We recently went to California, for our annual 4Th of July/family Reunion.
While there I was determined to visit one of my now deceased, aunts home, where one of my brothers now lives. They had been cleaning out OLD stuff, that they had no interest in anymore. I was given a nice old trunk, and allowed to fill it with lots of old pictures, letters, and other things of interest to me.
One thing I was trying to do, was find any information I could on family members who had lived, or had immigrated from Ireland.
We are planning a trip back there where my grandfather and grandmother, on my dads side, came from. I would love to be able to see the old home place and also see where they went to school, church, ect. Sort of get a little idea, of how and where they lived.
Well we got our trunk all filled with wonderful items to explore, and had it mailed back to Mo. It is to the UPS's credit, that only one little picture frame, had a broken pane, and everything else was in perfect shape, upon arrival.
I have a huge allergy to insecticides. Moth balls are insecticides, and this old trunk, at one time, had those moth balls in it that so many people use, and it has permeated a lot of the papers and boxes in the trunk. We have tried to "air" it outside, and I have been only taking a few things out at a time to examine the contents, for information on anything that may help me find answers to where my dad's parents lived in Ireland.
as a results, I now am feeling.. soooooo tired, and draggy, which is how the insecticides effects me.
I feel like I have a lot to do, and no energy to do them.
My husband kept saying that he didn't think it was a good idea for me to be in that trunk, after he detected the moth ball smell, but dumb old me.. I was like a moth to a flame, drawn to find out as much as I could about my ancestors.
So anyone who may have any idea, how to get rid of that moth ball odor, please post your answerer.. Thanks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Well... you could always burn the trunk. But I suppose that's not an option for you. :P
I think taking one item out at a time and airing it out will do the trick... although it's a long process.
So... if you're looking for an alternate solution:
Most mothballs, especially ones that old, were made from napthalene, which is volatile. Meaning that heat and water do damage to the chemical (napthalene evaporates with heat and steam). If you can, taking a hot iron (with steam) to some of the objects should get rid of the smell.
Another thing you can try is to separate the items in the trunk as much as possible and leave them in the sun outside. Air drying outside (along with sunlight (heat) will help a bit. For those items you can't steam-iron you can place back in the trunk (separate them so they can breathe) and purchase charcoal briquettes. Place the charcoal briquettes in a pan and set that inside the trunk. The briquettes will soak up odors faster than a truck full of baking soda.
Aside from that, I have little knowledge of how to get rid of the smell... except for my first burning solution -- time for a weenie roast!!! :)
One clarification: When I say that heat and steam do damage to the chemical napthalene I'm just talking about the chemical, not your treasures. The chemical breaks apart and evaporates with heat and steam/water.
Of course, you can still damage your treasures with too much heat/steam... but you'll have to decide if they are able to take the treatments, or not. Test it out on one item and see if it works for you.
Post a Comment