The Mothball Has to Go. Here's What to Use Instead.

Reading time: ~5 min

There is a smell that most Indians of a certain generation associate with opening an old steel almirah. It's the dense, slightly sweet, slightly chemical smell of naphthalene — the active ingredient in the white balls that have been in Indian wardrobes for decades.

Naphthalene mothballs work. Nobody disputes that. They repel clothes moths, silverfish, and cockroaches effectively. The problem is what they do to everything else in the process — the clothes, the air in the cupboard, and over time, the air in the room.

What's actually happening when you smell mothballs

Naphthalene doesn't dissolve or melt. It sublimates — transitioning directly from solid to gas, which is how it works as an insect repellent. That "mothball smell" isn't incidental. It's the chemical itself, as a vapour, being inhaled.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — part of the World Health Organisation — classifies naphthalene as possibly carcinogenic to humans. The US EPA has classified it similarly, based on animal studies showing tumour formation. The US Department of Health and Human Services concluded that it is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen."

These aren't alarmist claims from fringe researchers. They're the assessment of the world's leading public health bodies based on consistent evidence.

Acute exposure — the kind you get every time you open the almirah — causes headaches, nausea, dizziness, and eye irritation. Longer-term or heavier exposure has been linked to haemolytic anaemia — a condition where red blood cells break down faster than they're made. Babies and small children are particularly at risk, because they're more sensitive to naphthalene and because they can mistake mothballs for candy.

The 2016 respiratory case report that documented a 66-year-old woman developing lipoid pneumonia from candle fumes? The same body of research covers closed-space inhalation of naphthalene from wardrobes in poorly ventilated rooms — and the findings are worse, not better.

Mothballs have been banned in the European Union since 2008. They remain widely available and commonly used in India.

The compromise most people make — and why it doesn't really work

The most common workaround is to put mothballs in a sealed container inside the wardrobe, rather than directly among the clothes. This reduces (but doesn't eliminate) the vapour leakage into the room. Studies have confirmed that mothball vapours do leak from storage containers into indoor air — the question is how much, not whether.

The other common fix is to "air out" clothes stored with mothballs before wearing them. This is necessary — the naphthalene absorbed into fabric is the same chemical that's been classified as a possible carcinogen. Wearing clothes directly from mothball storage, particularly with a baby's clothing or sleepwear, is an exposure risk that's well-documented in pediatric literature.

What actually works instead

Cedar. Red cedar contains natural aromatic oils — primarily cedrol — that are toxic to clothes moths and their larvae. Cedar blocks, cedar rings, or cedar chips placed in the wardrobe work as a natural insect repellent. They need to be sanded lightly every few months when the surface becomes smooth and the scent fades.

Airtight storage. Clothes moths need to lay eggs in natural fibres. If the clothes are in sealed garment bags, the moths can't reach them. This is the most effective physical barrier and requires no chemicals at all.

Beeswax sachets. This is what Blue Honey's wardrobe fresheners are. Handcrafted beeswax sachets, scented with certified fragrance oils, that hang in or sit in the wardrobe. They repel insects without the toxicity of naphthalene, keep clothes smelling fresh (rather than smelling like a museum), and are completely safe around children and pets.

They last several months. When the fragrance fades, they can be warmed slightly (in a closed car on a hot day, or near a warm bulb) to refresh the scent. No health warnings, no need to air your clothes out before wearing them.

A note on camphor

Camphor is the increasingly common substitution for naphthalene in Indian households — many brands now sell camphor-based balls instead of naphthalene ones. Camphor is genuinely less toxic than naphthalene and is not classified as a carcinogen. However, it is still toxic in high doses, toxic to cats and dogs, and not recommended near infants. Medicinally, camphor has therapeutic applications; as a long-term closed-space fumigant, it's a better choice than naphthalene but not the best available option.

The generation that grew up with mothballs didn't have the information we have now. IARC's classification of naphthalene came in 2002. The EU ban came in 2008. The research that links closed-space naphthalene exposure to health impacts has been accumulating over 20 years.

We have better options. Blue Honey's beeswax wardrobe sachets were designed specifically for this — to replace the habit of the white ball with something that does the same job without the trade-offs.

Find them at Blue Honey.

Blue Honey is a home fragrance brand from Navi Mumbai. Our wardrobe sachets are made from 100% natural beeswax with certified essential oils.