Why Naphthalene is Toxic - And What to Use Instead

The white balls at the bottom of every Indian grandmother's almirah have been there so long they feel like a fixed feature of domestic life. Naphthalene balls are as ubiquitous in Indian wardrobe care as coconut oil in the kitchen or brass in the pooja room. They are cheap, widely available, and they do something visible: clothes stored with them survive the season without moth holes.

But the question worth asking is not whether they work. The question is whether they work safely. Because naphthalene is not an inert deodoriser. It is a volatile organic compound that sublimes at room temperature, meaning it turns directly from solid to vapour without passing through liquid form. That vapour fills the enclosed space of your wardrobe, settles into the fibres of your clothes, and enters your lungs every time you open the door or wear something that has been stored with it.

The World Health Organization has classified naphthalene as a possible human carcinogen (Group 2B). The US Environmental Protection Agency lists it as a potential carcinogen as well. Neither classification is a verdict, but both are a reason to take a second look at something most Indian households use without a second thought.

This post covers what naphthalene actually is, what the research says about its health effects, what it does to fabric over time, why it remains so common in Indian homes despite those concerns, and, most practically, what actually works instead. If you have been storing clothes with naphthalene balls out of habit, this is the full picture. You can decide what to do with it.

What Naphthalene Actually Is

Naphthalene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Its molecular formula is C10H8, and it consists of two fused benzene rings. In plain terms, it is a petrochemical compound derived from coal tar or crude oil refining, the same industrial feedstock that gives us diesel, kerosene, and a range of synthetic chemicals.

At room temperature, naphthalene exists as a white crystalline solid with a sharp, distinctive smell. That smell is not incidental to its function. The vapour naphthalene continuously releases is what repels moths and other fabric-damaging insects. When the ball shrinks over weeks and months, it is not dissolving. It is subliming, converting entirely into gas. A naphthalene ball that has fully disappeared has not gone anywhere safe. Its entire mass has entered the air in your wardrobe.

The compound has legitimate industrial applications. It is used in the manufacture of phthalic anhydride (a precursor to plastics and dyes), as a surfactant, and historically as an insecticide. It was used in mothballs in Western markets for decades before being largely replaced by alternatives including paradichlorobenzene, cedar oil, and synthetic repellents. In India, naphthalene balls remain the dominant product in this category, sold under dozens of brand names in every kirana store and pharmacy.

Paradichlorobenzene is worth noting because it is also used in some Indian mothball products. It has its own health concerns and a similar mode of action, subliming to release vapour. Neither compound is inert. If your mothballs have a sharper, more chemical smell than the classic camphor-like naphthalene scent, they may contain paradichlorobenzene. The concerns in this post apply broadly to both.

Camphor is a separate compound entirely, derived from the camphor laurel tree, and is generally considered lower-risk for typical household use, though it is still a volatile compound and should not be confused with naphthalene.

What Happens When You Inhale Naphthalene

Naphthalene exposure through inhalation is the primary concern in household use. When you open a wardrobe that contains naphthalene balls, you inhale naphthalene vapour. When you wear clothes stored with naphthalene, you continue to inhale trace amounts as the vapour off-gases from the fabric throughout the day.

At low exposure levels typical of household use, the short-term effects most commonly reported include headache, nausea, and eye or throat irritation. These are the symptoms of exposure to a volatile organic compound at concentrations that exceed comfortable thresholds. Many people experience them mildly and attribute them to other causes.

At higher concentrations, or with prolonged exposure over years, naphthalene has been associated with haemolytic anaemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can replace them. This is particularly a concern for individuals with G6PD deficiency, a genetic condition that is notably more common in certain South Asian and Mediterranean populations. In India, G6PD deficiency affects a meaningful portion of the population, making naphthalene exposure a more specific concern here than in other geographies.

Children are more vulnerable than adults. Their respiratory rates are higher relative to body mass, they spend more time at floor level where vapour concentrations can be higher, and their developing systems are more sensitive to chemical exposures. Infants whose clothing is stored with naphthalene are being exposed to a compound with known health concerns from the earliest weeks of life.

