Dear James: I have a beautiful cedar closet, but the scent has waned over the years. How can I refresh the scent? And do you have tips for building a new cedar closet? — Bridget M.
Dear Bridget: A cedar closet not only smells wonderful, but it is also very effective as an insect repellant. The oils from the wood, even when you no longer think it has a strong scent, are sensed and avoided by insects. Their little noses are better than ours.
For environmentally conscious homeowners, there is no need to worry about issues from using cedar. Cedar wood is a naturally earth-friendly building material. The trees tend to grow relatively quickly, and most lumber companies have aggressive replanting programs because it is valuable wood.
Pores in cedar often become clogged with dust and dirt over time. Most of the surface oils have probably already evaporated out of the surface, so there also may be a fine layer of dust on it.
Use a medium-grit sandpaper on the walls of your closet. To start with, sand a small area to make sure it will bring the oils back to the surface. If it seems to be working, go ahead and vacuum your closet walls and lightly sand them to open up the cedar pores. This will allow the cedar oils to start to slowly evaporate again.
You should never finish a cedar closet with varnish, urethane or any sealer, as this coating will block the scent. But if the cedar has been finished already, you will need to sand through the finish to reexpose the oils.
There are a variety of natural cedar oils available if your old closet still does not have a strong enough scent to satisfy you. You can treat the wood with oils from Giles & Kendall (www.gilesandkendalloil.com) or find many cedar fresh sprays and powders online. Cedar Fresh also makes sweater-size cedar storage bags, cedar mothballs, cedar tie hangers and cedar shoe trees.
If you decide to build a new closet, make sure you use the proper type of cedar wood. Aromatic eastern red cedar, mostly from the Appalachians, is the proper variety. Western red cedar, used for the construction of cedar homes, tends to have very little scent.
There are three basic types of aromatic cedar you can use for the inside of your closet. For the most inexpensive option, purchase cedar chip flakeboard. It is usually available in 4'x8' sheets.
Solid cedar planks are the best, but they are also the most expensive. The middle-of-the-line choice is cedar veneer plywood.
The basic construction of a cedar closet is similar to any other closet, with one exception. It must be made airtight. The more you limit air leakage, the longer your closet will keep its aroma.
To get the airtightness you need for a quality cedar closet, use a weatherstripped exterior door instead of a standard interior one. A good idea is to make sure the door has a spring-type door closer so you can't accidentally leave it open. It is also very important to carefully caulk all joints and gaps at the corners, ceiling and floor and to install a threshold seal under the door.
For extra moth prevention, use the cedar scraps from your closet when you store clothes for the season. Place your winter sweaters in plastic bags with several pieces of freshly sanded cedar scrap pieces. These pieces can be sanded and reused year after year.
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