I have been plagued by musty odor and have tried every idea I can come up
with but nothing seems to work. Before I have a bond fire in the back yard
are there any suggestions? I have tried Cedar chips and perfumes but nothing
is effective. I have used bleach and cleaning agents and am now considering
an application of wood stain or varnish but am afraid that other odors will
remain. I would also have to disassemble to get to the spots that are
hidden. Months of none use and airing have also been a waste of time. I have
moved completely out of that old rotting building now and hope there is
still a chance for the furniture. I hope someone has a proven method as I
have many of the disproved ones.



TIA

Bob

Just Bob wrote:
I have been plagued by musty odor and have tried every idea I can come up
with but nothing seems to work. Before I have a bond fire in the back yard
are there any suggestions? I have tried Cedar chips and perfumes but nothing
is effective. I have used bleach and cleaning agents and am now considering
an application of wood stain or varnish but am afraid that other odors will
remain. I would also have to disassemble to get to the spots that are
hidden. Months of none use and airing have also been a waste of time. I have
moved completely out of that old rotting building now and hope there is
still a chance for the furniture. I hope someone has a proven method as I
have many of the disproved ones.



TIA

Bob


I would suggest a sanding sealer like DuraSeal, easy to apply w/ a rag.
I did about 3 coats

I did this with a new piece of furniture that the drawer bottoms were
bare / slightly rough & would catch on clothing.

Strange that the musty odor has remianed after all the airing / bleach,
etc

have you tried sun exposre for a few hours? drawers out?

Just try a single drawer to see if it works

Don't give up, I sure there is a way to get rid of the odor. (hold
that fire)

cheers

Bob

BobK207 wrote:
Just Bob wrote:
I have been plagued by musty odor and have tried every idea I can
come up with but nothing seems to work. Before I have a bond fire in
the back yard are there any suggestions? I have tried Cedar chips
and perfumes but nothing is effective. I have used bleach and
cleaning agents and am now considering an application of wood stain
or varnish but am afraid that other odors will remain. I would also
have to disassemble to get to the spots that are hidden. Months of
none use and airing have also been a waste of time. I have moved
completely out of that old rotting building now and hope there is
still a chance for the furniture. I hope someone has a proven method
as I have many of the disproved ones.



TIA

Bob


I would suggest a sanding sealer like DuraSeal, easy to apply w/ a
rag. I did about 3 coats

I did this with a new piece of furniture that the drawer bottoms were
bare / slightly rough & would catch on clothing.

Strange that the musty odor has remianed after all the airing /
bleach, etc

have you tried sun exposre for a few hours? drawers out?

Just try a single drawer to see if it works

Don't give up, I sure there is a way to get rid of the odor. (hold
that fire)

cheers

Bob

Actually I was just thinking of the sun exposure today. I have not yet tried
this as I was afraid to dry it out to much. I am thinking there has to be
some mold or whatever remaining in the cracks and ends that would not get
the treatment unless soaked. I find that the only way to tell if it really
works is to see how things are after a few months which is always the way so
far.

Thanks for the tip on Duraseal. I have nothing to lose.

Bob

Bleach water and a day in the sun have worked for me in the past. If
not, maybe some cat litter stored in it for a while will absorb the
odor.

I have found a strong solution of Vinegar works miracles on most odors.
The vinegar smell will linger for a while but usually when that goes
away, so does the other odor.

Walt wrote:
I have found a strong solution of Vinegar works miracles on most
odors. The vinegar smell will linger for a while but usually when
that goes away, so does the other odor.

Great idea. Would that be the bottle or the bag?

RayV wrote:
Bleach water and a day in the sun have worked for me in the past. If
not, maybe some cat litter stored in it for a while will absorb the
odor.

Well, I bet I need that after the Tuna. Maybe if I mix the bleach and the
Vinegar.

Bleach may work I don't know. The problem I can see with bleach would
be discoloring and it may deteriorate the wood. Vinegar might do the
same, I doubt it would harm the wood but may discolor I would test for
problems before applying too much of anything. If it inside a drawer
though who cares about a little discoloring.

Walt wrote:
Bleach may work I don't know. The problem I can see with bleach
would be discoloring and it may deteriorate the wood. Vinegar might
do the same, I doubt it would harm the wood but may discolor I would
test for problems before applying too much of anything. If it inside
a drawer though who cares about a little discoloring.