The WHO classification of naphthalene as a Group 2B possible carcinogen is based on animal studies showing increased tumour incidence at high naphthalene concentrations, combined with mechanistic evidence suggesting similar pathways could apply in humans. Group 2B means the evidence is not yet conclusive for humans, but it is sufficient to warrant caution. This is not a statement of alarm. It is a statement of where the research currently sits.

The EPA sets a reference concentration for naphthalene inhalation at 0.003 mg/m3 for chronic exposure. Studies measuring naphthalene concentrations inside wardrobes or closets containing naphthalene balls have found levels significantly above this reference concentration, particularly in enclosed spaces with limited ventilation. Indian wardrobes, often made of solid wood with fitted doors and minimal airflow, create exactly the kind of enclosed environment where concentrations build.

To be clear: using naphthalene balls is not the same as a direct, acute health emergency. Millions of households have used them for decades without documented acute harm. The concern is chronic low-level exposure over years, the kind of exposure that is hardest to attribute to any single cause. That is precisely why it is worth addressing deliberately rather than waiting for obvious symptoms.

What Naphthalene Does to Fabric

Beyond the health considerations, naphthalene has a straightforward practical problem: it degrades fabric and leaves an odour that is notoriously difficult to remove.

Naphthalene vapour is absorbed into fabric fibres, particularly natural fibres like wool, silk, and cotton. Wool absorbs it most readily. Silk is highly sensitive to chemical residues. These are also the fabrics most worth protecting, which creates a paradox. The clothes you most want to preserve from moth damage are the clothes most affected by naphthalene residue.

The smell transfer is the most immediately obvious problem. Clothes stored with naphthalene carry the scent long after removal. Airing garments helps, but the vapour trapped within the fibre structure of woven fabric requires extended time and ventilation to fully off-gas. In practical terms, a silk saree that has been stored with naphthalene balls for several months will smell of naphthalene when worn, and that smell transfers to skin.

Over longer periods, naphthalene vapour can cause yellowing of white and light-coloured fabrics. The oxidative chemistry involved in naphthalene sublimation interacts with fabric dyes and fibres in ways that are difficult to reverse. Heirloom textiles that are stored with naphthalene for years can develop a characteristic yellowing that dry cleaning may not fully correct.

Silk is particularly vulnerable. The protein structure of silk is sensitive to acidic and oxidative environments, and the chemical byproducts of naphthalene sublimation create both. Long-term storage of silk with naphthalene can weaken fibre integrity as well as causing cosmetic changes to colour and sheen.

Embroidered garments face an additional risk. The metallic threads used in zardozi and other traditional Indian embroidery can react with naphthalene vapour over extended storage, causing tarnishing and colour change in the metalwork.

If your goal is to preserve valuable fabric, naphthalene is working against you in the long run even as it performs its short-term function of moth deterrence.

Why Indian Homes Still Use It

Honest answer: because it works, it is cheap, it is everywhere, and nobody has given people a compelling reason to stop.

Naphthalene balls in India cost roughly 30 to 60 rupees for a packet. They are available in every kirana store, every pharmacy, every supermarket. No special trip is required. No research is needed. You drop them in the wardrobe and forget about them. The whole interaction takes about thirty seconds.

The alternative messaging has largely been either absent or preachy. Health concerns that manifest over years, if they manifest at all, do not feel urgent against the concrete reality of a silk saree with moth holes. The risk calculus for most households is simple: moth damage is visible and expensive; naphthalene risk is abstract and distant. Abstraction loses.

There is also the weight of inherited practice. If your mother used naphthalene balls and her mother used naphthalene balls and nobody got obviously sick, the habit carries the authority of family knowledge. Questioning it can feel like questioning your grandmother's competence. It is worth being clear: your grandmother was not wrong to use what was available and widely accepted. The information landscape has changed. The habit can change too.

Availability matters enormously. In smaller towns and cities, the market for naphthalene alternatives is thin. Cedar blocks and lavender sachets are aspirational-urban products not available at the corner store. Bridging this accessibility gap is part of what RAD LVNG's fragrance tablets are designed to address: a product that works, is genuinely available, and does not ask you to compromise on practicality.

