Just got back from a trip, and the house smells musty as it has always been. After a little while, I get used to it and stop noticing the smell. It will be good if I can eliminate the oder entirely. Is there anything I can do to get rid of the smell. I have a dehumidifier in the basement which helped a little. Anything else I should try?
Try to figure out where the smell is coming from. Basement? Attic? A particular room? Then you’ll have a clue.
We noticed a musty smell in our DR. It turned out there was a leak under one window, that started all the way on the roof. We had to have the entire side of the house rebuilt. (Thankfully, insurance paid for 95% of it.)
I have this too, I have an old house. First try to rule out moisture from either the roof or plumbing leaking. Second, do you have central air? I don’t, and humidity definitely makes the problem worse. If you do have central air, try keeping it running at a low setting while you are gone just to cut down on the humidity. I hope someone else has some good ideas that might work in my house.
When you go out, close every door in the house. When you return, see if the smell is specific to one area.
Along those lines our home safe has imparted the smell to papers in it since we moved to Florida. No problems with moisture in our house or mustiness elsewhere. Have tried desiccants, spraying interior with Lysol… Suggestions?
Clean the bucket in the dehumidifier periodically, not just empty it.
The dehumifier bypasses the bucket and drains directly to an outlet. I think we know the source of the smell, moldy smell in the basement and the old cedar roof.
i think if you you have a condition like a wet basement or roof that would be so expensive to repair, you just have to keep some airflow with ac or keeping the windows cracked open. You could also try a second dehumidifier upstairs while you are gone.
There are some tools you can use to help determine the cause of the problem. We bought several battery operated hygrometers to measure the humidity level of various rooms. In addition, we have a moisture meter that has tiny metal prongs that can be inserted into wood or drywall to measure their moisture levels. That was especially helpful in pinpointing the location of a couple of leaks from wind driven rain. We also have a device that looks a little like a medical diagnostic tool. It has a tiny camera at the end of a flexible straw-like arm attached to a viewing screen. Finally, we have a little thermal imaging camera to measure the temperature of walls, ceilings, etc.
We could have hired a service to bring similar equipment and check out our house, but we could buy the tools and DIY the job for about the same cost. In the long run, that was a better choice because we’ve used the tools multiple times. They helped us find where some vent ducts were not properly sealed, insulation was missing or had fallen, and a couple of HVAC ducts weren’t properly attached and/or had been damaged, in addition to the window leaks.
We have three dehus in our house, two of which run pretty much 24/7 (except when we have guests) and the third is only needed when we have several days of rain during shoulder seasons. When the temperature is either too warm for heat or too cool for A/C, we find that the indoor humidity increases above our comfort level unless we use the dehus. Dh has multiple allergies, including dust mites and molds, so keeping the indoor humidity below 45% is important to us.
If you find a problem with mildew, try Jomax products to clean and prevent the mildew/mold from returning.
Take your houseplants outside for a day or so and see whether the smell goes away.
At my office, a musty smell developed over a period of several days. It turned out to be due to a plant with mildew growing on it.
Try wiping down the walls of your home and shelves and drawers and cabinets with diluted white vinegar (about 1/2 and 1/2)-- it really helps to get rid of any mildew you may have that you can’t see but are smelling.
We have no house plants. The smell is definitely from basement/crawlspace and cedar roof. It’s worse in summer. When the roof was new, fresh cedar smell was mixed with moldy smell from the basement. Now moss is growing on the roof and it smells like moss and mold.
Iglooo, when was the house built?
Power wash the roof to get rid of the moss. You don’t want to power wash too often, but if you have never done it, do so now.
Cedar roofs normally would not grow moss. Lichens - that is a possibility. Real cedar is moss-resistant. What you probably need to do is get a roofer in to clean your roof. The moss/mildew is growing not on the cedar but on the debris that have accumulated in the cracks and between the shakes.
@sylvan8798 1953 The roof is about 20 years old. The roof has been cleaned a couple of years ago. It could be lichen. I can’t tell them apart. It starts growing in the cracks but if left alone they cover the shakes, too.
An old roof like that would need annual cleaning… If it is old growth cedar shakes, you probably have 5-10 years left in that roof. If that cedar is lower quality, you will need a new roof soon. That is what the roofer said about our 20 yr old cedar roof.
We have a very old home, and even with the dehumidifier running, the basement still gets a musty smell which I’m just used to.
When we pulled out the camping gear for a trip in June, we noticed that some of the backpacks, screen tent, sleeping pads that had been in storage in the basement had absorbed the musty smell. Now they smell like campfire. 
I don’t have a fool proof solution, just sharing our experience that everything in the basement absorbs the smell.
My brother is a general contractor and he recommends hiring a professional to use an ozone machine to get the smell out. We have not done this because it sounds like a PIA.
While we are on this topic, assuming smelling like campfire is not a good option, we have a stroller that smells a bit like basement. Best way to address that?
Basements might get stale smells due to lack of air circulation. Most new homes are very air-tight and come with whole house fan (furnace) that automatically turns on (timer). Do you have a fan like that and do you regularly run it?