refreshen the old wardrobe

[wahine]

No, this is not about going on a big shopping tour to get new clothes (not that I didn't want to ).

I just moved from a place with built-in closets to a place without. So I need a stand alone wardrobe.
Good is: my aunt has one to spare, and it's even the one that she and my mom used when they were teens (yay!)
Bad is: it has a real bad smell cause she had it in the damp cellar for the last 10 years or so. :eeek:

How can I get rid of the stench? What can I do that is effective, lasting and gentle on the wood?
I don't want to experiment cause it's real nice wood and my late grandpa made the wardrobe himself.

I'd be happy for your recommendations, hopefully based on own experience.
Even better would be if you knew any traditional home remedies,
since chemical products are yuk and the brands probably not available to me anyway, sitting in Germany.

 

[ThePowderKeg]

Not sure if you have access to Murphy Oil Soap? That would be my first thought - I've used it on wood that's been in rough shape and been pleased with the results. It has a soft lemony smell.

 

[thedanu]

I once bought a chair (one of those with fabric and some filling) in a flea-market and only when I made it home did I realized that it STUNK. Really horrible, quite the way the hobos stink (I live in one of those "bohemian" neighbourhoods, so I'm unluckily enough kind of familiar with the smell).
I'm not sure if this remedy will work for you, but I use water and vinegar. The vinegar is supposed to denaturalize the proteins that cause the stench (most of the unpleasant odours are caused by some protein). It worked really nicely in my case, but I'm not sure if the wood would be very happy about being in contact with water... Maybe vinegar by itself would work better in the case of wood, it would probably need less time.

 

[wahine]

Thanks for the idea, PowderKeg!
I never heard of it, but a short websearch tells me it's actually being sold in Germany (not so cheap, though). It's mainly for saddle cleaning as it seems.
Did you use it on natural/unpainted/unvarnished wood as well?
Does it just clean or can it also remove old smell? I'm afraid that the stench has 'soaked' pretty deep into the wood.

 

[wahine]

thedanu, I had the idea to use vinegar myself. But that I tried that on my kitchen cupboard that merely had a mild smell, and it didn't work out very well. Same with the cups of coffee powder I put inside. It took the smell weeks to even get weaker, let alone go away altogether (I'm not sure if it's away now, or if I just got used to it).

 

[C-dot]

I second the recommendation for Murphy's Oil. I bought a gramophone from an antique market, made in 1928, that was still in original working condition, but it reeked of wood varnish. I washed it down with warm water containing a few drops of Murphy's, and the smell was gone.

I've also used it on natural, unvarnished wood (a hutch my grandfather made. ) It's gentle and leaves it smelling nice, and looking clean. If it's a little expensive, just keep in mind that one bottle will last you years.

 

[Drappa]

I heard that vinegar with olive oil is supposed to work, but haven't tried it myself.

"Another simple but often effective wood cleaner that I've heard used with success is a solution of one part olive oil to 24 parts white vinegar. This equates to two teaspoons olive oil per pint of vinegar. Use the mixture from a spray bottle, and be sure to shake the bottle frequently."
http://woodworking.about.com/od/dealingwithproblems/qt/RemovingOdors.htm

 

[wahine]

I might try to find the Murphy's oil in a local shop. Can you believe that here, it cost three times as much as in the US!
They really charge an arm and a leg for it (can you say that? got it from an online dictionary)
There seem to be different kinds of it. They only sell one kind here, in a bottle of 32 fl.oz, saying "original formula safely cleans wood" - sounds encouraging

Drappa, thanks for the link. I never heard of the idea to use olive oil. I wonder what will it do to the unvarnished wood?

 

[C-dot]

I might try to find the Murphy's oil in a local shop. Can you believe that here, it cost three times as much as in the US!
They really charge an arm and a leg for it (can you say that? got it from an online dictionary)

That's too bad! I feel your pain - Lots of Canadian prices are still marked up significantly from American ones, even though we're above parity. It might be worth it to try some home remedies before you splurge.

(PS - Yes, that's a very valid and oft used expression lol)

ETA: Can we put this thread in the Display Case or Golden Era threads? You might get more tips.

 

[Drappa]

I also read that once you clean the wood you can use lemon or orange oil and let it dry completely. In fact, we've been told that spraying furniture with lemon oil will stop cats from scratching it, so I guess it is safe on wood.
Otherwise, do you have a covered verandah or balcony that you could leave it on for a day or two to try and air it out?

 

[wahine]

I already thought about airing it for a while. Unfortunately, I have no verandah or the like. Maybe we can put it in my aunts garage before we transport it to my place. It's a very old garage and the air comes through all the walls Cleaning it with vinegar / vinegar-olive-oil-mixture and leaving it for a while might be a good start.
I just wish I'd live closer to my aunt to take care of it. In the end it will be up to her to do the rewiping, putting charcoal (?!), lemons, kitty litter, and vinegar over and over again into the wardrobe. :eusa_doh:
Can't do it in my apartment cause the only place to put it is my bedroom.

I can't believe it slipped my mind that an American friend of mine will come to see me in a few weeks - I just sent her an e-mail asking to bring some Murphy's oil soap. Even if I find some other solution till I get it from her, It will be usable for other deeds and it comes at a reasonable price in the US.

got to say goodbye for today (because here, it's not today but tonight) *wave*

 

[sheeplady]

So my parents live in a very damp and moldy house, so I have experience with furniture that stinks.

