Could it be a cupboard smell?

Question

Hi there,

I moved into a new apartment a month ago. The apartment has been recently remodeled so all the cupboards are fairly new. I've noticed that when I make coffee and pour it into one of my coffee mugs, it smells funny... kind of like the cupboard where I keep them. First I thought it was the coffee maker but it's not (I borrowed a cup from my mom's house and the coffee in it did NOT smell). Could it be that it is the cupboard smell that somehow gets "activated" with hot liquid? My plates and glasses and cereal bowls don't seem to smell.... but then again, I don't drink/eat anything as hot in them as my coffee.

Have you had a problem like that? Do you know how to eliminate the smell?

I am going a little crazy sniffing all the dishes in my new home.... ;)

Thanks everyone!

Answer 1

It is probably the finish on the interior of the cabinets fuming and leaving a residue on the surface of your dishes that is, indeed, activated by the hot liquid in your coffee cup.  Some sort of varnish or polyurethane.  Try cleaning the inside of the cabinet with a good cleaner and leave the door open for a few days when you're not home to let it air out.

Cabinets are finished in a commercial spray booth where a high volume of clear finish is applied to the surfaces to seal them.  Maybe yours are so new, the finish didn't have time to properly cure and so they are emitting a vapor---causing the smell.