I love fabric and fine textiles of all kinds, but mostly I'm fond of cotton goods — cotton sheets, cotton quilts. You might say I am a collector, but only in the best sense of that word! My friends know me as a recovering fabric-holic. That's why I was particularly drawn to a letter that hit my inbox recently. When I read that the sender's dilemma involved fabric, I was on it.

Dear Mary: I was recently given some fabric that was stored in mothballs. Any advice on how to get the smell out? I tried washing it and ended up with a whole load of laundry that smelled of mothballs. Thanks. — Lucille

Dear Lucille: This is a tough problem. So difficult, I called in the pros for advice on how to rescue your fabric and that load of laundry. Here's what I learned:

Mothballs are small balls of chemical pesticide used to protect your clothes from hungry moths and other insects while in storage. The active ingredient, depending on the age of the mothballs used, is either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene, which are petroleum-based with fumes that can be toxic to both people and pets.

Typically, one puts clothes, or in your case fabric, in an airtight container so that the fumes are trapped and build up to a level that kills pests. There's no doubt that mothballs work to kill pests, but the unintended consequence of that odor does become counterproductive, as you have learned.

The only way to get rid of that horrid smell is to oxidize it — transform the odor-causing chemicals into something harmless that has no odor.

Nok-Out (soon we'll get used to its new name, Sniper) is the only thing I know of that will effectively eradicate the smell of mothballs. Here's how to do it (and don't forget to use the coupon code 'DPL' at checkout on NokOut.com for 10 percent off):

Spray the fabric and clothing items with enough Nok-Out (or Sniper) to make them completely wet. Next, massage it in so that the item becomes uniformly damp, but not dripping wet. Turn the item inside-out repeat. Allow to dry fully. Repeat until the odor is gone. For really tough situations, it may take three to four cycles.

One last thing: For those who just happen to have a supply of mothballs, there is one good use for them. Provided there are no children or pets around in the area, spread them in your garden. Rabbits and deer are repelled by that smell just as much as Lucille and I are!

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.