Removing Mothball Smell

I stored my car for over a year. To keep varmints out we used mothballs in and around the car. I know now that this was a bad idea. Inside the car reeks, and it clings to clothes. How do I get rid of the stink that's in the seats and upholstery?

Charles from IL

Answers:

Removing Mothball Smell

The absolute ONLY WAY to remove moth ball odor is to expose the item to as much fresh outdoor air as possible for several days (bring it in at night). Fresh air is the only way...nothing else (cleaning solutions, washing, etc), does not work. Then after hanging items in fresh air (not in direct sunlight as it can cause fading), you may also put items in dryer on FLUFF or AIR for a while too. IT DOES WORK! (04/15/2006)

By Pam

Removing Mothball Smell

NEVER USE MOTH BALLS ANYWHERE IN YOUR HOUSE!!! Because I was feeding birds in my yard, small grey mice got in my attic. I could hear them scratching at night, and my dog brought a couple of them (that she had killed) into the house. I informed a friend who was a building contractor...who told me he could rid my house of the mice by putting moth balls in my attic. I questioned him about this, asking "wouldn't the smell come down into the rest of the house?" He said "no way"...as heat rises in the attic and goes out the vents, taking the smell with it. I told him to go ahead and put the moth balls in the attic...which he did. That night, I could not even sleep in my bedroom from the smell...which was making my chest (lungs) hurt. I called and told him about the smell and he told me that was "impossible" as he had done this to other homes before.

To make a terribly long story short, after a week of moth ball stench which forced me to move into a guest room and run a fan pulling fresh air into the room, I found another contractor who came and completely removed a section of the wall going into the attic and removed as many moth balls as possible (removed about 80 of the 120 that had been placed there, as it was hard to find white moth balls in the white insulation). He then put in an additional attic vent and a large fan (that works with a thermostat) in my roof, which pulled fresh air through the attic from the 2 vents, removing about 95% of the smell withing 1 hour. I think in a day or so all the smell will be gone completely....I am convinced that only fresh air and sunshine will kill mothball odors . (07/11/2006)

By Charlotte Sarti

Removing Mothball Smell

I have the exact same problem as the last posting from Charlotte!!! We just purchased a home after making a cross country move and let me tell you I have gone through a phase of "buyers remorse" !! MOTH BALLS ARE HORRID! I just cant take the smell in the slightest! And what I thought is my dream home I cant even bring myself to MOVE IN! The sellers put moth balls in the attic! Thier reasoning was to keep a squirrel out from trying to make a home, and probably so but the one and only night I stayed there after buying the home over 3 weeks ago I heard scratching sounds up in the attic. And they were avid bird feeders and squirrel feeders! So I'm sure there are cute little fuzzy grey mice prowling around too!

So now I just want to cry! This smell is a serious issue! The seller said he put about 50 moth balls up there and my husband has scoured it and found around 30 - He said the rest may have dissolved from the heat in the attic. So far I haved ordered 6 pouches from http://www.noodor.biz/ AND I plan to order a cleaning solution from http://odormedic.com/
AND to go to the extreme measure I will call a contractor like Charlotte did because at this point I am desperate! BTW I'd love to hear your outcome Charlotte! This has been such a LEARNING experience! One that has caused me some sleepless nights! (07/12/2006)

By Heather