Amount of Cedar needed per volume of closet space

[Nino Maini]

The new house I got has a hallway linen closet in the second floor, that need a complete remodel, previous owners used it for pet supplies. I was thinking of adding some cedar, but not sure "how much" is enough. Should I just make shelving or line the entire walls. Does anyone have any good rules about the proper amount to use?

[Jozef Kaslikowski]

All of my closets are lined with cedar including the master walk-in, the linen closets and smaller bedroom closets have all shelving made from cedar. It will be strong at first but the smell really mellows as time goes on.

I wouldn't recommend doing an an entire walk-in with shelving also but a linen closet you can do it all comfortably.

[Don Hein]

In our house-build last year, I lined just the back wall of each closet with 1/4" thick T&G cedar from the bigbox. The main purpose of cedar in closets is to discourage moths and other bugs; smell is nice, but secondary. Anyway, the cedar smell wasn't noticeable after a few months, but I presume the moth-repellent effect is still good. Spouse didn't want her sweaters to smell like cedar, so shelving is of other material.

[Nino Maini]

I have never used Cedar before and assumed the smell would last a long time, but both you stated that it goes away. One reason I was thinking of using Cedar was for the smell. Since my work has me traveling 25-30% of my time and i live alone, some area's will not be used for long periods of time.

[Don Hein]

I should have been more specific. I just went upstairs to re-check my memory on this subject.

In the closets which have louvered doors (linen closets), the cedar smell isn't noticeable. Maybe that's because it dissipates easily through the louvers. In the closets with solid bi-fold doors (bedrooms), the cedar smell is noticeable when a door is pulled open. It's not overpowering, but definitely noticeable.

About 50 years ago I made a blanket chest of solid cedar, unfinished on the inside. It still puts up a strong cedar aroma when the lid is lifted. Also, we lived in a house with closets lined with unfinished cedar about 30 years earlier. There was a faint smell of cedar in the closets.

I hope this helps.

[Leland Berry]

Hey Nino-my 2 cents worth Don's correct, air circulation diminishes
the odor rapidly--another option for the scent is sachet bags or cedar
oil. I generate 2-3 55gal barrels of dust and shavings a week, most of
which goes in the burn-pile, so if you'd like a sack-full, I'll mail you some.