What's the Musty Smell in My Living Room?

dogstarheaven

taxsaver: would you say that my terraced house is of the older kind of housing that would have a solid wall? i'm not too clued-up about old/new housing methods? so there wouldn't be anything i could do about the floorboards from leaching out the smell from the foundtions of the bldg then? i did come across this floorboard filler - http://www.draughtex.co.uk/?gclid=CKLb-vWOhqwCFUoY4QodHyz99A

as a way of keeping the draughts out this winter, but now that you've mentioned the possible cause of this smell from the floor, maybe this product could help - what you you think?

fairyprincessk: i have a venetian blind for the room and on the windowsill are my cacti collection (none are in any mouldering/festering pots btw!)

spikeyhedgehog: i've had a good tidy round the back of the sofa, and no, there aren't anything food-wise left in there, all foods/shopping/plates immediately enter the kitchen.

fuddle: it's only a 2-bed terrace (with no back room, so it's quite tight for the two of us) ok, we've accumulated a lot in the yrs we've been together. with our camping stuff, my uni daughter's stuff in her old bedroom, and my OH's ever-growing sports gear (that really gets my goat!) and my gardening equip. none of it i could say would accumulate any underlying smells. my OH will decide on how best to sort out the rug altho' where, i don't know!

Badrick

I'd have a look at base of outside wall for signs of holes being blocked, as old houses often had airbricks to ventilate under floor and someone may have removed them in order to reduce draughts.

pollypenny

Interesting thread. DS always says our house is damp, but there is no discernible sign of any other than on backs of furniture when I move them to clean.

When OH and I came home after a few days away and there had been no heat on, it did smell a bit damp.

Don't know what the answer is.

jollyanna

Is your Piano very old ? It may look well jointed and sealed but could be full of accumulated dust/dead spiders/woodlice inside.I'm suggesting this because some years ago I helped dismantle an ancient Piano for disposal (incredibly weighty so had to be taken to bits) and inside the casing was truly laden with fluffy dust.

taxsaver

dogstarheaven wrote: »

taxsaver: would you say that my terraced house is of the older kind of housing that would have a solid wall? i'm not too clued-up about old/new housing methods? so there wouldn't be anything i could do about the floorboards from leaching out the smell from the foundtions of the bldg then? i did come across this floorboard filler - http://www.draughtex.co.uk/?gclid=CKLb-vWOhqwCFUoY4QodHyz99A

as a way of keeping the draughts out this winter, but now that you've mentioned the possible cause of this smell from the floor, maybe this product could help - what you you think?

Hiya dogstar, it might help but you need to be careful as if there is no ventilation at all to the floorspace you could cause rot to set in, especially if there is dampness down there. Someone else mentioned about air bricks, which is a good point as not only are these sometimes deliberately blocked but also over the years they can become blocked by rising ground levels outside and gardening activities; it's certainly worth checking them and unblocking them if they are covered as that alone might cure the musty smell.

Do you have any idea how old your house is? If it's Victorian or earlier it could well have solid walls.... most properties built before WWI are solid walls.

BitterAndTwisted

pollypenny wrote: »

Interesting thread. DS always says our house is damp, but there is no discernible sign of any other than on backs of furniture when I move them to clean.

When OH and I came home after a few days away and there had been no heat on, it did smell a bit damp.

Don't know what the answer is.

The answer is that it's too humid. Try heating, ventilating and running a dehumidifier 24/7. They aren't that costly to run.

carefullycautious

Old books can give off a musty smell

dogstarheaven

old books - well the books in the bookcase gets decluttered twice a yr so no, i don't think that's the cause
airbrick blockage - the house was bought and remodernised by the housing co-op 16yrs ago, and i would presumed the airbricks will still be in place as i haven't done anything to obstruct it, nor my gardening activities either. the house is surrounded by concrete paving so there would be no rising ground levels...

PixieDust

There are loads of great suggestions on this thread already One thing I thought that might be a good idea would be to fill a dish with bicarbonate of soda and just leave it in your gas meter cupboard - this will keep on top of any condensation and will keep it smelling fresh in there

charlies-aunt

taxsaver wrote: »

It's almost certainly damp as with floorboards you clearly live in an older house. Under the floorboards is usually only the earth and this can be slightly damp and give off that musty smell, as can walls, particularly if they are solid ones rather than cavity.

I'd agree with this having lived for quite a few years in an old terraced house - when we had to have some foorboards replaced - we found that the void under the wooden floors was suprisingly deep in some of the rooms and had been used to dump large broken window panes (maybe broken during bombing in WW2?)

Is it possible to lift a couple of floorboards up and take a look at what lies beneath? In some areas, heavy rains can cause water infiltration into the underfloor void - it will sit there for quite a while before it slowly seeps away - or - you could have a leaking water pipe under there creating mischief.

Check the external walls for cracks in the mortar between the bricks - these can allow water penetration which can run down inside the cavity and create dampness