Removing Odors from Furniture and Antiques

I love a good bargain so like to shop yard sales always in the hopes of finding just that perfect antique. The problem is sometimes the item smell and not in the pleasant way. While airing can often be the simplest solution sometimes a stronger method is required. The topic of removing odors from items such as antique textiles or furniture has come up a couple of the Yahoo groups I read. Since I've answered a few times with my method, I thought I would share this tip with my raders.

I'm removing the nicotene odor from 1973 Rock-ola Jukebox my husband just acquired. You can see a picture of this gorgeous jukebox on my journey blog by clicking the link. The most important thing to remember especially when restoring antiques is you do not want to do any damage to the piece. This method will not damage your antiques, textiles, or furniture and can be used to take odors out of just about anything. So here's how I do it.

Lay 3 or 4 sheets of newspaper rubbermaid type container or if a drawer just lay the newspaper in the drawer. Place the item if applicable in the container. Pour about 1 c of unused coffee grounds into a plastic container. Place the plastic container in the container on the newspaper not touching the item or directly in the drawer. In the case of the jukebox, I simply opened the top lid, placed a couple of folded sheet of newspaper on the floor of the jukebox and set the plastic container containing coffee grounds on top of the newspaper being careful not to spill any grounds. If a drawer, shut the drawer or if using a container put the lid on and let sit for about a week or longer. The odor will be gone. Recycle the newspaper and pour the coffee grounds onto house plants or in your garden.