Although most wood furniture, trim, floors and paneling have been sealed, they can still pick up and hold onto odors. Common culprits include smoke, either from cigarettes or a fire, urine, chemical smells including those from stains, paint, varnish and furniture polish, and more. Old wooden furniture sometimes has an unpleasant musty odor that cannot even be identified – it is known simply as “old wood smell”.

Wood is also subject to rot, if it is chronically subject to moisture or an overly damp atmosphere. The usual indicator is a sort of dank, musty smell. 

To remove wood odors, you need to know what’s causing the smell. Sometimes the item or area just needs to be cleaned with a good wood cleaner. Other times, moving the piece out into the sun for a few days might be enough.

However, for musty smells caused by excess humidity, cleaning the surface is usually not enough.  If the moisture in the air is not regulated by dehumidification and kept below a 50% relative humidity level the unpleasant smell will return in spite of cleaning efforts.

Although regulating moisture and humidity sounds like it would be difficult, it’s actually very easy. DampRid’s Moisture Absorbers are the simple, effective and economical solution.  DampRid gets rid of excess humidity – and the odors it causes -- by lowering the relative humidity in the air.