I just moved into a new apartment and the linen closet has this smell in it
which smells like Old Spice or something. Looking closely at the shelves,
I can see a few spots that look like something was spilled (these spots
smell the strongest.

What can I use to clean this?

Also, the unpainted wood doors have a bad odor...not sure why...can I use
furniture polish on them? They're the cheapie, light wood doors that have
a thin laminate? maybe...there not solid wood. They're not painted.

tia

--
Remove both XX's from e-mail to reply.

Clean with Vinegar or if possible wet area with vinegar.

malam wrote in :

Clean with Vinegar or if possible wet area with vinegar.


Diluted, I presume?

malam wrote in :

Clean with Vinegar or if possible wet area with vinegar.


Diluted, I presume? What about the doors?

--
Remove both XX's from e-mail to reply.

Patrick Maloney wrote:

I just moved into a new apartment and the linen closet has this smell in it
which smells like Old Spice or something. Looking closely at the shelves,
I can see a few spots that look like something was spilled (these spots
smell the strongest.

What can I use to clean this?

Also, the unpainted wood doors have a bad odor...not sure why...can I use
furniture polish on them? They're the cheapie, light wood doors that have
a thin laminate? maybe...there not solid wood. They're not painted.

tia

I would start by wiping it all down with alcohol .. ventilate the room
and don't breathe too much of it. The odors are trapped in a closed
closet, so it might help just to open it up, open windows, run a fan.

The bare wood, if it has absorbed a lot of whatever smells, can be
sealed up with a clear finish of some sort.

"Patrick Maloney" wrote in message
. 165...
I just moved into a new apartment and the linen closet has this smell in it
which smells like Old Spice or something. Looking closely at the shelves,
I can see a few spots that look like something was spilled (these spots
smell the strongest.

What can I use to clean this?

I see you got a lot of good suggestions. If they work, good. If they do
not work, put a couple of coats of Bulls Eye shellac on the shelves and
interior. That will seal in the odor and make it easy to clean.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in
news:73gOg.2130$c03.68@trndny05:


"Patrick Maloney" wrote in message
. 165...
I just moved into a new apartment and the linen closet has this smell
in it
which smells like Old Spice or something. Looking closely at the
shelves, I can see a few spots that look like something was spilled
(these spots smell the strongest.

What can I use to clean this?

I see you got a lot of good suggestions. If they work, good. If they
do not work, put a couple of coats of Bulls Eye shellac on the shelves
and interior. That will seal in the odor and make it easy to clean.




Thanks to everyone for the suggestions!

--
Remove both XX's from e-mail to reply.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in
news:73gOg.2130$c03.68@trndny05:


"Patrick Maloney" wrote in message
. 165...
I just moved into a new apartment and the linen closet has this smell
in it
which smells like Old Spice or something. Looking closely at the
shelves, I can see a few spots that look like something was spilled
(these spots smell the strongest.

What can I use to clean this?

I see you got a lot of good suggestions. If they work, good. If they
do not work, put a couple of coats of Bulls Eye shellac on the shelves
and interior. That will seal in the odor and make it easy to clean.




Thanks to everyone for the suggestions!

--
Remove both XX's from e-mail to reply.

Use the vinegar full strength. When it dries the odour will go with
it. I spilled gasoline on the interior of my car seat last summer
when I was transporting a snow blower. The seat and floor carpet was
soaked with gasoline and nothing I tried could remove the odour -
until vinegar. I soaked the seat and floor carpet in it and left the
doors open to get the seat dry. The odour was gone too.

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 03:05:10 GMT, Patrick Maloney
wrote:

malam wrote in :

Clean with Vinegar or if possible wet area with vinegar.


Diluted, I presume? What about the doors?

Agree with shellac as a sealer but Bulls Eye is waxy shellac that some
topcoats would have adhesion problems while Seal Coat is dewaxed and
can be used under any topcoat. Both made by Zinsser.

