Magnesium bromide and butyl mercaptan (1-butanethiol) in diethyl ether has been found to be very effective for selective removal of methoxymethyl (MOM), methylthiomethyl (MTM), and beta-(trimethylsilyl)ethoxymethyl (SEM) ethers in the presence of methoxyethoxymethyl (MEM), tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS), and benzyl ethers under mild conditions.