Excavating old wood chest of drawers

catoutthebag

Hi
I've just had arrive some old teak Danish mid century style drawrs to replace my generic IKEA ones. And they stink a bit!
Someone is collecting my old ones tomorrow, so I need to transfer my clothes soon ideally.

Is there a quick way to get them smelling fresh?

I was going to start with a wood spray polish. Maybe a faintly damp cloth .
Then get those anti moth lavender balls in. But I don't want my clothes to smell too much.
Thinking this was a bad idea to upgrade to something cool looking :mad:

catoutthebag

May be I'll just air the thing on my balcony tomorrow first

FreeBear

Scrub them with a dilute solution of bleach, then let them dry out thoroughly. It won't get rid of the smell entirely, but it should help to reduce it a bit.

rach_k

I wouldn't polish them - won't that just trap the smell into the wood, to be released later on?

Give them a good scrub, let them dry, perhaps put something like bicarb in them to absorb any remaining smell, let them air as much as you can.

I wouldn't put anything in them until they smell okay - you'll be forever sniffing yourself to see if you smell of them! Just leave your clothes in neat piles on the floor or somewhere until you sort them.

catoutthebag

Won't bleach...bleach the wood?

I've heard of using damp cloth and also vinegar. Think I have white wine vinegar.

I've currently left it on my balcony with draws open

Norman_Castle

Just keep excavating them. They'll be fine.

PasturesNew

This is asked regularly.

Zoflora: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/72397588#Comment_72397588

Just thought I'd update and say that Zoflora done the trick! Diluted it with water in spray bottle and sprayed the unit, let it dry, sprayed again and thankfully now it's smelling good!

Annie1960

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=clean+old+teak

Ideas here on YouTube.

catoutthebag

I've so far

Damp cloth
Damp cloth with washer liquid and white vinegar
Damp cloth with zoflora
6-8 hours aeration

Still smells a bit musty

Think I'm going with bleach next

Have bought some lavender sachets for the inside once ready and some wood wipes for after

catoutthebag

I have sodium carbonate soda crystals. Will they extra odour like sodium bicarbonate?

MX5huggy

Your choices are really, shovel, spade, Matlock, pick or JCB.