Removing Old House Odors (flooring, conditioner, paint, smells)

[windtimber]

Why is simply opening the windows the last resort? Just air the place out and air it out regularly. How simple is that?

I've lived in old [and I mean really old] houses my whole life. Put up screens, let the breeze blow through. Now and then in the winter we turn down the heat, open the joint up, and let it all freshen up naturally.

Easy, cheap, and no chemicals, cleaners, scrubbers or electronic odor gizmos...

[Coldjensens]

Scrub everything with TSP

[AVTechMan]

And what would TSP be?

I think opening all the windows in the house should help to start ridding the musty odor in the house. Only place I have carpet is in the master bed, and that will be gone once the work there is done. Have hardwood floors everywhere else.

Old curtains that I have on the windows will be taken down and removed.

[Fraggle4]

These posts are really helpful because my MIL's house has a funky smell (like someone has sprayed air freshener for 20 years without ever actually CLEANING), and if she ever kicks the bucket, I'm going to have to get the smell out before the house can be sold :-)

[M3 Mitch]

Our old house had a musty odor for a long time, part of the problem was a *very* small leak from the toilet tank, down past the sealing washer and out next to the bolt(s) that hold the tank to the bowl. When I finally found the stream of water it was not much bigger than a hair. It was *just* enough to keep the area around the commode base damp.

Fixed leak, smell went away.

Reason I point this out, is that the smell may be a symptom instead of the problem outright.

And I have been looking for an excuse to post about finding that leak, and that this type of leak can happen on most regular WCs.

[old_cold]

Like an old book,musty and lingering just keeps triggering the thought of mold.

Garage too? Check the shared wall and attic carefully if it's a single story with a shared roof.
You have a basement?

[citydweller]

I will check out the shared wall. I have no basement.

[Coldjensens]

TSP is Trisodium Phosphate. Sometimes sold as Totally Superior Product. It is an outstanding cleaner and can be mixed with a little bit of bleach if desired. We have always lived in old houses. One had 100 plus years of smoker residue on the walls and ceilings. Some places we removed the wallpaper and replaced it. TSP with a smidgen of bleach removed the odor and grime almost everywhere else. One bathroom that must have been reserved for the smokers, required multiple treatments with DOW scrubbing bubbles. Spray it on and a brown ooze would bubble up from the wall. After about six treatments of scrubbing bubbles, we wiped it off with TSP (helps remove soap residue) and discovered that the grayish tan walls were actually bright yellow. - Ick.

That was an extreme. In most older homes wiping everything down with TSP is sufficient to remove human odors. Wipe ceilings, walls, floors and moldings.

The smell of old wood cannot be eliminated, but if you do not like that smell, what are you doing in an old house?

[Priscilla Poh]

This is Priscilla from SG - can u recommend the product made by Ecoquest International - I would like to ordre it. Thanks.

[motormaker]

Try searching here.

Ecoquest International - Google Search