Bit of a musty smell still lingering in house

londonlydia

Have you got stairs in the property? I have a similar problem with general dust and mild smell from our stairs...evertime someone walks up or down them it seems to shake years old dust into the air through the gaps. It's really obvious to us as the stairs are next to a black tiled floor...and you can see it settling. Also, we're doing up our living room which is above our dining room, and we've discovered that walking around this room disturbs dust in the sub floor which comes out the spotlights below!

I wonder if you have a similar dusty problem? I'm tempted to vacuum the sub floor tbh!

moneyistooshorttomention

Its concrete floors throughout the house, so mice could be a thought if I had wooden floorboards, but I wouldn't have thought so here. I've never seen any sign of mice anywhere (in my house or elsewhere).

Stairs is also a valid thought, but no stairs. Its a bungalow. I can see concrete dust coming up when I sweep the one floor that is currently uncovered still (hopefully carpet will be going down there next week okay). Whether I might possibly be smelling some concrete dust I don't know. I'm not walking directly on the concrete concerned iyswim, as I have strips of leftover carpet down for the time being there until my new carpet turns up.

moneyistooshorttomention

trailingspouse wrote: »

No, I don't like them either. But which is worse - the smell, or the air freshener?? Needs must!!

In the meantime, get those windows open!!

You'll be pleased to know windows and exterior doors all wide open. Hope the nearby dogs keep quiet (as this is an area where some dogs are kept outside and then they tend to bark:cool:). Fingers crossed normal quietness will reign for at least long enough for a good "blow through".

Gloomendoom

Does this smell seem to follow you around?

moneyistooshorttomention

Have done a big Blow Through of air. Smell still there. Will try some more blow-throughs. Meanwhile, have traced down the two worst rooms for it and put a little dish of bicarbonate of soda in each of them (as I gather this can help absorb smells).

Am now varying my opinion as to what I think it smells like to a sort of oily biscuity sort of smell.

nikki2804

We had similar in an old house. Gave the radiators a good clean (the muck in them was rank) and the smell improved. Don't know if that would help at all.

shegar

If your at home all the time , then leave the windows open 24/7 , its no good opening them for an hour then shutting everywhere up, you need constant supply of fresh air........
We had a slight musty smell here when we moved in, because the place was shut up for months as the old girl was in a care home.....

After removing carpets etc and decorating and my windows are open 24/7 all the year through its always fresh smelling....

So my advise is the same as all the other posters , ventilation, fresh air........

moneyistooshorttomention

nikki2804 wrote: »

We had similar in an old house. Gave the radiators a good clean (the muck in them was rank) and the smell improved. Don't know if that would help at all.

Thanks.

The radiators are all brand new, so I'm guessing its not them at fault:)

moneyistooshorttomention

Am going to have some more good blow-throughs of air.

Its not possible to have windows open 24/7. This is a low risk crime area, but crimes do still happen and its a bungalow. Hence all windows are ground floor level.

I'm not someone who keeps windows open 24/7 anyway normally, so just for initial blow-throughs, but obviously houses don't need it as a constant thing basically (lived in my last house for over 20 years with my standard level of window-opening and there was no smell problem).

So, right now, its still blow-throughs, dishes of bicarbonate of soda around and I'm planning to get some cinnamon and cloves and chuck them in a pot of boiling water on the cooker and permeate the place a bit with that. Am wondering whether The Smell has penetrated the concrete blocks the house is built from (ie rather than bricks) and this would re-permeate with something pleasanter (cant think how that would be physically possible, as every single wall in the place has now been replastered...but still).

shegar

Im also in a bungalow low crime area, if you are at home all day you can leave your little top windows open quite wide and lock the larger window , no one can get in them ....Its the only way you will clear smells, if youve done everything else.......