The habit will change when the alternative is as easy as the original. That is the actual barrier, and it is worth naming plainly.

Does Naphthalene Actually Keep Moths Away?

Yes. But the mechanism, the limitations, and the trade-offs are worth understanding.

Moths that damage clothing are not the adult moths you see flying toward light. The damage is done by larvae, specifically the caterpillars of the clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella) and the case-bearing clothes moth (Tinea pellionella). Adult moths lay eggs on natural-fibre fabric, and the larvae eat the protein keratin found in wool, cashmere, silk, and fur. Cotton and synthetic fabrics are much less vulnerable.

Naphthalene repels adult moths by creating an environment they avoid for egg-laying. It may also kill larvae at sufficient concentrations. This makes it genuinely effective as a deterrent when used in enclosed spaces where vapour concentrations build to repellent levels.

The limitations are real. Naphthalene works only while it is subliming and only in an enclosed space. An open wardrobe, a wardrobe with gaps, or a storage system with adequate ventilation will not maintain concentrations high enough for effective deterrence. This is a design tension: the conditions that make naphthalene most effective as a moth deterrent (enclosed, poorly ventilated space) are also the conditions that concentrate vapour for human inhalation.

Moths are also repelled rather than killed in most household use scenarios. If the surrounding environment has moths, removing naphthalene creates a window for rapid reinfestation. This is why households often feel locked into continuous naphthalene use, the wardrobe has never been moth-free, only moth-deterred.

A more durable approach involves addressing the actual conditions that attract moths, not just repelling them. Moths are attracted to soiled fabric (especially fabric with food, sweat, or skin oil residue), to dark undisturbed spaces, and to natural fibres. Storing clean garments, using sealed storage where possible, and using a genuine deterrent rather than a repellent addresses the problem more completely.

What actually deters clothes moths: cedar oil and cedar wood chips contain natural compounds toxic to moth larvae; lavender contains linalool and other compounds that moths avoid; neem (Azadirachta indica) contains azadirachtin, a proven insecticidal compound with centuries of documented use in South Asian textile storage; and temperature, moths and larvae die in prolonged cold or heat, making seasonal deep cleaning a practical intervention.

Alternatives That Actually Work

Each of the following alternatives has a real mechanism of action. This is not a list of vague natural options. These are materials with documented efficacy against fabric pests, appropriate practical caveats included.

Fragrance Tablets

A modern alternative specifically designed for wardrobe use, fragrance tablets combine pleasant scent with moth-deterring compounds in a format that is clean, controlled, and free of the health and fabric concerns associated with naphthalene. The format matters: a tablet releases fragrance gradually into the wardrobe environment, maintaining a consistent deterrent presence without the harsh off-gassing of naphthalene. They are also safe for the full range of natural fabrics including silk, wool, and embroidered textiles, because there are no reactive volatile compounds interacting with fibre chemistry.

The practical advantage is significant: a fragrance tablet does the job naphthalene does, does it without the smell transfer to clothing, and leaves your wardrobe smelling like something you chose rather than something industrial.

Cedar Blocks and Cedar Rings

Cedar wood contains cedarwood oil, specifically cedrol and other sesquiterpene compounds, which are toxic to moth larvae and repellent to adult moths. Cedar blocks are genuinely effective, particularly when the wood surface is fresh and oil-rich. Over time, the oil concentration in the surface wood diminishes as it evaporates. Sanding the surface lightly with fine-grit sandpaper every few months restores the oil exposure and renews effectiveness.

Cedar rings are designed for individual hangers, a useful format for garments you want protected without storing them in fully sealed conditions. Cedar planks lining a wardrobe drawer are the most effective deployment. Hanging cedar blocks in wardrobe corners provides area coverage.

Cedar is safe for all fabrics and adds a pleasant woodsy note to stored garments that dissipates quickly when worn. The limitation is effectiveness range: cedar works best in close proximity to fabric, not as a room-level deterrent.

