How to clean old smelling wooden cupboards?
Question:I just moved into a new appartment. The cupboards in the kitchen are made of wood and quite old. Some of them smell really bad. It is difficult to identify the smell, but it might simply be the smell of old (maybe even rotten) wood. Could anybody advise me a good method and/or product to clean those cupboards and get rid of the smell? Thank you!
Answers:
I have a non-smoking apartment. The former tenants snuck smoking in and his the ashtray and maybe blew smoke into the kitchen cabinet. I put a box of Arm and Hammer baking soda for the fridge in there, and a fabric dryer sheet. After about a week the smell was gone. The smell was disgusting in the beginning. I couldn't imagine using it but it's fine now. And the obvious, clean it real well.
try painting the insides with a stain blocking/odor blocking primer like Zinser or Bulls Eye sold at the Home Depo. These products work great and even kill mildew stains and stop them from showing. Finish off with a good enamel paint. I like Home Depo's Behr brand. good luck
You might want to head down to your local hardware store and get a tin of vanish, cheap and makes old wood new...smells beter too.
Before you do that, I strongly recommend you check each cupboard for rotten wood... it could be a bigger issue you don't want on your hands.
If you just moved in you have 10 days to notify the landlord of anything you feel needs to be corrected. I am surprised you didnt notice it on a walk through but regardless, you should first approach the landlord or apartment manager that the problem exists and allow them to correct it before doing anything on your own. You also do not want to take it upon yourself to correct the problem without notifying them first and getting permission. If they had done a full inspection and thorough cleaning of the unit prior to your moving in the odor would not exist. Another reason for having your request in writing is that when you move out, you certainly dont want them charging you for damages that existed at the time you moved in and not have something to back that up regardless of whether they choose to correct it or not. On the flip-side of that, you do not want them to charge you in the end upon move out for returning the cupboards to like condition when you moved in ( I know that sounds ridiculous considering the circumstances) but some landlords will use that as an excuse to replace them at your expense rather than yours and if they allowed youto move in with smelly cabinets, that may be some indication of how they treat their rental property and how they may treat you too.
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