my qtips smell like grandma now.

August 10, 2007 3:09 PM

How do I get rid of "old-lady smell"?

You know that smell? Of old makeup and expired vitamins?
Well the place I've moved into is great except that the bathroom drawers are soaked in that smell.

The drawers are made out of (ply) wood, and I have no experience getting odors out of wood. What's going to work?

posted by penciltopper to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

Can you take the drawers out and put them in the sun? A little UV + fresh air does wonders for smells.
posted by smackfu at 3:23 PM on August 10, 2007

Incense. Or poor-man's incense: cigarettes.
posted by The White Hat at 3:24 PM on August 10, 2007

I second the airing-them-out-in-the-sun suggestion. I'd also suggest maybe putting some baking soda in them for a few days.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 3:28 PM on August 10, 2007

Thirding that.
posted by rolypolyman at 3:41 PM on August 10, 2007

I bought a Cedar and Lavender Spray at the Container Store that I use to spray the inside of a chest which gets a very musty odor. It smells really good, but not like an overwhelming air freshener smell. You could air them out, then spray them with something like that before you use them.
posted by la petite marie at 3:43 PM on August 10, 2007

After you air them out, try soaking some vanilla extract into a cloth and laying that in the drawers. That worked like a charm for my fridge after we had a power-related spoilage.
posted by Addlepated at 4:20 PM on August 10, 2007

Clean them thoroughly (but don't soak them in water too long or they'll warp), then paint the inside of the drawers -- if they're already painted.

If not, stick with other suggestions.
posted by amtho at 4:36 PM on August 10, 2007

You might also want to try scrubbing the insides with white vinegar, which is one of those oddly miraculous substances... it generally doesn't smell much once it's dried, but it does a great job of cutting other odors.

I also hear it's good on sunburn, which I'm planning to test as soon as I can track down a sprayer in our house...
posted by bitter-girl.com at 5:52 PM on August 10, 2007

I've read that placing charcoal briquettes (sp?) inside boxes or drawers or old trunks will help remove funky smells. Agree with Addlepated on the vanilla extract, too. That leaves a wonderful smell -- as will a bundle of cinnamon sticks (find these at artsy-craftsy shops). I'd even leave some cinnamon sticks inside the drawers.
posted by Smalltown Girl at 5:54 PM on August 10, 2007

The charcoal trick will probably work faster if you crush a few and put them into a dish (say a pie plate) in the drawer. More surface area = faster adsorption of the funkiness.
posted by janell at 6:35 PM on August 10, 2007

Cedar is an excellent idea--they have cedar balls to make regular plywood drawers smell better, and it has a nice, woodsy smell, unlike that mothball old-lady smell.

Air out the drawers, maybe use some baking soda to absorb any lingering odors as suggested above, then go for the cedar.
posted by misha at 6:55 PM on August 10, 2007

Burn a sage stick in the room. Then after you put it out, put the sage in the drawers for a while.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:33 PM on August 10, 2007

sorry miss lynnster, but burning sage smells awful to me. other mefites have suggested coffee beans or coffee to absorb smells. if that doesn't work, and the drawer insides are not painted, try a coat of shellac. it's easy to work with and will mask pretty much any odor.
posted by killy willy at 11:12 PM on August 10, 2007

b-g.com: You don't need a sprayer, you can put vinegar on a paper towel and just wipe it on the skin. It will stink, so you can stand in front of a fan for aminute until it dries, then shower it off. Once it's dry, it seems to have done it's work. And it will minimize sunburn.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 5:30 AM on August 11, 2007

How do I get rid of "old-lady smell"?

Oh, depends.
posted by sourwookie at 6:56 AM on August 11, 2007 [3 favorites]

An aquarium store will have pre-crushed charcoal in flow-through filter bags, if you wanted to try charcoal but didn't feel like mashing some briquettes.
posted by Sallyfur at 3:59 PM on August 11, 2007

There is a clear kind of kitty litter (entirely clear, not types with blue bits mixed through) and it kicks ass. (The brand I use is Petz Plus)

Bi-Carb Soda also absorbs smell fantastically.

'Smell' is caused by bacteria so maybe spraying Detol or Isopropyl ect. in there and then masking/removing their smell might do the trick?
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 4:26 AM on August 12, 2007