What Makes Year-Old Kitchen Cabinets Smell Sour?

Chemicals

• Some of the materials used by manufacturers to create new kitchen cabinets can have an unpleasant odor. According to the Healthy House Institute website, many cabinets are made with man-made wood by-products, such as particleboard and plywood. The type of wood used to create these products (pine, for example) can give off gaseous hydrocarbon compounds called terpene odors that irritate mucous membranes in the nose. Cabinets are often held together with glue that contains formaldehyde, which can irritate the nose as well as cause respiratory problems and irregular menstrual periods in women.

Food

• Food can be another source of a sour smell in your kitchen cabinets. Molded bread, old potatoes, rotten fruit, condiments and spices that have passed their expiration date should be tossed out immediately. Tie the items up in a plastic bag to contain the odor.

Tips

• Regardless of whether the sour smell from your cabinet is coming from the cabinet itself or its contents, there are ways to get rid of the smell. Remove all contents from the cabinet, leave the door open, turn on a fan and open windows in your kitchen to allow the air to circulate out. Scrub the inside of your cabinet with hot water and vinegar; leave an open bowl of vinegar in the cabinet for at least 24 hours to further absorb the odor. Once you remove the vinegar, leave a saucer full of fresh coffee grounds in the cabinet for a few days. After you remove the coffee, leave an open container of baking soda in your cabinet indefinitely.

Prevention

• To minimize the odor in your cabinets, use them only to store dishes and dry goods. Go through your cabinets every couple of weeks to make sure everything is fresh. Throw out expired items immediately. Consider using a sealant on new cabinets to lock in the smell of the wood and glue, but keep in mind sealant has its own smell. Before installing cabinets again, leave them outside, in the garage or in the basement to allow odors to dissipate as much as possible before mounting cabinets in the kitchen.