Stinky chest of drawers

[whatnow47]

Hi everyone I know someone will have had success with this here..

Bought a set of drawers, bargain of the century, solid wood antique type. I don't want to paint them because they are lovely as they are. However they have a strong whiff of cigarette smoke and general mustiness.

I have tried cleaning obviously, have disinfected and left to air in the garden but its still there...I want to use it to store clothes so I it needs to be odour free. I am planning to lined the drawers when the smell is out.

Any suggestions? TIA

fill the drawers with cat litter and leavd for a while

You could try a few drops of an essential oil on a hanky, or pillow case and leave it in the drawers for a little while

Wash down with a solution of warm water and bicarbonate of soda (test this on a non visible spot first in case it wrecks the finish. Fill some socks with bicarbonate of soda and put a couple in each drawer for a few days.

If the inside of the drawers are unfinished I would sand them.

how old is it?

do you think the outside is French Polished or varnished?

some photos, especially showing how the drawer joints are constructed, and the material, will give clues of age and quality.

This is going to sound odd. Get some cheap vodka from Aldi or Lidl and some J cloths. Clean inside and out, drawers out Karan everything, clean inside the carcass of the chest of drawers. Everything

Then leave outside on a sunny day with drawers out - so lots of fresh air and sunshine

Following that, put the drawers back into the carcass and put into the drawers either cat litter, coffee grounds (unused grounds), or bicarbonate of soda - all of these do same thing and absorb odor.

If the above fails, you can revarnish it in its entirety, with a clear varnish, which would be trapping smell inside.

thank you!

Yy, sunshine. We bought a leather chesterfield sofa at auction which revealed its funk only after we'd had it in the closed living room for a while. After cleaning with multiple products, baking soda, essential oils etc to no avail I used to drag it halfway out the garden door to get some sun and one day the smell was just gone.