Dried Neem Leaves

Neem is the traditional Indian solution to fabric pests, predating both naphthalene balls and colonial-era textile practices. Azadirachtin, the primary active compound in neem, has well-documented insecticidal properties and is used in commercial agricultural pesticides worldwide. Dried neem leaves placed in sachets or directly between fabric layers in storage deter insects through both scent and contact toxicity to larvae.

The advantages of neem are significant for an Indian context: it is genuinely available everywhere, it is culturally familiar, it is safe for fabrics and people, and it works. The limitation is that dried neem loses potency as it desiccates further and its volatile compounds dissipate. Replacing neem sachets every three to four months maintains effectiveness. Neem leaves also need to be dry, damp neem in a closed wardrobe creates mould risk.

For households wanting a no-purchase alternative while transitioning away from naphthalene, neem is the most practical immediate substitute available anywhere in India.

Lavender Sachets

Lavender contains linalool, camphor, and other aromatic compounds that moths avoid. Dried lavender sachets are effective as a deterrent for adult moths, particularly useful for wardrobes you open regularly where volatile concentrations from other deterrents dissipate quickly.

The limitation is that lavender's efficacy against larvae is lower than cedar or neem. For high-value natural-fibre garments in longer-term storage, lavender works best in combination with another approach rather than as a standalone solution. It is excellent for everyday wardrobe use where you want a pleasant ambient scent plus deterrence, and where the wardrobe is opened daily (making volatile accumulation a lesser concern and refreshment of fragrance a practical priority).

Dried lavender sachets need replacement every four to six months as the essential oil evaporates.

Herbal Combinations

Traditional Indian textile storage often combined multiple botanicals, neem with dried flowers, cloves, dried orange peel, and herbs like rosemary. There is reasonable sense in this. Different volatile compounds work on different parts of the moth lifecycle and repel through different mechanisms. Combining cedar or neem with lavender provides broader coverage. This is not folk belief working against chemistry. It is layered chemistry working together.

Making the Switch: A Practical Indian Wardrobe Guide

If your wardrobe currently contains naphthalene balls, here is how to transition to safer alternatives without creating a gap in protection.

Step 1: Remove existing naphthalene balls and air the wardrobe

Remove all existing naphthalene balls and dispose of them properly. Do not simply move them to another storage area. Open the wardrobe fully and leave it open in a ventilated room for at least 24 to 48 hours. The residual naphthalene vapour in the wardrobe itself will dissipate with airflow. If possible, do this during a period when you can also air the stored garments.

Step 2: Wash or air garments before returning them to storage

This step is more important than it seems. Clean garments are the most significant deterrent to moth activity. Adult female moths seek out soiled natural-fibre fabric for egg-laying. The keratin-stained areas, where sweat, skin oil, or food has degraded protein into an accessible food source for larvae, are primary targets. Garments that go into long-term storage should be freshly laundered or dry-cleaned, not worn-once-and-stored. Check garments for any existing damage before storage. Moth larvae already present in fabric will continue feeding in storage regardless of what deterrent you introduce.

Step 3: Deploy your chosen alternative before closing the wardrobe

Place fragrance tablets, cedar blocks, or neem sachets in the wardrobe before loading garments back in. For cedar, place blocks at floor level and hanging blocks in corners. For neem sachets, position them between layers of folded silk and wool garments where larvae risk is highest. For fragrance tablets, follow placement guidance on the product.

Step 4: Use sealed storage for highest-value garments

Wedding lehengas, vintage sarees, cashmere shawls, and heirloom textiles deserve sealed storage rather than open wardrobe storage. Muslin-wrapped garments in sealed boxes or zippered fabric garment bags eliminate moth access entirely. A cedar block or neem sachet inside a sealed storage box provides additional protection. This is how textile archives and museum collections store natural-fibre items. For the clothes that matter most, physical exclusion is more reliable than chemical deterrence.

Step 5: Seasonal deep cleaning is your long-term defence

Every major season change (pre-monsoon and pre-winter) is an opportunity for a full wardrobe audit. Pull everything out. Air the wardrobe. Check for any signs of moth activity (small irregular holes, sand-like frass, or silk casings from larvae). Replace deterrents. Wash or air any garments that have been stored without being worn. This twice-yearly practice is worth more than any continuous deterrent, because it eliminates the undisturbed conditions that allow moth populations to establish.

