Are you noticing a musty odor when you’re in the kitchen and can’t tell where it’s coming from? That smell may be your kitchen cupboards, drawers, and other wood surfaces as they absorb lingering odor. A stinky kitchen is unpleasant, so discover how to remove odor from wood cabinets and keep it away.
Wood cabinets and wood furniture are attractive and add appeal to a space. On the other hand, they also have their downfalls. The wood in the cupboards, cabinet doors, and furniture is porous, soaking up everyday household odors, from cooked food and cigarette smoke to grease and oven smoke.
The longer a kitchen cabinet goes without proper cleaning, the more odors it absorbs. Before you know it, a fresh-smelling cabinet door emits a bad smell. Luckily, simple cleaners remove a bad odor from a wooden cabinet, and odor absorbers keep it at bay.
Removing Bad Smells From Wood Cabinets
It’s typical for the wood of old furniture and cabinets to have a musty smell. Discover how to remove an unpleasant odor from wood cabinets with cleaners and odor eliminators.
How to Get Smells Out of Cabinets by Cleaning
Wood cabinets accumulate dust and soak up odors from the kitchen. These smells are easy to eliminate with common cleaners. The first step for removing odor from wood cabinets is to clean them thoroughly.
To clean smelly wood cabinets, remove all the cabinet contents, set them to the side, and wipe the inside with a damp towel to remove dust. You may also want to dust the items if you don’t use them very often.
Fill a small bucket with a squirt of dish detergent and warm water. Dunk the cloth in the liquid, wring out the excess water, and wipe the interior and exterior of the cabinets with soapy water. Once the cabinets are clean, dry them with a towel, and replace all of the items.
Removing Odor From Wood Cabinets With Vinegar
White vinegar is one of our favorite household items. It preserves food, cleans surfaces, kills mold and germs, and eliminates odor-causing bacteria. Discover how to get smells out of cabinets naturally with vinegar.
To get smell out of kitchen cabinets, combine equal portions of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle, spray the liquid on the cabinet surface, and wipe it off with an absorbent cloth.
Start at the top of the cabinet and make your way to the bottom while paying attention to nooks and crevices in the wood. Wipe the cloth with the wood grain; don’t forget to clean the cabinet’s top shelf if you have one.
How to Remove Odor From Wood Cabinets
Odor absorbers are excellent for getting smells out of cabinets, and many types are available. Some work quickly, and others take time, leaving the cabinets smelling fresh instead of stinky.
The simplest way to get a musty smell out of cabinets is with odor absorbers. Fill a Mason jar with baking soda, coffee grounds, activated charcoal, a dryer sheet, or charcoal briquettes, and screw on the lid.
Poke holes in the jar lid to let the ingredients to soak up a strong odor, and place the jar inside the cabinet. Setting the container in a smelly drawer and anywhere in the home is also helpful to remove the old house smell.
Eliminate Kitchen Cabinet Odor With a Bleach Solution
We usually don’t recommend chlorine bleach for cleaning since it’s a chemical that causes discoloration to the wood stain and paint. Yet, it’s a good choice for eliminating smoke odor. Learn how to get smells out of cabinets safely with a bleach cleaner.
Mix a gallon of water with a 1/2 cup of bleach in a bucket to remove odor from kitchen cabinets. It’s vital to dilute bleach to ensure you don’t damage the wood stain or shellac. Don rubber cleaning gloves to protect your hands, and apply the bleach solution to the wood with a sponge.
Clean the wood with the grain and dry it as you go from one cabinet to the next. Wood is porous, so avoid leaving the solution on the cabinet before drying it.
Prevent Kitchen Cabinets From Absorbing Odors
It’s helpful to prevent more smells from accumulating after removing odor from wood cabinets. We put together a range of tips to stop odors from building up in the kitchen air and keep your cabinets stink-free.
Open the kitchen window to allow fresh air while cooking foods, especially greasy and smoky food. Keep a fan on the counter if you don’t have windows in the kitchen.
Air purifiers are great for removing odor particles, pollutants, and smoke smell from the air. There are many styles and types, including ionic, ultraviolet, activated carbon, and HEPA purifiers.
Ensure your stove has an operating vent range, and clean the filter every two to three months. It’s also a good idea to install a dehumidifier in the kitchen. Dehumidifiers draw moisture out of the air and stop mildew growth on wood.
Clean the cabinets every three to five months or when necessary with soapy water or white vinegar. Finally, keep a jar of baking soda on the kitchen counter to absorb odors from the air and stop them from seeping into the wood.
Most of us enjoy the smell of fried chicken or simmering pasta sauce. Unfortunately, these same odors seep into wood cabinets, causing them to emit an unpleasant smell. The good news is that it is possible to remove odor from wood with odor eliminators and cleaners.
We hope that discovering how to remove odor from wood cabinets keeps your kitchen smelling fresh, and we’d love it if you’d share our tips for eliminating wood cabinet smells with your family and friends on Facebook and Pinterest.