I have hutch from Vietnam made out of teak. One of the drawers (where I keep my wine spouts for pouring and other wine-related articles) smells strongly of TCA. I can’t use the pour spouts now but I’d like to keep the hutch. Do you have any tricks or tips for removing cork taint from wood?
Saran-wrap the whole thing for a few weeks?
This furniture was part of a dowry brought to the US back in the 70s and eventually used to pay my father’s legal fees for getting her out of the awful marriage.
Need to kill the fungus. Try cleaning with white vinegar for the quickest and cheapest solution.
Simple Green or a citric acid cleaning solution works too.
Do not use chlorine or bleach, that makes it worse.
BTW - teakwood naturally has a musty, leather, tobacco smell
Can the drawer be removed from the hutch?
Interesting to hear about the teak “musty, leathery” smell. Could be this just got very intense. I also know there are wood preservatives that break down over time and can start to smell like cork taint (aka TCA).
Update on progress:
A few winemakers came over yesterday and shared some cheese- but needed some cheese knives. Of course they were in this drawer and when I opened it up I couldn’t bare to present them. Today, getting to work!
Removed the drawer and rubbed with white vinegar.
Laundering all the little cloth bags holding whiskey stones, sparkling wine savers, knives, etc.
Washed the items I can. After handling so much of it I’m mostly anosmic to the TCA now but when I smell my plastic measured bottle spouts they still reek. Soaking them in hot water + vinegar and will maybe put some high proof in a bottle and rinse through all of them.
If I can salvage my laguiole cork screws and cheese knives I’ll feel accomplished.