Musty Stale Room- Cleaning Tips?

is it in the basement? if it is, there may be water seeping up through the concrete. Even if it's not in the basement, sometimes the bottom of the house may have damp soil which seeps up. You may have to pull up the carpet and put a sealer under the floor. Also just cleaning the carpet if it has carpet may help.

We keep our door open and the windows open to get fid of the smell in our room. It's mainly only in winter when we can't air our the rooms

Sounds like the room really needs to get aired out. When it's warm enough open the windows and get a fan going. You can also put damp rid (or charcoal) around the room to absorb any dampness.

Baking soda will absorb any musty odors and is better then masking with candles. There may be a leak that you cant see, maybe behind a wall, ceiling or floor. Even the smallest of leaks will cause this problem over time. Also if you have an attached bathroom check for leaks in there too.

First floor or second floor? A friend of mine had a water leak under the house. She said her husband had them take their shoes off and walk all over the floor until they found the hot spot. She said before long they found it and sure enough there was a water leak.

Try it.

but you do have ventilation of some sort? IF so, have you changed the vents? when ours get old, once we turn on the heat, you can tell by the smell... as it were..
also, IF hardwood floors, and depending if the varnish has rubbed off, the wood can begin to hold odors and dirt" if carpeting.. well, could be the carpet OR underneath, the matting (As those get rotten after a time as well) esp if you don't have good ventilation..
here's what I would do... I would completely clear out the closet,clean and then paint the walls..as for the floor, as suggested above, if wood.. consider re-doing them or at least where the closet is concerned.. if a rug, take it out completely..
also, keep the closet doors open to air...
the other suggestion.. Although I don't like GLOSS paint perse, in a damp environment, sometimes a semi-gloss is a good idea because it doesn't hold the moisture like a non-gloss does... so consider changing up the paint..

hope this helps

Sorry to say that this might be, as others noted, a leak somewhere inside the wall, which is a total pain. If the drywall does not feel damp or show stains on the side you can see, that doesn't tell you much, unfortunately; you can't see or feel wet that's on the reverse of the wall or on the wood joists within the wall.

There are companies that deal with mold and moisture in homes. They can come out and examine the room to see if their devices detect moisture in the walls -- we had this done on a wall in the basement to see if a leak had leached up the drywall and they were able to test the drywall without cutting it, etc. I'd call a few such places and find out what they would charge (if anything -- they might consider it a "free estimate") to test and see if they detect moisture in the walls. Have them test the carpeting as well, if the room is carpeted. We have had to replace carpet and padding due to leaks.

The issue is -- a musty smell can be masked but if the source is actually mold, the mold must be removed professionally or it can cause real sickness, respiratory conditions, allergies, etc. If it's mold, smell is just the symptom of a larger problem, the mold spores that can make you and your son ill. Laundering things or pulling moisture from the air with "damp rid" products won't deal with the real problem in the walls or wood. So if this is a persistent problem and not just seasonal funk from a wet winter--I really would get it checked out, for health reasons.

Really sounds like some sort of leak close by.

Open windows and blow fans.

Clean out any vents. I

s there a bathroom attached? Make sure you open those windows too with a fan and clean those vents.

If there is carpet in there?, consider sprinkling baking soda on it, let it sit all day, then vacuum it up, a few times this evening.

Make sure there are no leaks around the windows, some windows will get condensation on them when the weather changes and drip into the tracks, so be sure to wipe all of that out also.

Until you can find the source, or possible leak, try baking soda. It can work wonders (similar to what it can do in a stinky fridge).

Good luck!

Musty=water.
Fan, open windows, Febreze, do all wooden furniture with Murphy's oil Soap, then lemon oil, burn a candle.

If the smell comes back? You've likely got a water problem.
Where's the water nearby? Tub? Powder room? Above? What's above? Attic? Could be the roof.

Could there be a leak?

Touch the ceiling and see if there is a soft spot. Is there a bathroom, laundry room or kitchen upstairs?

Not sure what it could be since it sounds like you have checked the room
out thoroughly unless it's just due to not getting much natural light. Poss
mold w/in the walls? Any chance the dry wall has gotten wet?
-In the meantime I would open the window & put a fan in the sill to draw
out the smell .
-Then use those plug ins for awhile.
-In addition, I would spray Febreeze.
Hope that helps.

-Any rugs in there that need to be replaced or aired out? If you have carpet, could it have gotten wet or just need a good shampoo?

Is the room carpeted? It could be the carpet and/or pad. Try using one of those carpet freshening powders before you vacuum, but if it is the carpet/pad, the smell will come back over and over again.