Hi ladies,
We just moved into a great house and we absolutely love it. The problem- an elderly man lived in the home prior to us. THe home has a musty scent that is noticeable when walking in the doors. The entire inside has been freshly painted, and the hardwoods have been refinished, so I am not sure how the smell is lingering. What can I do to rid of the smell? I have to add that my son has allergies so no air fresheners can be used. Thanks for your help!
Thanks for the advice. There are no carpets and upholstery (yet), so I suspect the smell is coming from the vents. I'll have them cleaned if the other tricks don't work. I am hoping that eventually that lived-in smell will take over. I know that fried chicken covers up the smell of ANYTHING- I wonder if they make Fried Chicken Yankee candles? lol
I would have the upholstery, carpet, and air ducts professioonally cleaned and change all the filters.
When my dog was skunked, then got INSIDE (another story!) I was told to put small plates/dishes of ground coffee beans around. It was AMAZING at absorbing the smell. And it's not toxic. Also, you can boil cloves & cinnamon in water on the stove.
How about a de-humidifier? Either that or one of those HEPA filter air cleaners which is also a way to remove pollen from the air.
May be the closets, cabinets and ceilings..
I would open every window and every door in the house and blow fans all through the house for as many hours as possible..
Then give it a good cleaning. Light fixtures, mop closets, wipe down the walls of the closets, wipe down the cabinets. Place small containers of vanilla around the house and also open containers of baking soda.. both of these absorb and then neutralize odors.
There are products that will absorb moisture, they can be hung in closets. They can be purchased like at Target with the Closet storage products.
We can't do air fresheners either. Peppermint oil works temporarily, the real stuff from a health food store.
I'm a fan of keeping something cooking in crock pots, ovens, or bread machines as often as possible. The food smells are much better than musty house. I use bleach and vinegar in various cleaning projects and open the windows in the mornings when it's nice. Lots of fans and circulation with a couple of air filters help too. The ozone type machines work well too. But they are expensive and stop working a lot.
have the air ducts cleaned by a professional
In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.
The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). T he doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.
Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.
If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case..
Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!!!!!!!!!!!
... from an email from a cousin.
Sometimes in the process of painting, the inside jambs of entrance/exit doors get overlooked. I was a smoker for many years. When I quit, I washed walls, cleaned carpets etc. After about 6months, the smell was out of the house, except as I walked in the doors. I realized that when I had washed things, my door had been closed, so I never even thought about washing the jambs (the frame around the door) - Lo, and behold they were yellowed with nicotine stains, and once I washed them, voila! smell as I entered the house was gone. Worth a try to wipe them down and see what happens.
Coffee beans and coffee grounds are great for getting out bad odors. I used to be a housekeeping manager and we would do this in the guest rooms that had an odor. If you have carpeting, you can sprinkle coffee grounds on the carpets, let them sit for about an hour, and then vacuum them up.
When I was younger we had the same issue with a basement, my parents bought these bags that had some kind of filtered charcoal that was supposed to absorb the odors, then you would take the bags and place them in direct sunlight and you could reuse them. They really helped, I would go to someplace like Ace hardware and ask about something similar. They were scent free.
Clean everything you can with a vinegar/water solution... and sit a cup of vinegar in each room to help absorb the odors. I have asthma/allergies and vinegar doesn't bother me. Our A/C unit smells musty sometimes... and aside from cleaning the filter hubby sprays Lysol on the coils. It makes the house smell better... you can spray it with vinegar.
Maybe have the air vents cleaned out. Maybe it is in the system vents. Open all windows and let it air out. Get some of the Ozium air freshener at Target if you can, it has enzymes in it and is supposed to clean out any smell.
