Moth balls smell

[MetalSlug]

I made a mistake drop a few moth balls in 2 bed rooms that I’m not using .

Then one day after I came home from work, after open the door, the smell is way too strong. I immediately collect all the moth balls and throw it away out side in the trash can .

Now my home still smell mothballs. Not as strong as before but still smell it heavy.

I tried searching and collect all mothball I can think of where I was putting them, I think I collected them all.

Any one know a trick to get rid of the smell.

 

[Rmay635703]

I made a mistake drop a few moth balls in 2 bed rooms that I’m not using .

Then one day after I came home from work, after open the door, the smell is way too strong. I immediately collect all the moth balls and throw it away out side in the trash can .

Now my home still smell mothballs. Not as strong as before but still smell it heavy.

I tried searching and collect all mothball I can think of where I was putting them, I think I collected them all.

Any one know a trick to get rid of the smell.

Similar to gasoline, It permiates and embeds in objects and won’t go away for a long period of time no matter what you do.

The only solution is dillusion, gotta just keep constant negative airflow in the rooms (venting their stink directly outside)
You will need to do this basically continuously for months.

Another factor that you likely can’t control is temperature, the hotter it is the more it will emulsify back into the air.

Lesson is don’t play with mothballs.

 

[JohnnyG]

You'll just have to air it out and wait. That stuff is designed to produce odor, which is how it works exactly. Time is about all you'll need.

 

[Fitter30]

https://www.homemadesimple.com/in-the-home/get-rid-of-mothball-smells/

 

[Boomer]

No big deal. It just smells like everybody's grandmother's house!!

 

[MetalSlug]

I heard the smell is bad for your health

 

[wavinwayne]

Try placing bowls of white vinegar around the rooms and replacing every few days for a week or so.

 

[y_p_w]

You'll just have to air it out and wait. That stuff is designed to produce odor, which is how it works exactly. Time is about all you'll need.

They don’t need odor to kill moths and eggs. They sublimate into a gas and that gas is toxic to bugs. They don’t particularly work well except in a confined space like a bag/container/drawer. In a closet they tend to just vaporize quickly. The odor is just a characteristic of the chemical, although it does give indications that it’s present which can help with safety compared to an odorless toxic chemical.

As for getting rid of the smell, just take away any solid mothballs and use a fan. The gas doesn't last long as long as there’s no source for new gas. Mothballs can somewhat “melt into fabric, so that could be a source of odor until that vaporizes completely and the vapor is flushed away.

 

[JohnnyG]

They don’t need odor to kill moths and eggs. They sublimate into a gas and that gas is toxic to bugs. They don’t particularly work well except in a confined space like a bag/container/drawer. In a closet they tend to just vaporize quickly. The odor is just a characteristic of the chemical, although it does give indications that it’s present which can help with safety compared to an odorless toxic chemical.

As for getting rid of the smell, just take away any solid mothballs and use a fan. The gas doesn't last long as long as there’s no source for new gas. Mothballs can somewhat “melt into fabric, so that could be a source of odor until that vaporizes completely and the vapor is flushed away.

But the gas is what smells.

 

[y_p_w]

But the gas is what smells.

Sure. But the odor doesn’t really have anything to do with its effectiveness as a pesticide. It’s not an attractant (to lure bugs to their demise) nor a repellant. Paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene just happen to smell like that in gas form. If there was an odorless substance that sublimated into a mildly toxic gas, it might be about as effective.