What's in mothballs?

There are two different types of mothballs, each of which contains separate moth-killing ingredients. Tune in as Marshall Brain explains the science behind mothballs in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to brain Stuff from house Stuff Works dot com
where smart Happens. Hi Am Marshall Brain with today's question,
what is in moth balls and is it harmful to people? Clothes?
Moths can be a real problem in clothes made from
natural fibers, especially wool. There are two different types of
moth balls used to combat these moths. In one type,

(00:23):
the maid ingredient is naphthaline, and in the other it's paradichlorobenzene.
The idea with both chemicals is to kill moths and
moth larva with the fumes. Both naphthaline and paradichloro benzene sublimate,
meaning that they transition straight from solid to gas. The
gas is a toxin to the maths. For either of

(00:44):
these chemicals to be effective, they need to be placed
with the clothing in a sealed container so that the
fumes can build up and kill the maths. In a
sealed atmosphere like this, the fumes are not harmful to
people because they are contained. The main threat would occur
when opening the containers or from wearing clothes immediately after opening,
which is especially a problem for infants. A solution is

(01:07):
to open the containers outside and then let the clothes
hang in air out for a day or two before wearing.
We all seem to have that aunt whose entire house
smells like mothballs, and we've all walked into a public
restroom where the smell of parodichloral benzine is nearly overpowering.
Are these fumes healthy? The answer is probably not. Neither

(01:29):
of these chemicals is particularly good for people to breathe
on a regular basis. Airing out clothes is a way
to limit the exposure unless toxic. Alternative is cedar blocks, shavings,
or oil. The blocks are expensive, but cedar shavings in
the form of hamster bedding can be really inexpensive. Again,
the container needs to be closed in order for the

(01:51):
cedar sent to have any real effect on the moths.
Do you have any ideas or suggestions for this podcast?
If so, please send me an e mail at podcast
at how stuff works dot com. For more on this
and thousands of other topics, go to how stuff works
dot com. M HM