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If you or another household member smokes indoors, even if it’s only occasionally, then you may have found the culprit behind that old, musty smell inside the house. Not only is this smelly, but it can also lead to other problems like dampness, rot, and structural damage. So if you suspect that your drains are clogged, it’s essential to have them cleaned. Many manufactured homes use building products containing formaldehyde, including walls and flooring. Check your electrical outlets for sparks or burn marks; call a licensed electrician if the problem persists.
Laundry Drains and Front Load Washers
If you know you have a mold or mildew trouble spot in your house, then be proactive. If the bathroom or kitchen is the source of your problem, then clean with mold-killing products. Also, the next time you redo the paint on the walls in the bathroom or kitchen, use mold-inhibiting paints to keep the spores away. If the mold area is larger than 10 square feet, you may need professional mold abatement. For small colonies of mildew on fabrics or walls, you can follow these tips to get the source of the musty smells under control. At GreenWorks LLC, mold/mildew is the villain we most often encounter in customer’s homes.
What causes a musty smell in a house?
The average homeowner can wait up to 5 years before they must clean their air ducts. That said, your air ducts can become clogged and overly dirty much sooner, especially if you have an old house. Pets and excessive clutter in your house can also make your air ducts dirty sooner.
Plants
Whether it’s black mold (the worst of the worst) or something less serious, you’ll want to identify the spores and learn exactly how to deal with them. Then, we apply a biocide to kill all of the existing spores. We will let this sit to eliminate the spores and their resulting smell, eliminating the problem at the root.
Maintain a clean house.
For more details, review our tips on DIY furnace cleaning and maintenance. Unless you have a fireplace, the smell of smoke or something burning is definitely dangerous. Even if you don’t see signs of fire, you could have something smoldering in the basement or inside the walls.
How to Get Your Home Smelling Good Without It Being Overwhelming - Apartment Therapy
How to Get Your Home Smelling Good Without It Being Overwhelming.
Posted: Wed, 08 Mar 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Can a house smell musty without mold?
Read up on how to clean your mattress and wash your pillows with our helpful Clean Team guides. Try adding a few drops of your favorite essential oils to a bowl of baking soda, stir it up, and set it out in the open to naturally deodorize your home. Here’s how to find the source of the odor and eradicate it — naturally. Musty smells alone may affect the value of a home because nobody really wants to live in a home with a distinct odor. That said, the odor may not affect the home value (or how much you can negotiate on the listing price).
The juice meanwhile can be soaked up in a microfibre cloth and wrapped around the remainder of the tap. Just don’t use this technique on plated taps, such as gold plated, otherwise you risk damage. If the source of a stench is unknown, an inspector will investigate potential sources based on the description in the complaint. Living among Southern California’s industrial facilities can have adverse effects on residents’ health and quality of life. We will also suit up in protective gear to keep ourselves – and others – safe. Mold spores can spread via touch and cause further contamination, so we’re extremely professional about wearing the right PPE.
We tried it: Does natural stain remover spray really work?
As a safety measure, gas companies add a foul-smelling odorant to natural gas to produce a characteristic “rotten egg” smell. Sometimes, you can trace the smell to a specific place or item. Other times, the odor seems to be part of the environment itself — especially if you live in a humid climate. As you go all Sherlock Holmes on your house looking for the offending fungus, pay special attention to areas near water sources and particularly humid places. Vinegar will kill the mold spores and prevent them from regrowing.
We all love our pets, but it’s no secret that they don’t always smell good. They can track the bad smell throughout your house as they walk around. While a distinct pet smell can be cute, the novelty wears off when you can’t get rid of the musty smell in your house. Over time, dust, sweat, and oil from your skin build up on your clothes. The smell only becomes worse when you leave clothes in a pile or hanging in a closet for a long time without wearing them.

If something smells fishy in your home, it might not be the lingering odor from last night’s tilapia. That fishy smell is typically a sign that an electrical component is overheating or burning. If they are not addressed quickly and properly, these problems could result in a house fire. Rewash any smelly clothing with your favorite natural laundry detergent. If the smell remains, repeat the process or hire a carpet cleaning company to shampoo your carpet.
The main causes of excess moisture in a home include high humidity levels, water seeping into a basement from outside, or leaky pipes. If you suspect a leaky pipe, investigate or call a plumber to make repairs. Leaky basements are more difficult to fix and may require waterproofing the interior and exterior. We’ve all been there—you walk into a room and a familiar but unpleasant scent hits your nostrils.
Either way, excess moist and stale air around your home can accumulate mold spores. Keep the humidity range between 40% and 60% to avoid musty smells in your house. This will also help prevent mold, and it can promote lung health if you have respiratory problems. That said, you may want to keep the humidity level between 30% and 50% during the winter if you live in a particularly dry climate. If your kitchen smells musty, there may be a leak causing mold or mildew growth.
This is especially true when mold and mildew are in your ductwork. Your HVAC system will have to work overtime to keep air flowing, and unfortunately, the air it is circulating is likely harming the residents within. Keep in mind that a musty smell is an indication of a dirty house or poor ventilation. These places have an air ventilation system with air inlets that allow fresh air into the building.
Promptly transfer your clothes from the washer to the dryer — don’t let them sit wet overnight. Clean the washing machine and disinfect the dishwasher to get rid of mold and mildew. The price to remove mold when hiring a professional can cost an average of $500 to $6,000, sometimes even tens of thousands of dollars if you have a severe problem.
Even if you don’t have mold, ventilation should help move the air and remove any musty smells. Keep your house aired since fresh air can help prevent mold growth. Mold grows more quickly in stale air because of the increased humidity levels. If you've ever smelled decaying wood or wet, musty towels left in a pile after a long weekend, you've smelled the stale, earthy odor of mold and mildew. A leaky pipe or roof can also cause the buildup of humidity and moisture that results in this offensive smell.
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