Musty smell

10 years ago

We have a musty smell in our basement and can' figure out what' causing it.I thought it might be the washing machine but when I put my head real close I didn't ' smell anything.Our basement is dry. Does anyone have any idea what it is...

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Comments (6)

tami_ohio
10 years ago
Has it been closed up for a long time? Look in the joists and along the edges of the walls, esp. on top where you might not be able to see easily. Does it smell like something died? If you can find absolutely nothing, buy a bag of regular charcoal and put it down there open. In a week or two it will absorb the odor along with the bacteria that is causing it.

Tami
goldedger
10 years ago
If you have a floor drain in your basement, the musty smell could be sewer gases coming up through the drain. Solution is easy - dump a cup or two of water down the drain. To keep it from happening again - repeat water treatment every 2/3 months or so.
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So it might be getting better. ServPro came out and noticed that they didn't cover the sewer hole. They covered it and the smell dropped about 70%. But I would have thought that the sewer would have had a whole different rank smell, not so musty. I asked them if they treated any mold and they said no because the amount of mold was not significant enough to warrant calling in the mold team. If it still smells when they come back, I'm going to demand that they treat the mold. I had a mega moldy wall in our laundry room/garage that was covered in mold to at least 4 feet high. I removed the drywall and saturated the remaining studs (which also had visible mold) with hydrogen peroxide. I did it about 3-4 times over a few days and now our laundry room smells great. No musty smell at all. Literally, the laundry room is the best smelling place in the house right now.
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Musty Smell, no evidence of mold. desperate
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Hi Stefanie, I would be glad to help if I can. I got an air purifier and it seemed like it helped a little as long as it stayed on. We ended up moving our bedroom to the one next to it and turning the musty room into a studio. I took the air purifier out to put into the new bedroom and the stinky room got really bad and thick. I happened to ask my exterminator when he came by for a routine spraying so he checked the attic above the room and said everything was normal critter-wise but theres no fan so it gets very hot. He said he used to do moisture/mold remidiation and would take a look to see if anything explained it. We have a tree with large branches that hover above that room . It looked like rainwater was pooling in the gutter above the window and if you looked under the brick, there was a lot of moss and black staining. He said to trim the branches, treat the black stains, and get a de-humidifier for that room and see what happens. Since taking his advice, I have noticed a big decrease in smell. I am still cautious as to whether this will permanently solve it but its enough of a difference to where the room is bearable to be in now.
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Comments (1)
If mildew or mold has gotten past the finish and into the wood, wiping it down is not going to fix it. I don't think there is anything you can do but insist they take it back. It could have been in a damp storage facility waiting to be purchased, maybe unheated, which could allow it to become mildewed. Not sure of the country of origin, but it also could have been manufactured with smelly (mildewed or moldy) wood, then when the finish was added it just captured the smell. If your retailer won't make it right, try the manufacturer, try your credit card company (if you charged it, but time is limited for those remedies). Some credit cards also put a warranty on large purchases, so explore that option. If all else fails, I'd go after the retailer on any social media presence they have and leave bad reviews wherever you can. That might shake them into some positive action.
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The musty smell is from mold - some of which may make you ill. Good that you stopped the leak but without further investigation you don't know how much hidden damage there is. There are ways to remediate the smell but even a slow leak can damage underlayments and structures.
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FlamingO in AR
10 years ago
I hate mysterious smells! Drives me crazy hunting them down. Is your air handler down there? We had a problem once of water getting into the air handler and getting mildewy and then broadcasting that smell thru the whole house whenever the heat came on.

It might not be your washing machine, but it could be the drain that it empties into. Try running a hot water/bleach/vinegar wash thru it and see if that helps. And keep the lid up on the washer when it's not in use.

Maybe a de-humidifier is called for down there, too.
tami_ohio
10 years ago
Yes, it could be
The drain the washer empties into if you haven't used it in a week or so. I know mine gets that way especially when we've been on vacation for a month. Run water in the drain and see if it goes away.
matthias_lang
10 years ago
In our house, it was a rolled up rug that had been down there three years, Don't know why it suddenly started smelling, but it did.
bigbaby
10 years ago
Thanks for posting this. Our house also has weird odors at times and I have no idea where it's coming from! We do have a dehumidifier in our basement and it really takes care of the odors down there.

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Musty smell

Comments (6)

tami_ohio

goldedger

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FlamingO in AR

tami_ohio

matthias_lang

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