Built in Wardrobes what to do

franco25

Hi, I have moved into a house last year, house is from the 70's. The bedroom contain built-in wooden wardrobes. There is a musty smell inside them (i don't see too much damp). Over past couple of weeks I was looking to maybe get rid of them and put in new ones however it looks very expensive.

I was wondering any advice to do with them in the meantime, I have heard of painting them (not sure what paint Satin or hearing a lot about Annie Sloan, getting a dehumidifier, baking soda, putting holes in them to let in air?

Just wondering has anyone else being in a similar position? -- if painted from the outside they turn out well but mainly need to get rid of the smell.

Thanks

Sleepy

If the wardrobes are empty, I'd open the windows in those rooms and leave the wardrobe doors open for a few days to air them out. It's likely that's all they need.

franco25

Okay will give this a try, current;y have clothes in them, I might need to do a job with detergents and let them air out, thanks

karlitob

franco25 wrote: »

Hi, I have moved into a house last year, house is from the 70's. The bedroom contain built-in wooden wardrobes. There is a musty smell inside them (i don't see too much damp). Over past couple of weeks I was looking to maybe get rid of them and put in new ones however it looks very expensive.

I was wondering any advice to do with them in the meantime, I have heard of painting them (not sure what paint Satin or hearing a lot about Annie Sloan, getting a dehumidifier, baking soda, putting holes in them to let in air?

Just wondering has anyone else being in a similar position? -- if painted from the outside they turn out well but mainly need to get rid of the smell.

Thanks

Hi

Give the room a good inspection.

Check for rot?

Is there anywhere water can get in - pipe that cross the ceiling or in the crossspace below, bathroom/shower behind the wall. If there is damp, then it needs to be addressed.

Check if there's condensation within the room - windows might be wet on the inside, things like that. And then address that.

Otherwise, air the rooms. Clean the wardrobe as best you can with an appropriate cleaner.

And then paint. Depending - you might want to use a good primer such as Zinnser bullseye which covers stains and damp and then a top coat of something like Fleetwood Super Satin.

Post some pictures.

franco25

Will do, thanks for the reply, yeah have only recently got vents put into the bedrooms and left windows opened so might have tackled the source, might start now with the full cleanup - worth a shot, prices for new wardrobes very expensive.