Mothball smell

[57 Silver Hawk]

Hi everyone,
It is any way to get rid of mothball smell from the interior of my '57 Silver Hawk? My late father has left some mothballs in that car for mice control. I already tried to clean up and vacuum whole carpet and seats. I left the all windows open for few weeks and it is still smell mothballs. Thank you for any helps in advance.

Steven

[bams50]

I'd love to know the answer to that myself! I hate that smell, but it seems like the only dependable antidote to rodents... I'd rather have that smell than a chewed headliner and seats- but I'd MUCH rather have neither!!

Does anyone have any ideas for truly neutralizing that smell?

Robert (Bob) Andrews Owner- IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys!)
Parish, central NY 13131

[DilloCrafter]

I googled the question and came back with this:

- Charcoal briquets in a pan, for several days, to absorb it.
- Good ventilation
- Baking soda

Try all three together, couldn't hurt. At least these remedies aim to absorb or dissipate the odor, rather than covering it with their own scent (which I've read never works against mothballs, aka Napthalene).

[img=left]http://rocketdillo.com/studebaker/misc/images/Avacar-hcsdc.gif[/img=left]DilloCrafter

1955 1/2 Ton Pickup
The Red-Headed Amazon
Deep in the heart of Texas

[rockne10]

I don't know if Odo-ban would help or hurt. It could replace the mothball smell with eucalyptus.
Others here have recommended tossing fabric softener sheets, like Bounce, to repel unwanted pests; not certain if it works, but it sure smells better.

Brad Johnson
Pine Grove Mills, Pa.
'33 Rockne 10, '51 Commander Starlight, '53 Commander Starlight

[Clem64]

Steven:
I used mothballs for mice control-repellant for many years and understand your concern. Each winter I would place a plastic butter tub, one on the front floor and one on the rear, filled with them. The smell will go away but it takes time. Of course I was removing them in the spring during warming weather, and driving the car, which I am sure helped air it out. You are trying to rid the smell going into winter so it may take longer. Continue leaving the windows, or better yet the doors open if you can. If your headliner is stout enough, try washing it with one of the mild oxy type odor removers dilluted with water. Headliners are notorious odor absorbers and emenators. The moth balls as well as Breeze(another mice deterrent), leave a very fine chemical film on absolutely everything in the interior of the car. Time is your friend. I no longer use any chemical deterrent inside our hobby cars just because of this issue. What works best for me now is having a light source 24-7, either in the garage or cars or both, plus mouse traps near the garage doors. Having a cat can be helpfull too, however the downside is they will walk on the car[:0].

Dean Croft
Roseburg,OR

CLEM

[Anne F. Goodman]

Try using a bar of Irish Spring soap in the car. Every old car we get I open up a box lay the bar on it and shut the windows. Seems to wook pretty good smells good too.

Mabel 1949 Champion
1957 Silverhawk
1955 Champion 4Dr.Regal
Gus 1958 Transtar
1955 President State
Fresno,Ca

[StudeRich]

My rodent deterrent system is; I make sure there is a good tite cover over the fuel sender hole and cover the gas pedal hole after removing the boot, with a metal cover. That pretty much closes all the openings unless you have an under seat heater, then you have to check for a good solid air duct hose or plug the 4 inch round hole in the heater core box.

I figure if they can't get in, they can't hurt anything.

StudeRich
Studebakers Northwest
Ferndale, WA

[bams50]

Last year I tried the Irish Spring/dryer sheet program in my stuff. I put one bar of soap in the trunk, one on the air cleaner, and two inside. I also scattered several dryer sheets throughout the interior, trunk, and under the hood.

I didn't get any rodent damage, but was disturbed to find that when I inadvertently left a bar of the soap on the garage floor, it turned up with lots of mouse teeth marks and turds on it!! So much for mice "not being able to stand the smell".....

I just bought Ethel, a 62 Daytona that is not running and unrestored, but is very solid; most remarkable is a BEAUTIFUL original interior- carpet excellent but a little faded, door panels and headliner excellent, dash pad PERFECT. It's going to be a while before this car gets attention, and I'm VERY anxious to figure out how to protect this original interior from mice...

I think this year I'll do the same thing, but maybe add a couple pans of mothballs UNDER each car... I'm open to any other ideas!

I wonder if something like capsacin (pepper spray) or even hot peppers like habaneros would do anything to deter mice?

Robert (Bob) Andrews Owner- IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys!)
Parish, central NY 13131

[Harvey]

Mothballs are made to slowly sublime into the atmosphere. Meaning they go directly from a solid to a gas, without becoming a liquid. Remove as much of the solid as possible and then air out the car in the hot sun. Temperature helps to encourage the sublimation of the napthalene.
Mothballs are toxic to inhale and very irritating.[xx(] That's why they work. In the future you might try placing lots of cedar chips in mesh bags and scatter them around the car. They can be saved and used year to year, if stored in plastic bags when not in use.
Sprays just try to mask the odor, but are inadequate and can not chemically neutralize or render the mothballs harmless. Good luck

[Tom Bredehoft]

I find that an open and renewed box of Decon does a fair if not good job keeping the mice occupied. Two cars, one garage, 6 years, no noticeable mouse traces. The woodchucks in the car kept outside is another matter. He ate some wires, drained the battery and otherwise made a mess of it.

[img=left]http://www.alink.com/personal/tbredehoft/Bothcars3.jpg[/img=left]
Tom Bredehoft
'53 Commander Coupe
'55 President State Sedan Project
'60 Lark VI (Now on the market)
'05 Legacy Ltd Wagon
All Indiana built cars

[Son O Lark]

Irish Spring does work great for odors. I've never heard of using it for mice control. Any deodorant soap seems to work well for odors.

[bob40]

Dryer sheets Bounce)have been a staple of mine for years.Use 1/2 box per vehicle.No mice problems in 8 years.To remove smells I put a small amount of lacquer thinner in a small aluminum foil bowl...think pot pie style.Set vehicle out in hot sun with windows up and vents closed.When thinner is gone the smell should be gone.Works well but is limited to the sun factor.Do not try to hasten the process in cold weather climes with a additional heat source such as a trouble light.

[Harvey]

Personally I would be cautious about "home grown remdies or urban myths" such as, dryer sheets,irish spring, deodorant soap or "eye of newt"keeping mice away. If these remedies really worked why are the companies that manufacture the products not exploiting the additional uses for better market share? WD-40 does, including it as a "cure all for arthritis".
I would stick to the products made for the purpose. They have been tested. If anyone is interested, I found a secret spice in my wife's pantry, that when, 1 drop is added to a tank of gasoline, I get 100 miles to the gallon of gasoline. OOPs! I forgot the name again![]

[bondobilly]

For the nine years our 47 Starlight Coupe was outside, we never had any rodent problem. Never covered the car either. Every Spring it would get a new coat of polish and a wax. The Hawk is inside year long,, but we have never had any mice, maybe because of the traffic in the garage. Everyone uses it as if it was our front door.

[60studehawk]

to get rid of mice in your garage, just start your car, close the door and let it run for a while. That will kill everything in there so make sure you are not in there.

Jeff Sheaffer
60 Hawk