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pallen123's avatar

Moldy odor from under the kitchen sink. Suggestions?

Asked by pallen123 (1519points) July 3rd, 2009

I replaced a faucet a few months ago and the connectors I used weren’t, uh, watertight. So…there was some leakage and water settled on the wood cabinet under the sink. I fixed the problem and cleaned up the water, scrubbed the wood, bleached and vinegared it, then let Borax sit on it for a couple days and vaccumed that up. Still a little smelly. Suggestions? Oils? Hmm.

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7 Answers

charliecompany34's avatar

there’s a product on the shelves called “damp rid.” try it out and let me know results

whatthefluther's avatar

The odor will probably linger as long as the wood is still wet. You might want to (carefully) direct a small portable heater at it, or hit with a hair dryer a few times.

jbfletcherfan's avatar

What you’re smelling is mildew. It’s hard to get rid of it. The bottom of the cabinet is still damp in there. Your only true fix of it will be to tear that out & put in new, dry wood.

YARNLADY's avatar

I would spray with Tilex mildew remover very heavily, then leave the doors open so it can dry out, place an open container of Baking Soda in there, and finally, if the smell does go away, coat the entire thing with a liquid plastic finish.

Judi's avatar

I might even drill a few ho;es in the back, bottom of the cabinet so air can flow around and let it dry/air out. Also, leave the doors open and everything out of it for a few days. There may still be a leak behind the cabinet work and if you leave it open you will be more likely to find the evidence. It will also give it more space to dry out. Mark and damp are two of the elements for mildew to grow. If you dealt with the damp, then get some light in there for a few days. If that doesn’t help, open up a bag of charcoal and leave it in there for a few days.

Judi's avatar

(I meant “Dark” not mark. The D and M are so far from each other. How the heck did I do that?

YARNLADY's avatar

@Judi our fingers type the words they most familiar with, without any thought on our part, it’s not just a missed key

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