember to use Yankee candle wax tarts. I’ve also gotten a lot of other great ideas from the comments on this post. I need to write an update!
Jacquie Hess
Clear Shellac from Zinnser in a spray can is supposed to block the smell. Its a stain and odor blocker. Spray all over inside the stinky area like you would when spray painting something.
Atta Girl Amy
Great idea! I actually plan to use shellac when we replace the carpet in our bedroom. There is one spot that my elderly dog has become too familiar with, and I’m planning on shellacing the subfloor so that any odor does not return or attract her to the spot again.
john
I put scent booster pellets(washing mashine additive) in a spray bottle of hot water to to disolve and use on furniture fabric to rid of musty smells.
Atta Girl Amy
I just got some of these scent booster pellets for the wash. I’m going to try these on the next piece of stinky furniture I find! Great idea!
Janet
I up cycle a lot of old furniture. If the root cause of the bad smell isn’t mold or some funk that needs to otherwise be removed by cleaning, I’ve had good success with putting a dryer sheet in a drawer or cabinet. Great for putting in garbage cans too. Just place the sheet at the bottom of the container then insert the bag.
Grace
Anyone have suggestions for getting cigarette smoke out of a house and it’s contents. We inherited a house that we’re trying to sell. We cleaned all carpeting, washed down all the walls with some professiona cleaner and we’ve sprayed all the rooms with air freshener. The problem is is that no one is living in the house anymore so the windows are never opened. When we visit we always are aware of the odor and so does anyone looking at the house. Since it’s now winter we can’talk open the windows while we visit. Any suggestions as to what we can leave in the house while we’re not there? We’ve also tried charcoal and vinegar but these don’the work either.
Colleen Wimmer
I would use a Healthmate Jr. filter and leave it on a low setting all the time. I was introduced to it by a friend when the house we were renting showed signs of mold on the walls that were not well insulated. (We no longer live there, thank god!). I had a toddler and was very concerned. The filter worked beautifully! I still have it and use it on occasion for various reasons: crafting with strong paint, the manure smell in spring from local farms, if it’s too cold outside to let in fresh air, when we have a cold in the house. It’s a bit of investment, but if you are trying to sell the house, it will be well worth it! It will remove the odors from the room, but I don’t know if it will aid in getting rid of the odor all together. Maybe. It would try it.
So another suggestion… I don’t know what product you used on your walls, but one time when I rented a smoke-ridden place, I did use TSP and it worked. But take care to research a bit if it is toxic, to breathe or get on the skin. Some stuff I used back in the day I wouldn’t touch now. Environmental Working Group’s cleaning products database is a fantastic resource in this regard.
carmen
you can rent a machine its like a ionizer run it in each room going over everything and then just let it run in center of the room, I used to strip all the furniture and items from condo’s for resale and this is what we did for the smoker’s. it does work, because its gets into the walls furniture, wood etc.
LCS
You can call a company that specializes in restorations after fires. They use smoke abatement equipment. In my house, we also use an ionic air cleaner, because I have severe asthma. It helped me tremendously when we stayed in a home that had smoke odors.
Wendy
SCOE10x.com….this stuff is fantastic
Heather
I refinished a dresser this past summer that had been in my parents basement for several years. It was musty smelling. I filled each drawer with cedar shavings (small animal bedding) and kept it closed for a week or so. After I used stripper to remove the paint, I discovered that a corner smelled like a cat had peed/marked it. I have cats, so if there is any lingering smell, they will certainly remark it. I cleaned it with vinegar, scrubbed with steel wool, made a paste of baking soda and vinegar. Nothing was working. I finally had a few dry days and I left it out in the sun. I gave up at that point and applied the first coat of stain. I couldn’t smell the urine anymore. I’m not sure which was key, the sunlight, or the stain. If it happens again, I’ll try peroxide or vodka.
Mary Catherine Allison
I purchased a very old pine blanket chest at auction that I had not done a sniff test on. It really smelled bad! I tried baking soda and coffee grounds after I throughly washed it, but neither helped. I thought it was a lost cause so I used it to store some cedar scrap wood and pine cones I had gathered to make wreaths with. To my surprise, it no longer stinks and I can now use it to store anything.
Plain Jane
I used to work for a trucking company that occasionally hauled “green hides” from a beef processing plant in TX to a leather goods manufacturer in NY. We always used a combo of a straight apple cider vinegar wash & XL cans of the cheapest ground coffee available (repeated as necessary) to remove that awful stench from our truck trailers, so I would think it should work on just about anything else.
Sharon
Fresh Wave gel places in a small bowl does the trick.
Atta Girl Amy
Thanks for the tip!
Mary Schmitz
When I was working in a flower shop, an antiques dealer would come in and buy eucalyptus branches. When they would get a musty or mousy smelling chest, they would put the branches in the drawers to combat the odors. Works in musty closets also
Jill
Yes they did have a pot belly pig for a pet. I found this out when I mentioned to the neighbor about the smell and was filled in. The piggy had freedom to roam in some rooms and the patio deck and fenced in yard.
jill
when I bought my dream home, it came with a “pot-belly-pig” smell : / my Mom (a farmer) said to use powdered lime(comes in bags), dump it, slit open bag and sit it, or pour into little pouches and leave in drawers, or wherever needed. Worked for me!
Atta Girl Amy
That’s a great idea! I would definitely trust a farmer, and it sounds like your mom’s suggestion really worked well for you.
Of course, now I’m curious why the house had a pig smell. Did the former owner have a pig as a pet?
jill
when I bought my dream home, it came with a “pot-belly-pig” smell : / my Mom (a framer) said to use powdered lime(comes in bags), dump it, slit open bag and sit it, or pour into little pouches and leave in drawers, or wherever needed. Worked for me!