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We recently purchased a house that has a musty smell. So far we have removed all the window treatments and are having all the flooring replaced. Also will be having air ducts cleaned. We weren't planning on painting yet, as the color is not bad.
We have opened the windows and turned on the fans for several hours for the last 2 days. Also are keeping the A/C at 74 degrees. We aren't moving in for several weeks, so we sprayed Lysol spray liberally in the house for the last 2 days. Seems a little better but not gone.
Any other suggestions about how to get rid of this smell?
Check renting an ozone generator. You can use it prior to the move in but not once it's occupied.
Duct cleaning is a scam and rarely worthwhile. If the ducts really are that dirty, they extremely old. The leakage rates and lack of insulation for old ducts are probably horrible....you're paying to heat/cool the neighborhood.
I had my ducts cleaned and it's no scam...I could see the buildup in the ductwork and it made a tremendous difference
Get a dehumidifier and let it run
Do you have a basement? Find out if water is seeping through the walls.
Check if your gutters are draining properly
Find out if all of your sinks have the proper p trap
Check your HVAC filter
Do you have exhaust fans? They could need cleaning
Attic? Maybe dead mice or similar
These are just a few things based on my own experiences, but there are many many others. You need to do some serious investigating of all of your house mechanics and narrow it down.
Right! But OP needs to find a cause of that smell...
When the house is closed up, keep a dehumidifier on to lower the moisture content. When you're there, open up all of the windows and use a couple of fans to blow the air around. Lots of fresh air seems to be the best cure. If you have a basement, make sure it's not damp or leaking or you'll need to control what is leaking into the basement.
OP the first thing, as elnina mentioned, is to do some detective work and find the cause. If necessary hire a mold specializing company. It's a heath concern too.
Here is some good information to read about musty houses, odors and molds... Mold odor removal: guide to Finding & Removing Moldy Musty Odors in Buildings
The house is 13 years old. I believe that it has not been lived in for about 1 year, but furnished during that time. It is on a slab--no basement. At present it is completely vacant. We have removed the fabric window curtains/drapes. Wall to wall carpet is still there, as well as hardwood in the foyer and hall. The couple who owned the home were very elderly.
We had the house inspected by a well respected home inspector. We followed him around during the entire inspection. The air handlers and air filters were perfect--very clean. Inspector thought the smell might be coming from the area rugs laying on the hardwood in the foyer (these rugs have since been removed). I have smelled the hardwood in several places and found no smell left from the area rugs that had been there. The inspector checked for water leaks and found none.
The smell seems to be much more noticeable in the 2 rooms adjacent to that hardwood foyer than anywhere else. We are planning to replace the carpet and the hardwood before moving in, but I am concerned that if the smell is coming from something other than the carpet or hardwood that it will cause the newly installed flooring to smell also!!!
Thanks to everyone who posted. I'm going to read all your recommendations and the links provided. We are buying charcoal tomorrow. I plan to wash the woodwork in those 2 rooms this week, as well as washing the hardwood with vinegar water.
It may be as simple in origin as being from cigarette smoke.
I recently looked at a for sale house being sold from an inheritance and it smelled way musty. All of a sudden it dawned on me...probably the elderly parent had been a smoker and the sellers had not been able to get rid of the cigarette smell. This is even more likely in your case if the previous couple was elderly since that generation was less aware of the hazards of smoking. So, remove the carpet and scrub down the walls, ceiling and light fixtures in those rooms, and you may be lucky to lose the musty smell.
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