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:11:31 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Patrick Maloney" wrote in message
.165...
I just moved into a new apartment and the linen closet has this smell in it
which smells like Old Spice or something. Looking closely at the shelves,
I can see a few spots that look like something was spilled (these spots
smell the strongest.

What can I use to clean this?

I see you got a lot of good suggestions. If they work, good. If they do
not work, put a couple of coats of Bulls Eye shellac on the shelves and
interior. That will seal in the odor and make it easy to clean.

malam wrote:

Use the vinegar full strength. When it dries the odour will go with
it. I spilled gasoline on the interior of my car seat last summer
when I was transporting a snow blower. The seat and floor carpet was
soaked with gasoline and nothing I tried could remove the odour -
until vinegar. I soaked the seat and floor carpet in it and left the
doors open to get the seat dry. The odour was gone too.

It wasn't the vinegar - it was leaving the doors open. The gasoline,
being very volatile, evaporated. The OP has a spill that might be
perfume or cologne, which has alcohol for a solvent. It can be gummy or
sticky when the alcohol evaporates, thus the suggestion to try alcohol
first to get it up.

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 03:05:10 GMT, Patrick Maloney
wrote:


malam wrote in :


Clean with Vinegar or if possible wet area with vinegar.


Diluted, I presume? What about the doors?

malam wrote in :

Use the vinegar full strength. When it dries the odour will go with
it. I spilled gasoline on the interior of my car seat last summer
when I was transporting a snow blower. The seat and floor carpet was
soaked with gasoline and nothing I tried could remove the odour -
until vinegar. I soaked the seat and floor carpet in it and left the
doors open to get the seat dry. The odour was gone too.

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 03:05:10 GMT, Patrick Maloney
wrote:

malam wrote in :

Clean with Vinegar or if possible wet area with vinegar.


Diluted, I presume? What about the doors?


Thanks for responding. We're talking white vinegar, right? Every place I
read says White = cleaning, apple cider = cooking...

--
Remove both XX's from e-mail to reply.

Norminn wrote in news:fXvOg.11884$bM.6379
@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net:

It wasn't the vinegar - it was leaving the doors open. The gasoline,
being very volatile, evaporated. The OP has a spill that might be
perfume or cologne, which has alcohol for a solvent. It can be gummy or
sticky when the alcohol evaporates, thus the suggestion to try alcohol
first to get it up.

Is alcohol = "rubbing alcohol"?


--
Remove both XX's from e-mail to reply.

wrote in
:

Agree with shellac as a sealer but Bulls Eye is waxy shellac that some
topcoats would have adhesion problems while Seal Coat is dewaxed and
can be used under any topcoat. Both made by Zinsser.

Can I just coat the shelves with this BE shellac and use as is? tia

A funny thing I read somewhere is that Bull's Eye shellac is approved for
ingestion (when dry) as a candy coating (look under
Non-toxic/hypoallergenic heading):
http://www.wwch.org/Technique/Finish...FinBullEye.htm



--
Remove both XX's from e-mail to reply.

"Patrick Maloney" wrote in message
67...
wrote in
:

Agree with shellac as a sealer but Bulls Eye is waxy shellac that some
topcoats would have adhesion problems while Seal Coat is dewaxed and
can be used under any topcoat. Both made by Zinsser.

Can I just coat the shelves with this BE shellac and use as is? tia


Yes, it can be use as a finish, just as is. Dewaxed would be better if you
intend to put another finish on top. In fact, shellac is often used as a
barrier between two incompatible finishes.

Patrick Maloney wrote:
Norminn wrote in news:fXvOg.11884$bM.6379
@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net:


It wasn't the vinegar - it was leaving the doors open. The gasoline,
being very volatile, evaporated. The OP has a spill that might be
perfume or cologne, which has alcohol for a solvent. It can be gummy or
sticky when the alcohol evaporates, thus the suggestion to try alcohol
first to get it up.


Is alcohol = "rubbing alcohol"?


Good enough for this situation.