Odor from Pine Furniture

October 15, 2013 by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Bonnie

I have a pine armoire I have had for 13 years. When I lived in Ca I never noticed the smell but I was forced to close up the room it is in here in MI for a week. When I went into the room the pine smell was very potent. I know it is damper here than in Ca. Could that be bringing out the smell. Is there any thing I can treat this piece with to make the smell go away? 

Debra's Answer

Are you sure what you are smelling is pine? I have a lot of unfinished pine furniture in my house and my experience has been that the pine smell is strong at the beginning, but as time goes by, it volatilizes and smells less and less. I would say that after 13 years, there wouldn't be anything left to volatilize.

Some people are sensitive to the pine resin but it is not toxic.

I've noticed that as my pine furniture dries out over time and that may be contributing to it smelling less. Perhaps the dampness did contribute to releasing more odor.

If that is the case, the solution would be to remove the dampness from the wood, which is a good idea anyway. If it were me, I would probably close up the room with a space heater inside. The heat will pull the moisture out of the wood.

Is the armoire unfinished? You can seal it with a nontoxic sealer like AFM Safecoat, but I would remove the dampness first.