Should I clean all of my cooking utensils after being exposed to mothballs (naphthalene) for over a week?

Should I clean all of my cooking utensils after being exposed to mothballs (naphthalene) for over a week? - Person Pouring Water on Clear Drinking Glass

While I was away on vacation my roommate put mothballs in the kitchen cabinets where the pots and pans and cutlery are stored. I have removed them and thrown them out ( not sure if I was overreacting or not). Should I wash the utensils that were in the cabinets or should it be fine?



Best Answer

I doubt that there's enough naphthalene deposited on the cutlery to give you severe poisoning, although it may taste bad. Based on the rat/mouse lethal doses, you would need to ingest ~50 gr of the stuff to die from it (of course, you would experience adverse effects at much smaller amounts). It seems like chronic exposure to naphthalene is where you really start getting problems - so definitely don't mothball cutlery as a regular thing in the future! Nevertheless, it is a harmful chemical so I would wash them just to be sure.

Naphthalene is an organic compound and has very poor solubility in water (32 mg/l at room temperature) so regular washing might not remove it effectively. Meanwhile, alcohol can dissolve 11.3 g/l (1000 times more!) and acetic acid (vinegar) can do 13.1 g/l. Granted, soap is supposed to solubilize things, and since you would wash with soap and not just water, solubility shouldn't be as big a problem in reality, but it's worth taking care to ensure it actually gets removed. So my needlessly complicated procedure that I would suggest to you is:

  • Thoroughly wash with vinegar, as warm as possible (use rubber gloves)
  • Thoroughly wash with soapy water, as warm as possible. Remember to also wash the gloves and your sink to remove residue on them.
  • Thoroughly wipe with alcohol. I think ideally you want close to 100% (if you have Everclear that would be about perfect), but in a pinch rubbing alcohol (typically 60-70%) would do or even a strong spirit like vodka. After wiping the alcohol off, leave to dry as alcohol will quickly evaporate.

At the end, ventilate the room, wait an hour or so, and see if you smell any of it from sink/cutlery. Hopefully the answer is no and you'll be good to go. This method is probably overkill and will REALLY get the naphthalene out, but it would only take a few minutes (excluding the drying and checking for smell) and you don't have to worry afterwards.

For cutlery, I don't think it's worth throwing them out for something like this. Naphthalene is pretty volatile, so even leaving them in a warm, well-ventilated place for a few days without the above washing would probably get rid of most of it as the napthalene evaporates (technically, sublimates) and dissipates in the air. With pans, I'm not so sure. My guess that there's no difference and the pans can be used after cleaning just like cutlery, but then since you heat those, small amounts of it conceivably might react with the teflon or itself and make something nasty. I would throw away if it's a very cheap pan, if not just wash with vinegar, soap and alcohol as I say above and you should be fine.




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Quick Answer about "Should I clean all of my cooking utensils after being exposed to mothballs (naphthalene) for over a week?"

Hopefully the answer is no and you'll be good to go. This method is probably overkill and will REALLY get the naphthalene out, but it would only take a few minutes (excluding the drying and checking for smell) and you don't have to worry afterwards.

How long are mothballs toxic?

One mothball in open air takes 3-6 months to dissipate entirely. If you place the mothball underneath clothing or otherwise not in open air, it will take up to 12 months to completely dissipate.

Can we put naphthalene balls in kitchen?

none at all. there are safe moth repellents for pantries, mothballs are not for use near food.

How do you clean up naphthalene?

Moisten Naphthalene powder or flake first or use a HEPA- filter vacuum for clean-up and place into sealed containers for disposal. Shovel molten Naphthalene into a suitable, dry container. Keep molten Naphthalene out of confined spaces, such as sewers, because of the possibility of an explosion. DO NOT wash into sewer.

What happens if you are exposed to mothballs?

Moth balls contain a toxic chemical, either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Both become a gas when exposed to air and cause that pungent moth ball smell. These gases are irritating to the eyes and lungs and may cause headache, dizziness and nausea. They are both suspected of causing cancer.



Simple Garden Hack....Mothballs




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