The vinegar will help. If it still smells, it is probably because the insides are unfinished and still holding mold (by unfinished I mean bare wood without varnish). Usually, the outside of drawers are unfinished, the bottom of the piece is unfinished, and the parts of the box that hold things like drawers are unfinished. Sometimes the back is unfinished, sometimes the top too. After giving it a thorough scrubbing and letting it dry, try finishing these areas with polyurethane. Here in the US, you can get oil based or water based. I recommend water based, as it has less smell, is easier to apply, and has no oil (since oil can mold, I just use water based). Sand every surface you intend to coat (using a coarse then a fine sand paper), clean, apply a coat, sand (using very fine sandpaper, very lightly), clean, and apply another coat. Make sure you do it in a well ventilated area, and wear a ventilator mask (a cheap one will work). You can do it in your home, just put something on the floor and open all the windows.

Polyurethane is a plastic polymer- it will seal everything in so it can't get to you. This should drastically help, if any of the piece is unfinished.

 

[Puzzicato]

Have you tried the bicarb trick? Open box of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in the bottom of the wardrobe for a few days. If it works in a stinky fridge (and it does) I think it would be a good & cheap starting point.

 

[wahine]

sheeplady, thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I was wondering if painting the thing would do any good, but I was very unsure and wouldn't have known what kind of paint to use. I will do some research on PU paints - there seems to be at least a dozen different kinds.

Puzzicato, since I have soda in my house, it was one of my first ideas to use that. But after looking it up on the web, I found several comments agreeing upon "soda is useful to clean pretty much anything besides aluminium and unfinished wood". They say it will darken or stain unfinished wood. I'm unsure though if this only happens when you use it directly on the wood (like when rubbing it with a mixture of bicarb & water).

This afternoon, I will go to see my aunt and the wardrobe. I'm not sure how much of it really is unfinished (haven't seen it in a while) and how much it really stinks (haven't smelled it in a while either).

I gotta say that you ladies give me hope that - despite of what my aunt says - I will be able to use the wardrobe with some work and patience. That would be so nice, since it's a piece of personal value, having been made by my grandpa and been used by my ma (both deceased).
Plus, I'm not really willing to invest money on a new wardrobe of the 'quality' they sell today.
Thank you for encouraging me!

 

[sheeplady]

sheeplady, thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I was wondering if painting the thing would do any good, but I was very unsure and wouldn't have known what kind of paint to use. I will do some research on PU paints - there seems to be at least a dozen different kinds.

The polyurethane I was refering to is a clear coat finish, it will allow the natural wood to show through. It is essentially like clear nail polish. You can get it in a variety of finishes- from glossy (very shiny) to matte (very little shine). It goes from gloss, semi-gloss, satin, to matte. In the US, it was (and still is) very popular on furniture. Oil based will slightly yellow the piece over time (because of the oil), water based makes it stay the same color (water based is all plastic). Essentially, like clear nailpolish, if you want the wood a different color underneath the poly, you need to stain it, just like you need to paint your nails. If it is on the inside or someplace not visible, it doesn't really matter what color the wood is underneath, you are just trying to seal it.

Some forms of poly have a stain built in. This allows you to stain while applying the poly. I am pretty leery of this, just because it would seem more difficult to apply to look good. In the US, I use a brand called Minwax. I like satin for more dull applications and semi-gloss for higher gloss. The only other tips I can think of is to make sure the piece is dried out (no longer damp from your aunts or damp from washing) and make sure that anything you poly has 48-72 hours before you put it back together. (Don't poly a drawer and put it back in the wardrobe right away.)

The other thing, is if the piece is in really bad shape all over (the finish is bad) I would recommend refinishing it, and doing any unfinished places in the same go. I really don't recommend painting furniture. Eventually the paint needs to be removed, and that is a pain. If you use something like stain and/or poly, that finish will last 50 to 100 years or more (if you oil your furniture with something once in a while). A paint job will last 20, if you are lucky.

 

[Louise Anne]

If it's bare wood inside and noneof the above are working for you then try Danish oil
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_oil

It's what used on wood chopping board, wood rolling pins etc in the kitcken to seal them

 

[wahine]

Ladies, thanks and thanks again for all your helpful comments!!! :hug:

eep: I'm a bit ashamed having made such a fuss - it wasn't half as bad as I expected.
The wardrobe did smell alright and even seemed to have some mold in the back. But since about 90 % of it has polish/paint on it, the smell didn't obviously creep inside the wood. I gave the whole thing two thorough rubbings with a water/vinegar mixture, let dry in between. The parts where it had mold, I rubbed with pure vinegar.
When we set it up at home, there was no smell at all! I'm really happy about it (also happy I don't have to mess with poly polishing or whatever). Although I didn't need to use any of your advice, I will definitely keep them all in mind, they might come handy one day!

This is it (made approx. 1959 by my late grandpa)




At the opportunity, my lovely aunt also gave me a little table. It doesn't look like much, but it was made by my great-grandfather as it seems. On the bottom, there is a little handwritten note, saying "Sept. 1887"
It had quite a bit of mold inside the drawer, but vinegar helped with that as well.
I plan to use it as a vanity.

Wooden boxes that my grandpa made for my grandma:

:roll::dance:

 

[Louise Anne]

I am pleased it turned out well for you without too much hard work , by the way your great-grandfather must have been very skilled to make the table and boxes , it was not the age of power tools and that makes a load of differance. I just admire people who can make items like those.

 

[sheeplady]

That is beautiful!

 

[wahine]

Thanks, I'm happy about it all, too!

Paul, the wooden boxes were made by my grandpa (probl. in the 30s or 40s) - only the table is from my great-grandfather.
But my aunt just called me and told me she found one more wooden box that goes with the table - hopefully from my great-grandfather as well.