Question from Anne Harris
I have MCS. We moved into a house that we had thoroughly researched for odors, voc’s etc. When we did the last walk through before signing the papers we experienced no odors. Two days after the signing we went back, immediately smelled a sweet odor, opened the kitchen cabinet the odor seem to come from and I fled the scene! Upon questioning we got information that an “unopened” box of sandalwood incense had been stored there. Whether that is the case or not is not the issue. We are stuck with a cabinet that has absorbed an odor that is not possible for me to handle. So far we have used every home remedy I have ever heard of to no avail. Baking soda, Vinegar, charcoal, kitty litter, etc. We now have bags of Zeolite in the cabinet and that has helped but the doors cannot be opened due to the sweet smell. The problem is that the wood has absorbed the odor and the answer appears to be to remove the cabinet, which will be expensive. A person here who specializes in air quality issues feels removal will be necessary.
My question is have you, or your readers, had experiences with such a situation as this? Does anyone have other suggestions? Many people have sugggested using a low or no VOC sealant but I believe I remember you saying that such a sealant will not truly remove an odor, just mask it. As you can imagine that is not the answer for my problems with odors.
I would appreciate your help and can never express to you how much I am helped by this blog. Debra, thank you so much for all your efforts and your awareness of the needs of chemically sensitive people.
Debra’s Answer
Here is the very simple solution.
If you don’t care how it looks, buy some aluminum foil tape at a hardware store, and just tape all over the area that has the smell. The foil will block it completely.
