Smelly wood furniture? Should you buy it? I am sure you will come across 1,000 blog posts telling you how to get rid it of it.
Look, if you are determined and want advice on “How to Get Rid of Smells” from furniture, there are millions of blog posts from other bloggers showing you how to do it and spend 378 labor hours doing so.
If that’s what you are looking for, then now would be a good time to bounce off to those. Why? My advice is – DON’T DO IT.
Various Types Of Smells
Smelly wood furniture comes in all different smells.
Mold or mildew smell is that musty, damp basement smell usually caused by the furniture being left in damp spaces for years and years. I find it to be the least offensive and potentially fixable.
Perfume smells are not very common, but when they happen, they are forever. Years ago, I purchased a small cabinet, knowing it had a perfume spill. I left it open for months, and the smell was still there.
Smoke smells are the worst. They are offensive, and they can really irritate a sensitive nose. We had a better tolerance for cigarette smoke smell when smoking was allowed everywhere. Now, it’s no longer the case.
Pet smells have been less frequent for me, but I would imagine they can occur if the piece of furniture is a favorite spot for the kitty to do her business.
Removing Smells From Wood Is Time-Consuming
Check out this blog post by Miss Mustard Seed. It’s excellent, except it requires hours and hours of work. She had to clean the table 2-3 times. It’s not a big table, and to be honest, a table is not that bad of a project.
Imagine having to clean a 60″ dresser with nine drawers. That would take half a day or more, depending on how bad it is. Is that the best use of your time?
Wood Is Like A Sponge That Holds Odors
Wood is like a sponge. If a piece of furniture has been in a smoker’s home for 20 years or in a mildewy basement for five years, it has soaked in that smell for that long. You are getting rid of nothing.
Just say pass and move on. You can’t have everything. There will be others.
You Are Just Masking The Odor
The phrase “getting rid of smells from wood” is a misnomer. No product reaches deep into the wood and cleanses the smell. You are not getting rid of the odor. You are just masking the odor.
There Is No Guarantee That It Will Work
Yes, you spent 84 years cleaning a smelly dresser. Congratulations! Now, you may or may not get what you worked so hard for.
That smell can and will come back slowly because, as I said, wood is like a sponge.
Buying Smelly Furniture To Resell Is A Bad Idea
You don’t choose your customers. They choose you. Buying smelly wood furniture to resell is a gamble.
You don’t know who is going to buy your furniture. Some people have canine noses. One time, I sold a cabinet with a minor perfume smell to a customer.
I knew it had a perfume spill, but it didn’t bother me because it wasn’t offensive to me. I sold that piece, not knowing that the customer had a very strong sense of smell.
She was bothered by it enough that she contacted me months later, saying she couldn’t use it. I gave her another piece of the trade and made her happy.
Don’t risk having a forever dissatisfied client for short-term gain.
Final Thoughts
I firmly believe in the “Time is the most expensive asset” mantra. I can’t, in good conscience, advise you to spend hours and hours attempting to get rid of smells from wood with the hopes and dreams that it may or may not work.
Your time is valuable, and it’s better spent finding something else to paint. Here are the other things you should look for when buying vintage furniture.