A rose by any other name?
Naphthalene....Oh you know it. The active ingredient in Moth Balls. That headache/nausea inducing smell. That’s naphthalene. My parents always used Moth Balls. A L-O-T of Moth Balls. You’d open a closet or a drawer and be assaulted with the heavy smell of Moth Balls. (The funk would damn near knock you to your knees.) I always figured my parents were the victims of some kind of vicious moth infestation/attack in the past that must have done some major damage to their clothes. And with God as their witness, they-were-not-going-to-let-that-happen-again!!As a result, my sister and I weren’t big fans of Moth Balls. Couldn’t stand the smell of them. I’d use them sparingly since I knew they were effective in keeping moths away. But man! I wasn’t so sure the defense was any better than the moths. When I was older, I learned about cedar’s ability to ward off moths. I burned a path to the nearest housewares store and switched right away to cedar blocks, balls, and planks in all of my drawers and storage containers. If I was going to be afraid of moths and the damage they could inflict, at least my clothes could smell nice instead of making me gag!
So fast forward to this past weekend. We took my Dad on a ride up to the Grove City outlet shops on Saturday. (We’d hit some sales. Kill some time. Get out and walk around.) The smell of moth balls was so concentrated in my Dad’s clothes that it was making HC sick on the car ride up to the shops. She was getting a headache and feeling a bit queasy.
HC and I talked about it that night after dropping my Dad off. She was really getting sick from the smell. We had to come up with some kind of strategy to get my Dad to lighten up with the Moth Balls.
My Dad came over on Sunday after church to hang out. Well, again he was smelling up the house with Moth Balls. (The naphthalene smell is so strong that you can smell it hours after he’s left the house.) This is when I decided to approach him about his naphthalene assault.
With my Dad, you’ve got to come up with a plan to get things to happen. There’s always strategy involved. Nothing is ever simple or straightforward. (I guess that’s where I get it from.) Anyways, I asked him about why the heavy handed use of the Moth Balls. I reminded him our friend the Chief said they were bad for you and could irritate the lungs. Maybe we could switch him to another remedy if he was concerned about moths attacking his clothes.
My Dad told me just that day one of his friends at church mentioned the Moth Balls. (Bingo! I had an in. We were ganging up on him now. I’ve got a chance to get him to switch.) If I had approached him solo with the idea to switch from naphthalene, it would have taken many attempts to get him thinking about it. But if one of his friends mentions it AND I mention it, then he’ll consider the idea quicker.
As we were talking about Moth Balls and the whole “Why so many”, he tells me it’s not as much for moth repellency as body odor. Yes you read that right. My Dad is worried about BO. He’d rather damn near kill you with the naphthalene cloud around him than have his jackets, coats, and sweaters cleaned. I kid you not! I can’t make this kind of shit up!!!!
So I told him all of his clothes should be either laundered or dry cleaned. It would get rid of any BO and help them last longer. He smiled at me. I could tell he was skeptical. I’ll have to hit him up with this a few more times. Oy! The gyrations I have to go through to get my Dad to do anything!!!!
HC suggested I go over there and purge his place of all Moth Balls. “He’s never going to do it. You’re going to have to go over there and get rid of every last 1 of them. And you’ll need to buy some of those odor removers to get rid of the remaining smell.”
I know she’s right. I’m going to have to clamp down, make a trip over to his place, and get rid of all the Moth Balls. It’s going to be a chore. I’ll let you know how much of the stuff I collect.
Labels: Parents
posted by ChowderHead @ 1/15/2007 05:48:00 PM
5 Comments:
Make sure when you go over there, where a mask and protective clothing!! I know it's not funny to you, but that is such a cute story. I can picture the whole thing!
There is something about older people and mothballs. My grandma's house always reeked of them, too.
I think their smelling gets less sensitive as people get older, too, so they don't realize how strong the smell is.
My grandmother used to bathe in Jean Nate. Mix that with mothballs...
Jean Nate!! My mom used to have that stuff! Now there's a blast from the past.
Michelle: HC and I talked about me in full haz-mat gear complete with mask. I told her a regular dental type face mask would not work. I'd need a filtered mask for it to be effective. I do think it's funny but frustrating too.
Dry cleaners, laundry, and deodorant are better solutions than moth balls. I'll have to educate my Dad on those things....
Beans: I think you're right. Older people do loose their sense of smell.
Reaked is the perfect word for it.
There are always those little old ladys that seem to have bathed in whatever cologne/perfume. And the cloud around them damn near asfixiates those in their proximity.
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