Wool blankets

[vipermcgee]

Anyone here know how to get the mothball smell out of wool blankets? I was kinda hoping not to have to wait for it to wear off with my blankets hanging outside. They are not for anything special, so if they lose color or anything, that is ok. I plan to use them for extra layers during my annual camping trip in January.

Robert

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Tumble them in the dryer-- no heat-- then hang them up outside for a few hours.

[JRB]

Tumble them in the dryer-- no heat-- then hang them up outside for a few hours.

Definitely an outdoor hanging does wonders to freshen old wool blankets. Just make sure it doesn't start raining or your blanket will really smell like a wet dog.

[The Guy in the Kilt at UC]

I'm with him, be sure to not expose the blankets to any heat. It will be harder to get the smell out.

[blackbeard]

Ditto what they said.

Once you have aired them out, store them with cedar chips, or cedar balls. Cedar works just as well as moth balls but smells much better.

[dfmacliam]

I concur about the cedar.. smells much nicer and works the same as moth balls...

[Chas]

We have a product here in the UK called Febreze.

http://www.febreze.co.uk/index.htm



I have not used it on moth balls, but I know that it works on smoking and cabbage and fish & chip smells.

Regards

Chas

[dfmacliam]

You can find it here, too, Chas... Good Idea... Now you got me hungry for some fish and chips.. Might have to run to Ft Worth and see if Zeke's is still around... They have some good Brit Fish and Chips.. A lot of exPats
used to go there for a taste of home..

[Chas]

You can find it here, too, Chas... Good Idea... Now you got me hungry for some fish and chips.. Might have to run to Ft Worth and see if Zeke's is still around... They have some good Brit Fish and Chips.. A lot of exPats
used to go there for a taste of home..

Can't say that I am the greatest fan of fish & chips - but - three or four times a year we take a run to Swaffham, to Brian's Fish and Chip Emporium. I think it is only the smell that keeps the building standing, but the chips are the best in the world. He gets his fish from King's Lynn on the Wash. If none are caught - he doesn't sell any. I've just had lunch and I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it.

Anyway - the smell of fried batter does tend to linger, a general shot of Febreze does the business.

Regards

Chas

[Pleater]

The smell of mothballs should evaporate - that is how the stuff works, evaporating into the air - but the smell of anything added - suposedly to mask the smell of the mothballs, that can linger.

If it is really strong and you can fit them into the washing machine then a wash on the delecates cycle should refresh them - my front loader even has a cycle for 'hand wash'. A half hour soak in the bath with warm water and gentle detergent will do the same -fold up the blanket in the bath and stand on it to press out the water before lifting it up to drain, then hang it outside once it stops dripping.

The warm water will lift out the smell and fill the room - or even the whole house, but it should get most of it out of the blankets and they should lose it with persistent airing.

Those suck the air out storage bags are suposed to be moth proof - so if you put your woolens in one of those and store them in the fridge for a week or so to kill off anything already inside they should be safe - be careful not to bend the bag when it is sub zero as they will be brittle, like any cold plastic.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: