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Damp musty smell in kitchen cupboards

eyelinerprincess
eyelinerprincess Posts: 4,679 Forumite
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Some of my kitchen cabinets, particularly the ones attached to the exterior walls, have stunk of a damp musty smell since we've moved in. Has anyone had this before and know of a way to get rid of the smell? I'm fed up of having to wash my plates again before using them.
"Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, But beautiful old people are works of art."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

Comments

  • TimBear
    TimBear Posts: 808 Forumite
    Firstly you need to check where the damp is actually coming from. Is it c oming from outside or perhaps is there a pipe leaking?
  • Ben84
    Ben84 Posts: 3,069 Forumite
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    edited 21 October 2011 at 12:48PM
    Finding a direct source of damp would be a great start, but it may just be because they're in the kitchen and humidity gets in and condenses on the colder outside wall at the back. We have some glass fronted cabinets with mirror tiles in the back and it's surprising just how much water appears on the tiles when we're cooking, even though the doors are shut. If this is the case you probably need to start by reducing humidity in the kitchen, for a start always using lids on pans (you'll capture a lot of the steam with just this), then perhaps an extractor hood for the cooker or fan in a window. We've also improved some of our cupboards by fitting air vents in the doors as greater air flow helps them stay dry. Another option we considered was insulation board for the back of the cupboards so water vapour doesn't condense there so much.

    Edit because I forgot to ask, is there any mould/mildew visible in there? Dilute bleach cleaning tends to clear it up, but more long term I may paint my cupboards around the house with anti-mould paint inside.
  • russetred
    russetred Posts: 1,334 Forumite
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    A dish of bicarbonate of soda will trap moisture and damp smell till you figure out the long term problem.
    "Sometimes life sucks....but the alternative is unacceptable."
  • Fruball
    Fruball Posts: 5,739 Forumite
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    I've got this problem in the larder since I cleared out the whole of the bottom 2 shelves - I put a tub of bicarb in there and the smell has all but gone in 3 days :)
  • kazwookie
    kazwookie Posts: 13,834 Forumite
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    Is the guttering outside leaking down the walls,?
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  • eyelinerprincess
    eyelinerprincess Posts: 4,679 Forumite
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    Can't see any leaking outside, and landlord just had guttering cleaned out a couple of weeks ago. There's no visible mould or mildew. Will try the dish of bicarb atm until I've had the little one.
    "Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, But beautiful old people are works of art."
    -- Eleanor Roosevelt
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