I am mainly concerned with the inside as I feel that this is why the
condition remains. I am planning on removing the back completely and
replacing it with a fresh piece of wood. The building I vacated has a mold
problem along with other conditions that would be present in the forest
area. This infection might be in some of the wood furniture. If this is the
case then I am guessing there are joints that my be areas that need to be
cleaned. I am not planning on mixing the bleach and the vinegar in the near
future. I was thinking of a diluted stain that would be sure to penetrate.
Thanks

Bob

Just Bob wrote:
I have been plagued by musty odor and have tried every idea I can come up
with but nothing seems to work. Before I have a bond fire in the back yard
are there any suggestions? I have tried Cedar chips and perfumes but nothing
is effective. I have used bleach and cleaning agents and am now considering
an application of wood stain or varnish but am afraid that other odors will
remain. I would also have to disassemble to get to the spots that are
hidden. Months of none use and airing have also been a waste of time. I have
moved completely out of that old rotting building now and hope there is
still a chance for the furniture. I hope someone has a proven method as I
have many of the disproved ones.



TIA

Bob



I would wipe accessible areas with mild bleach and water solution, wipe
with clear water, let dry, put clear coat of varnish on the bare wood areas.

Wood furniture is very cleanable with water as long as it doesn't soak
or saturate. I have used water with Murphy's Oil Soap many times on
good wood furniture.

Wood and cloth soaks up odors from storage in musty, damp basements and
garages. Doubt it has "caught" anything harmful. Folk lather about
mold and mildew, but spores are everywhere, including the air we
breathe. It grows with plenty of water and "food", and as with any
pest, removing it's food source and living conditions is a good way to
get rid of it.

I've rescued antiques from some pretty horrible conditions and never
failed to be able to clean them up and make them safe and usable.

Norminn wrote:
Just Bob wrote:
I have been plagued by musty odor and have tried every idea I can
come up with but nothing seems to work. Before I have a bond fire in
the back yard are there any suggestions? I have tried Cedar chips
and perfumes but nothing is effective. I have used bleach and
cleaning agents and am now considering an application of wood stain
or varnish but am afraid that other odors will remain. I would also
have to disassemble to get to the spots that are hidden. Months of
none use and airing have also been a waste of time. I have moved
completely out of that old rotting building now and hope there is
still a chance for the furniture. I hope someone has a proven method
as I have many of the disproved ones. TIA

Bob



I would wipe accessible areas with mild bleach and water solution,
wipe with clear water, let dry, put clear coat of varnish on the bare
wood areas.
Wood furniture is very cleanable with water as long as it doesn't soak
or saturate. I have used water with Murphy's Oil Soap many times on
good wood furniture.

Wood and cloth soaks up odors from storage in musty, damp basements
and garages. Doubt it has "caught" anything harmful. Folk lather
about mold and mildew, but spores are everywhere, including the air we
breathe. It grows with plenty of water and "food", and as with any
pest, removing it's food source and living conditions is a good way to
get rid of it.

I've rescued antiques from some pretty horrible conditions and never
failed to be able to clean them up and make them safe and usable.

Thank you. Excellent post. I would not categorize this piece of furniture
as high quality and is most likely a composite of cheap wood and/or wood by
products. Being of 1980 vintage and not real cheap stuff it has held up
well. It believe is a pine that is covered with Veneer and backing is a
thin particle board. I am wondering if this has different characteristics
than a better real wood product and maybe is exacerbating this condition. It
would be easy to replace the back with real wood it this would help.
Removing it to apply anything would be easy.Thanks for the reply. This has
to be the best group I have ever subscribed to.
Thanks to all.

Bob

Shellac dries quickly and leaves no odor residue. Spray would be the
quickest and easiest for EVERY inside surface including the underside
of the top. Refinishers warn against using anything in the oil line
as odors will remain for a LONG time. Don't forget the undersides of
drawers too and the backs.

On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 13:04:41 -0400, "Just Bob"
wrote:

I have been plagued by musty odor and have tried every idea I can come up
with but nothing seems to work. Before I have a bond fire in the back yard
are there any suggestions? I have tried Cedar chips and perfumes but nothing
is effective. I have used bleach and cleaning agents and am now considering
an application of wood stain or varnish but am afraid that other odors will
remain. I would also have to disassemble to get to the spots that are
hidden. Months of none use and airing have also been a waste of time. I have
moved completely out of that old rotting building now and hope there is
still a chance for the furniture. I hope someone has a proven method as I
have many of the disproved ones.



TIA

Bob