Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Bad odor coming from old wooden kitchen cabinets
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Mikespad
11-24-07, 11:05 AM
I need help! There is a very bad odor coming from the wood of my old kitchen cabinets in the apartment I moved into.
It's sort of an odd, strong chemical smell of some kind - it's just awful. These aren't solid wood... they are made from that pressed wood, I think it's called. I lived in another old apartment where there was a wooden kitchen cabinet with the same foul smell. It comes right out of the wood.
All of the wood in all of the pressed wood cabinets has the same smell. I have a separate section of cabinets in the kitchen that is made from nice solid wood, and none of that section has this smell. It's only in the cheaper-looking pressed wood ones. Although this smell is noticeable in the room without even opening a cabinet door or drawer, this odor is especially strong when you open a drawer or a cabinet drawer - it just pours out.
What I also really want to know is - what exactly is this and what has caused it? I'm afraid to put any food in them that could absorb this odor. The only thing I can think of is whatever glue or whatever they used to manufacture the pressed wood has broken down, oxidized, or changed chemically somehow, to eventually create this horrible odor. The only thing I can think of to eliminate this odor is to replace all the affected cabinets. Is there anything else I can try or do?
Also, could this be harmful to my health?
It's sort of an odd, strong chemical smell of some kind - it's just awful. These aren't solid wood... they are made from that pressed wood, I think it's called. I lived in another old apartment where there was a wooden kitchen cabinet with the same foul smell. It comes right out of the wood.
All of the wood in all of the pressed wood cabinets has the same smell. I have a separate section of cabinets in the kitchen that is made from nice solid wood, and none of that section has this smell. It's only in the cheaper-looking pressed wood ones. Although this smell is noticeable in the room without even opening a cabinet door or drawer, this odor is especially strong when you open a drawer or a cabinet drawer - it just pours out.
What I also really want to know is - what exactly is this and what has caused it? I'm afraid to put any food in them that could absorb this odor. The only thing I can think of is whatever glue or whatever they used to manufacture the pressed wood has broken down, oxidized, or changed chemically somehow, to eventually create this horrible odor. The only thing I can think of to eliminate this odor is to replace all the affected cabinets. Is there anything else I can try or do?
Also, could this be harmful to my health?