A note on the transition period

If you are transitioning from naphthalene to alternatives during monsoon or immediately before a long storage season, the practical risk is low. Moths are most active in warmer, more humid months, and a combination of clean garments and appropriate alternatives handles the actual threat effectively. The anxiety about removing naphthalene is often larger than the actual moth risk, particularly in urban apartments with reasonable general cleanliness.

For context, the fragrant wardrobe guide on the RAD LVNG blog covers the full picture of wardrobe scenting, including how to layer fragrance in storage without overdoing any single note. And if you want to go deeper on the naphthalene question specifically, the post on the truth about naphthalene balls covers the three most practical immediate alternatives in more focused detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are naphthalene balls dangerous to use at home in India?

The risk from occasional, limited exposure is low. The concern is with chronic long-term exposure over years, particularly in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation, and particularly for children and individuals with G6PD deficiency, a condition more common in certain Indian populations. The WHO classifies naphthalene as a possible human carcinogen (Group 2B), meaning there is sufficient evidence from animal studies and mechanistic research to warrant caution, but conclusive human evidence is not yet established. The practical recommendation is not panic, but transition. There are effective alternatives that do the same job without the exposure concern.

Do naphthalene balls actually prevent moths?

Yes, when used correctly. Naphthalene releases vapour that repels adult clothes moths and can kill larvae at sufficient concentrations. It is most effective in fully enclosed, poorly ventilated storage where vapour builds to deterrent levels. It is less effective in wardrobes that are opened regularly or that have gaps. The compound repels rather than kills in most household use scenarios, meaning moth pressure returns as soon as the naphthalene is depleted or the space is opened.

What can I use instead of naphthalene balls in my wardrobe?

Cedar blocks, dried neem leaves in sachets, lavender sachets, and fragrance tablets are all effective alternatives with documented mechanisms of action. Cedar contains sesquiterpene compounds toxic to moth larvae. Neem contains azadirachtin, an established insecticidal compound. Lavender's linalool and other volatile compounds repel adult moths. Fragrance tablets designed for wardrobe use combine deterrent compounds with pleasant scent in a controlled-release format. For highest-value garments, sealed physical storage eliminates moth access entirely, regardless of what deterrent is used.

Are fragrance tablets as effective as naphthalene for preventing moths?

For everyday wardrobe use in a normally-maintained household, yes. The conditions that make naphthalene most effective (fully sealed, unventilated storage) are also the conditions that create the highest human exposure risk and are incompatible with wardrobes that are opened daily. In a regularly-used wardrobe with clean stored garments, fragrance tablets with moth-deterrent compounds perform comparably to naphthalene without the fabric and health concerns. For seasonal deep storage of high-value natural-fibre garments, sealed physical storage combined with cedar or neem provides robust protection.

How do I get rid of the naphthalene smell from my clothes?

Air is the primary solution. Hang affected garments in a well-ventilated outdoor space or near an open window for 24 to 48 hours. Most naphthalene odour dissipates with sufficient airflow. For garments that have absorbed significant naphthalene over extended storage, a gentle hand wash or professional dry clean followed by outdoor airing usually resolves the smell. Avoid putting naphthalene-scented garments directly into a dryer without airing first, as heat can drive the smell deeper into fibres. White vinegar diluted in water used as a rinse in hand-washing can help neutralise residual odour in cotton and wool. Silk should always go to a professional for this treatment.

A Final Word

The point of this post is not to turn naphthalene balls into a villain or to suggest that everyone who has ever used them has made a terrible mistake. Millions of Indian households have used them, continue to use them, and will continue to use them. The habit is deeply embedded and the alternative landscape has not always made switching easy.

The point is simpler than that: there is now enough information about naphthalene's health profile and enough genuinely effective alternatives available that the habit is worth reconsidering. Not urgently, not anxiously, but deliberately. The next time you open the wardrobe and replace a depleted ball, it is worth asking whether that is the only option available, or just the most familiar one.

Your clothes, particularly the silk sarees and woollen shawls and embroidered pieces that deserve to last, will also be better off without it.