While they do a great job of keeping those pesky pests away, they also love to linger: over time, the balls or crystals break into even smaller, hard-to-spot pieces and particles that seep into the pores of wooden furniture, sofa cushions, the fabric of our clothing, or even the closet interiors or dressers we keep them in.
The mothball smell is caused by the chemicals in it, like naphthalene—which is also present in tobacco smoke. These chemicals actually make mothballs harmful to our health and the health of our children and pets, in addition to emitting an unpleasant odor. Overexposure to mothballs can cause headaches, nausea, and dizziness and other health repercussions when inhaled. Not sure if what your smelling is mothballs? The smell can attach itself to a variety of places, rooms, or things for much longer than you even intended to use mothballs for.
Mothballs are initially used to protect your clothes, but can actually end up making them unwearable because of the odor they leave behind. But fear not — it can be removed! The staple ingredient is cheap and versatile, and kid- and pet-safe—I could go on and on about its benefits.
In this case, white vinegar is good for clothing, specifically, because it will remove mothball odor without causing any new stains. Run your washer with the affected clothing in a cycle using just one cup of white vinegar. After the vinegar goes to work removing the mothball odor, it makes sense to actually wash your clothing the normal way. Running a wash as usual will only further aid in freshening up your garments.
Run this second wash cycle using your regular detergent. Because naphthalene and other mothball chemicals sublimate quickly and smell strongly, the odor can stay behind for quite some time after the mothball itself is long gone. There are also a few other things that can cause a very similar smell.
Tobacco smoke contains some naphthalene, as does the air outside sometimes in areas with heavy industrial pollution. Even handling mothballs can cause your hands and eyes to itch and burn. Inhaling the fumes will exacerbate this sensation and may lead to headaches, breathing difficulties, nausea, and dizziness.
No one loves the smell of mothballs. To get rid of the smell, you should first get rid of the old mothballs. You can then use white vinegar and baking soda on furniture, carpets, and curtains to remove the smell of mothballs. Mothballs are manufactured from chemicals that are toxic to humans and animals. The moment you smell mothballs, you are being exposed to these dangerous chemicals. Sometimes, children and pets can mistake mothballs for food and will digest them.
This can cause severe effects that should be taken care of immediately. Some of the chemicals used in mothballs, such as naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene, may cause reversible side effects when inhaled, including nausea, headaches, coughing, eye and nose irritation. Extended exposure may result in kidney and liver damage. Naphthalene may also cause hemolytic anemia and is a possible carcinogen.
The mothball smell tends to linger. A dry cleaner should be able to get rid of the smell of mothballs. Eliminating a mothball smell can be infuriating and tricky. Mothballs are definitely useful when you are at your wits end with clothes moths. But mothballs smell horrible and are also dangerous when left around your home for long periods.
It is best for you to remove the mothballs and their insidious odor. Fortunately, while the smell tends to linger, it is easy to remove with things like vinegar, baking soda, cedar, and a washing machine. We have developed professional grade solutions including proprietary pheromones, not available from anybody else in the USA, and engineered in Germany to the highest production standards. What Are Mothballs? Not to worry, here are some methods for getting rid of the pesticide scent around your home: Ventilation.
One of the best ways to oust the mothball odor is to air out your space. Open the windows and doors. Turn on ceiling fans. Let the air circulate around the room or house for a few hours.
The primary use of mothballs will be strictly for the use of these insect repellant to protect clothing and other fabrics that are being stored for a longer duration of time, such as clothing and linens after winter through the spring and summer months.
Mothballs are designed to be stored in air-tight bags made of a non-reactive plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The clothing that is being protected by mothballs will also need to be enclosed in these plastic sealed containers to ensure that the mothballs chemical vapors are not released and spread into the air of a home.
When the chemical vapors of mothballs begin to flood the indoor air space of a home it will not only contaminate the indoor air quality, but it will also diminish the effectiveness of the mothballs in your storage containers. Additionally, many homeowners will also use mothballs as a snake repellent or rodent repellent squirrels and rats.
However, in reality mothballs are not effective for this purpose. When you use mothballs for this use in your yard it can typically be harmful than beneficial. These mothballs will eventually start to negatively impact the occupants of the home and even pets in the household in some cases. The use of mothballs in the safe, confined space of your home can present many potential health risks and problems, especially with improper use of this chemical pesticide.
According to the National Pesticide Information Center NPIC , the chemicals use in mothballs can be toxic to humans and pets and as people are exposed to these chemicals that are released as toxic fumes in the air space of the home. As we discussed previously, when mothballs are improperly used and are not placed within an airtight, sealed container, the mothball chemicals will rush into the air of your indoor space and lead to compromised indoor air quality and strong potent chemical smells in the environment.
If you smell mothballs in the air of your home then you are being exposed to these chemicals in your indoor environment. Some of these chemicals used in mothballs can cause adverse health effects such as headaches, nausea, eye and nose irritation and coughing, in some cases.
The chemicals in mothballs, such as 1,4-dichlorobenzene is designed to slowly sublimate from a solid ball into a toxic gas, which will then act as an effective insecticide. When these chemicals release into the air it can be termed off-gassing, which is a process in where solid or liquid chemicals turn into a gas or vapor as it acclimates to regulated indoor temperatures.
Typically, mothball smell will usually be described as a sour, pungent, chemical smell that will be associated with things like closets and storage units.
If you have ever smelled mothballs before than you will know exactly this odor that we are describing, and worst of all the smell will spread like wildfire in the air of your home and ultimately end up tainting the entire smell in the home. When it comes to how long mothball smell will last in the air space of your home, this can be an ambiguous timeframe that will depend on various factors inside the home, such as how much mothballs were used in the indoor space, the airflow and ventilation in the home, and solutions that are used to combat this odor.
0コメント