How to Restore a Cedar Closet
A cedar closet is beneficial because it helps protect clothing, especially items that are made of wool. The odor repels moths, silverfish and other pesky insects. Placing clothes in a cedar closet also keeps them from smelling musty, according to the Ask the Builder website. After time, sunlight and air causes cedar wood to lose its smell. It's not as aromatic as it once was, and its effectiveness at warding off insects is diminished. But it doesn't need to be replaced. You can easily restore cedar and make it smell as strong as new wood again.
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Things You'll Need
- Dust mask
- Safety goggles
- 60 grit sandpaper
- Vacuum cleaner (with soft brush attachment)
Instructions
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Put on the dust mask and safety goggles to protect your eyes and respiratory system from wood particles floating in the air.
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Lightly sand the cedar in the closet to renew the wood. Use a fine-grit sandpaper. Apply slight pressure and sand in the direction of the grain, according to the Pioneer Thinking website. Exposure to sun and air turns older cedar brown. Continue sanding until the wood becomes red in color. You'll begin to smell the cedar again.
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Replace worn sheets of sandpaper with new ones as they wear out. When you're finished, vacuum up the sawdust from the closet floor. Place a soft brush attachment on the hose and sweep off the cedar wood too.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want to enhance the smell of your cedar closet, you can also apply cedar oil to the wood, according to the Pioneer Thinking website. Or, you can save time and effort and simply add cedar blocks or discs to the closet.
Never apply a sealer to cedar. A sealer will block the cells of the wood and prevent the oil from surfacing and emitting an odor.
References
- Photo Credit closet image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
