Get Rid of Smells from Your Wood Furniture

There’s a long list of clever tips and tricks for removing funky smells from your furniture drawers and cabinets. We’ve narrowed it down to our top three. These methods are cheap and simple and are ones we routinely use when cleaning pieces to sell and refinishing furniture for clients. They are as follows:

1. Fresh Air
2. Baking Soda
3. Cheap Vodka

Fresh Air

For those with patience and time, lots of time, we recommend taking out drawers and opening up doors. Vacuum and wipe down the insides of drawers and insides of cabinets with a damp microfiber cloth. Set everything out in the garage or other covered space and let it sit for enough time that the smell diminishes (maybe months).

Baking Soda

If you don’t have months to wait, vacuum and wipe down the interiors of drawers with a damp microfiber cloth. Once dry, sprinkle baking soda inside drawers and cabinets. Either sift the baking soda around to cover the surface or brush it around into corners. If you have a garage or covered space, we recommend taking out drawers and opening cabinet doors and letting the entire piece air for a bit (days to weeks to yes, months).

The baking soda will absorb smells and can then be vacuumed out. Finish it off by wiping things down with a damp cloth and you should be much improved from where you began!

Cheap Vodka

As cheap as you can get it, but unflavored and colorless. Vacuum and wipe down drawers with a damp microfiber cloth then spray with vodka. We filled a spray bottle with straight, 90 proof vodka (don’t dilute it). The alcohol will evaporate soon enough that it won’t leave damage, taking the smell with it.