Sadly, I think you have to start with soap and water and scrub well. Leave the doors and drawers open overnight to dry.

My old cabinets picked up an onion smell (I think from Tupperware). I soaked a cotton ball in vanilla and put it on a dish in the cabinet and that helped. You can also try baking soda. Also they have these containers that absorb musty smells. You can find them at the hardware store. That might also work.

Oooooooooooh no. I think you may have dead ants or possibly other things under your toe kick. If the cabinets are stick built (built in place on site) your toe kick is probably one fairly continuous space. You just have to get in there and vacuum it out. Try surface cleaning first. If that doesn't work, you will have to explore the area beneath. Good luck.

This might not help, but you know that awful smell a closed, off refrigerator has? The one you can never get out? Welll.... I'm here to tell 'ya. A commercial refrigerator person told me to wad up newspaper in it, close it and don't open it for a week. I did (only because I forgot to be curious) and the smell was gone. I have no idea if this would work on cabinets, not being air tight, but it's well worth a shot on a few of them.

I admit, though, I'd wash the crap out of them. Make sure to get any accumulated grease off of them, too, because that's gonna smelllllllllllllllllll ick. Old, stuck on, sticky grease comes off with mineral spirits or Citristrip.

My husband is telling me that it's the particleboard and/or adhesive that smells bad, and that soap/water won't really help. I'll try Bac-Out, though!

My first thought was particle board which has soaked humidity and odors. I wouldn't hold my breath about eliminating odors, but keeping doors open for an extended period of time, might help. Then again, when closed, and assuming you still have a humid environment, it will happen again. Dead rodents, smoke, are almost impossible to remove. The enzyme cleaners might help but not a cureall, for reason I stated above. But you gotta start somewhere so heed good advice provided by posters above. When replacing cabinets, look for solid wood, particle is reasonably priced but very undesirable b/c of odors and if humid enough it can just crumble over time. Think of a formica countertop that has gone "puffy" from getting overly wet.

I bought a wooden cabinet on craigslist a few years ago that smelled weird. I put a cup of coffee grounds in it and it did a good job of absorbing the odor. But then it smelled like old coffee :-)

It's definitely not decaying rodent smell; it's just old, musty kitchen smell, or what I would expect in a vacation lake house rental. Part of why my husband was resistant about new cabinets is that we thought (from memory) that these were solid wood, but they aren't, so I might be able to convince him on new cabinets. Though the blotchy dark knotty pine stain is actually very nice looking (that was another post of mine...)

Can't do coffee grounds. Husband hates coffee. Would lead to instant cabinet replacement, though!

Baking soda and charcoal instead of the coffee grounds :)

1. Wash /Cleanse everything
2. Let it dry completely
3. Baking Soda and Charcoal
4. Tape a wooden stick with essential oil scent that you like inside.
5. Put Damp Rid in one cabinet and don't open it for a week to see if there's a lot of humidity that needs to be soaked up.

Maybe seal it all in with many coats of varnish after cleaning, etc? I feel for you. We bought a stinky house. Ours was pet urine - just awful. Good luck.

damp rid is the best! good thought.

When I moved into an apartment that had musty closets a friend suggested pine kitty litter (the kind made from sawdust) to absorb odor. It helped quite a bit.

If you do what beachem suggests and the odor comes back but there's not dampness, I suggest Bad Air Sponge. I had a stinky linen closet but no dampness and this stuff made all the difference. It doesn't cover up odor with another scent, it just eliminates it.

These cabinets... They just get better every day! Many of the shelves are too wide and rest on the top part of the shelf clip instead of settling where they're supposed to settle. Some of the uppers show light through (and dust), into the cabinet! Gross. Every drawer and cabinet section is a unique width; no two are alike. Makes it extra fun to cut shelf liner! Where there should be a double cabinet, open in the middle, there are two separate cabinets instead.

I really hope all of this pushes us to new cabinets ASAP. These are not quality cabs worth keeping!

In all seriousness... if you have a strong Craigslist community and an Ikea you might consider installing Ikea Haggeby with minimal drawers and preformed laminate countertops from Home Depot. My sister-in-law stalked Craigslist for a year trying to get used Ikea cabs and gave up because they often sold for 1/2 to 2/3 retail within hours of listing. She gave up.

Buy or rent an Ozone Machine! You will need to run it non stop for 23 hours but it will definitely do the trick. I had the same problem in an old house I was renovating. The kitchen cabinets smelled so old and musty.