Mid century teak sideboard - smells

I have a gorgeous mid century teak sideboard that I hope to sell in the next few weeks., and although it's not a Parker, I've seen some sell for upward of $2,000. I plan to donate the proceeds to a good cause.

I have owned it for about 17 years, and as soon as we brought it home, we realised it had a very strong odour inside it. No amount of cleaning, using vinegar, sealing the inside, exposing to sunlight, has ever resolved the odor. I have tried sitting bicarb in there, and nilodor.

We only notice it when the doors or drawers are opened, so used it to store stuff.

After 17 years, the smell is even stronger.

What can I use to neutralise the odor before I sell it?

I’m not sure about getting rid of the smell, but wiping the insides with some vanilla might mask it enough to sell.

We bought a house that had been lived in by an old lady, and there are some cupboards built in to the hallway that would be almost 100 years old. They smelt so old when we moved in. I put stinky soap (lemongrass and ginger) in each cupboard and now they smell of the soap instead.

Oh I haven't tried vanilla, thanks for the suggestion.

I do have some nice smelling soap sitting in it at the moment.

I don't want to mask the smell as I don't think it's fair to sell something with this issue - I'd rather give it away if I can't fix it, but I have a very worthy cause I would like to support.

Do you think it is the wood itself?

Maybe a different solvent like alcohol. Vanilla fridge spray has an alcohol/water base.

Our linen cupboard, the only storage in this house, has an odd smell. We painted it and tried a few other things when we bought the place, but nothing works. I had some old lemongrass incense and a few other things that helped a bit, but not for long and the smell would return. The biggest issue is, that all the towels, sheets and spare blankets/doonas smell of it after a while.

The only thing that actually removes the smell is Nilodor

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/361138?googleshop=true&store_code=woolworths_supermarkets_1288&cvosrc=ppc.google_lia.&cvo_campaign=&cvo_crid=250420925934&Matchtype=&ds_rl=1260749&ds_rl=1260758&ds_rl=1260749&cmpid=smsm:ds:GOOGLE:Woolies_8458_BAU_Shopping_LIA_H%26O%20High_WW-0001:PRODUCT_GROUP&gclid=CjwKCAiAm-2BBhANEiwAe7eyFHGhR-kpwiIpEsw2PbgSyGZh3a0BuL6SfHiZzlivDUAuxcLXTCAQkxoCRv0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

A few drops on an old hanky or some paper towel works, but I have to refresh it every couple of weeks, which I usually forget to do. The smell quickly reminds me though.

Maybe you could add lots of drops and get it to soak into the internal wood, but I’m sure that the smell would eventually return.

Kitty litter worked for us

Is it supposed to smell??? Some older furniture was impregnated with a scent on purpose. Or is it an embalming kind of smell?

Maybe someone used rancid oil on it in the past? That would have been absorbed by the wood for sure. I inherited a variety and an apartment's worth of MCM from both parents and even the 20 year-old 2 packs-a-day cigarette smell from my dad's things hasn't lingered.

Some types of timber smell, we have a museum display case that is made of some sort of timber that reeks when opened

I've bought kitty litter and vanilla fridge spray.

We've had it 17 years, and the smell is still quite strong. It has to be the wood.

[mention]RomeoVoid[/mention] do the other items absorb the smell? That's what has happened with this sideboard, the items inside have the smell.

I've bought kitty litter and vanilla fridge spray.

We've had it 17 years, and the smell is still quite strong. It has to be the wood.

@RomeoVoid do the other items absorb the smell? That's what has happened with this sideboard, the items inside have the smell.

My DH keeps his tin soldiers in it so it's not really an issue. The smell is really overpowering when we open it though, I always think it smells a bit vomity...blerg.