Furniture restoration, odor removal from wood

[IlliniDave]

Last summer I picked up a small desk on the side of the road near my hideout. It's structurally sound but needs refinishing. I noticed it had a strongish musty/moldy smell to it from having been exposed to humidity for decades. Over the winter I stored it with all the drawers out where it was exposed to very cold, very dry air. When I get back this season I plan to get the pieces out in direct sunlight for a few days. All that hoping it kills off whatever the source of the smell. Does anyone have suggestions when it comes to the refinishing process that might mitigate and residual moldy wood smell aside from using bleach or Tilex or similar on it?

[Jean]

On cloth, I usually have success by exposing to sunlight. On walls, I used bleach (diluted) with some success.

[brainstorm]

I like Murphy oil soap (wood cleaner) - it cleans stuff alright* and I like the scent. It comes concentrated, so dilute it like with castile soap. And by extension, you might be able to find someone who has extra from whom you could borrow or get leftovers for free.

*Not a woodworker, so my standard for wood cleaner is if it looks smooth and shiny and it smells good

There's probably a more homemade/multipurpose/ERE solution, but so far in my life I can get by with a warm washcloth and so haven't really looked into it much.

[IlliniDave]

Perusing the Youtube DIY offerings it seems like a diluted bleach solution is one of the mainstays. One guy uses an enzymatic odor eliminator he gets from a pet store (along with a separate diluted bleach treatment). Then typically all the unfinished inner surfaces are sanded and given a couple coats of shellac to block anything the chemicals can't remove an keep moisture out. And it seems like all that might only get "most" of the funky smell out. I had problems with mold allergies when I was a kid, and that seems to have given me a hypersensitivity to this particular smell. I might be setting myself up for a whole lot of work for nothing, except once I get to refinishing the exterior I'll have a learning opportunity and some practice doing that.

[Ego]

We have had professional mold remediation people come to our building after floods. They use Sporicidin on joists and floorboards that cannot be replaced but have mold penetration. It smells like the sore throat spray Chloraseptic. The active ingredient in both is phenol. You can get a small spray bottle of mold spray containing phenol for about $15. Or try Chloraseptic.

[IlliniDave]

We have had professional mold remediation people come to our building after floods. They use Sporicidin on joists and floorboards that cannot be replaced but have mold penetration. It smells like the sore throat spray Chloraseptic. The active ingredient in both is phenol. You can get a small spray bottle of mold spray containing phenol for about $15. Or try Chloraseptic.

Thanks, Ego. That sounds like like the kind of idea I was looking for. I'm hesitant to soak untreated wood with bleach because it can break the wood down. If it's what the pros use, it's probably got reasonable efficacy and it doesn't sound too caustic. I didn't look carefully at the bottom of the piece, but it doesn't seem to have ever been standing in water, more like it sat for decades in an old limestone block basement or maybe a barn or outbuilding. It belonged to a woman who lived near the hideout who passed away with no known family, so after a few years the neighbors pitched in to clean the place out and salvage what they could by putting it out near the road for "pickers". Looks like it's about $25/bottle now but I might get a gallon because there's a couple spots in my dad's basement I'd like to try it on too.