Musty smell in new(old 1980s) home

fantasyvsreality

@twopenny No, no inbuilt wardrobes as I ripped them out when I moved in. I have a open rail because of the moth problem, so I could shake clothes regularly etc. The only enclosed cupboard is in the bathroom, a strange cabinet built around the sink and the toilet. Certainly that smells inside, as it is up against the outside wall. I'll try the bicarb trick in there. 

twopenny

Wardrobe (I have 1930s wooden bedroom furniture and some antiques.

I wipe out every so often (wet days) and use lavender wax around the runners and inside of drawers. This picks up any old dust trapped and repells any bugs

A trick for quick is to sprinkle the edges of that cabinet with bicarb then spray with white vinegar. It bubbles up a lot, good fun, and gets into the cracks. Wipe out with sponge.

I wipe with lemon oil for freshness in the kitchen or even just a wipe over with lemon juice which is an excellent cleaner - by the bottle is cheapest and easiest.

koalakoala

Is your house warm enough ?

fantasyvsreality

@koalakoala I think so. I tend to have the heating on in the morning, heat the house to 19 degrees then it stays at around that temp (it's well insulated) till the afternoon. I don't heat it above 19 degrees because I find that temperature is fine for me with a cardigan on. Do you think I should raise it higher? I noticed my in-laws sat in their coats yesterday when they visited. 

fredddddddddddd

@fantasyvsreality buy yourself a humidity meter off Amazon (first result was £5.94) and check what level of humidity you have in each room. Invest in a dehumidifier and try to bring humidity levels down. Heating to 19oC is fine, I assume the whole house is at a similar level?
It would be interesting to see your humidity levels. The musty smell is almost always due to moisture in the air making things damp, so perhaps there is a damp issue (undiscovered water leak, or similar), or you need to increase ventilation. Let us know your findings!

fantasyvsreality

@fredddddddddddd will do! I've given the house a good airing today, emptied the washing machine filter of stinking water, then run a hot wash, and bleached the mold in the window frame. Something is definitely a miss. 

Eldi_Dos

Try putting a tumble dryer fragrance sheet in your hoover that can help mask things.

fantasyvsreality

So I thought I would update you all on the musty smell! I have had new carpets fitted and the fitters found that one of the radiators has rusted and leaked. It had rotted the underlay. Unfortunately I wasn't home to inspect the leak so they went on and fitted the carpet anyway. The smell is still there but after having the carpets done I had new windows fitted too, with trickle vents. The exchange of air in the house means the smell is more faint but It's still there. My partner had a sniff in the airbrick that sits outside, right under where the leak was, and exact same smell is there. A dank musty smell. So the smell is coming up from the subfloor. I'm not sure what to do. I will wait for the radiator leak to fully dry, assuming it went through to the plywood floor under the carpets (it's a bungalow). 

melb

have you got a void under your floor?  My parents had a problem with standing water underneath their house and I couldn't smell anything while in there, but any clothes that had been left there always had a musty smell when I got them home. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly wht they did to fix it but they did have a french drain put around the house - it's just a small trench filled with gravel and there is no smell now.  It must be really annoying for you.

fantasyvsreality

@melb Yes, there is a void and I am really starting to wonder if something is going on under there. I came home today (after we had had torrential rain) and the smell was back, strong as ever  I think I will need to get someone in, who can put a camera through the air bricks to see what is going on under the floor. Where the smell is at it's worst my DPC line is very low against the concrete path that comes along to my front door. I had to clear some moss off the bricks just under the DPC line, and this bit never seems to dry out fully, I am wondering if the problem is there?