Help us de-stink some kimonos

August 18, 2006 6:21 PM

My friend recently bought several used kimonos in Japan. Upon arriving home, she discovered that they smelled strongly of mothballs. How to get rid of the smell without ruining the kimonos?

One or more of the kimonos might be silk, but the others are probably rayon or a similar fabric. They're all lined and are nice quality, but not antiques. She's washed them twice and hung them in the sun to dry. They washed well, but still the mothball odor lingers. Any suggestions for how to gently remove the smell?

posted by chippie to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (13 answers total)

Er, point of order: one kimono, two kimono. They're like sheep.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 6:54 PM on August 18, 2006

Febreze
posted by sindas at 7:09 PM on August 18, 2006

Dryel works well for me at getting smells out of dry-clean-only garments.
posted by gatorae at 7:10 PM on August 18, 2006

Thanks, dirtynumbangelboy. Now that can annoy me, too.
posted by chippie at 7:13 PM on August 18, 2006

Dictionary.com says the plural is kimonos. PWNT.

For the smell, I recommend a good airing. Outside, in the breeze. But not in sunlight or rain.
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:14 PM on August 18, 2006

I second the airing out. That's about all I would know to do. Keep them away from sun and if they are silk, away from water.

I recently got an antique kimono from Japan and after a month of just hanging in my bedroom, any smell it had when it arrived had faded.


posted by bristolcat at 7:45 PM on August 18, 2006

since dnb is currently in the process of importing geshea he might know more about it. How is that going, by the way?
posted by Paris Hilton at 7:58 PM on August 18, 2006

PWNT indeed.

Anyway, I agree with bristolcat. I would definately NOT use febreze on silk! Just let it air out. If that fails, I think the dryel idea is good as that's worked for me in the past.
posted by crypticgeek at 8:00 PM on August 18, 2006

Baking soda absorbs odors and I doubt it could harm the fabric or dye. I'd try it dry first - sprinkle a ton on & let it sit for a while, maybe overnight or longer. Then shake / rinse it off. If that doesn't work, try letting them sit in baking soda water for a while. Unless a long soak might make the dye bleed out? You could try dipping them in baking soda water, letting that dry, then rinsing it out.
posted by jessicapierce at 8:03 PM on August 18, 2006

PWNT?
posted by raf at 8:54 PM on August 18, 2006

PWNT definition
posted by kgn2507 at 3:46 AM on August 19, 2006

If you can arrange to trap the naphthalene in an activated carbon matrix, your problem will quickly disappear. One relatively simple means of doing this is to get some Dr. Scholl's Odor Control Insoles (you'll need several pair, probably), and put them in with the folded kimonos, into heavy duty plastic garbage bags. Use a regular vacuum hose to suck the air out of the bag, and twist/tie it off with the vacuum running. Leave it for a few hours, or until air re-infiltrates the garbage bag. The vacuum helps the naphthalene be pulled out of the fabric, and the activated carbon in the insoles will preferentially trap it.

Store the kimonos with cedar shavings, to cover any remaining moth ball smell with cedar oil smell, and discourage moths.
posted by paulsc at 5:25 AM on August 19, 2006

I have no experience with paulsc's method, but there are other, less-expensive sources of activated charcoal--specifically, many items meant for use with pets, like filters for closed cat litterboxes. I believe it's also used in fish tank filters.
posted by needs more cowbell at 11:26 AM on August 19, 2006