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Make sure the filters you use fit your unit correctly and never cram in a filter that’s too large. It’s best practice to clean your AC coils at least once yearly, but some experts recommend twice yearly. An AC unit is a breeding ground for mold and mildew growth. Air conditioners and ductwork provide dark spaces where mold can grow, along with organic material such as dust and debris. This environment allows mold and mildew to thrive with the addition of condensation from cooling coils. Sometimes mould and damp refuse to go away even after you’ve followed all the advice in the book.
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Dirty air filters, mold or mildew in the unit, or an underlying issue with one of the components could be the culprit. Call an HVAC technician to evaluate your unit or look into it yourself. Let the baking soda sit for at least an hour before vacuuming it up, and it’ll help neutralize odors. You can even combine baking soda and vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz the mixture to remove musty smells. The first step to getting rid of musty smells in your basement is identifying where they’re coming from.
That musty basement smell
“These can mask odors temporarily and contribute to indoor air pollution,” she says. The easiest way to remove moisture is to use a dehumidifier. These devices pull moisture out of the air and condense it into a removable tank that you can remove and empty. In some cases, you can route a drain hose to a floor or sink drain, removing the need to empty the tank. You can remove mold from damp drywall, concrete, and wood, but soaked drywall or insulation is easier to remove than repair. If the trash can itself picks up a musty odor, I treat with a surface odor remover.
Your book collection smells musty
So, if rooms that normally smell good suddenly have a musty odor you just can’t get rid of—you might need a professional to check behind the walls. In addition to creating an unpleasant odor, leaks can cause major problems with your home’s structure and negatively impact your health. Mold is the most common cause for musty odor, though it doesn’t necessarily mean the mold is out of control. Most homes have some degree of mold, but a strong smell of mold or mildew could indicate a problem and you should definitely find the source. Some situations warrant professional assistance from an HVAC technician.
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If you’re going to go to the effort to replace old carpeting or paint the walls, protect your investment by following the proper steps. Before installing new carpeting, check the subfloor for stains that might be contributing to odor and replace or seal it with oil-based paint if necessary. For walls in high moisture areas like the bathroom, use a mold-resistant primer before you paint. If you’re successfully able to isolate the mildewed area, that means you can spot-treat it without going through the effort of cleaning the whole room. However, if you’ve searched high and low but cannot find any obvious mildew growth, cover all your bases by giving the entire space a once-over. Many manufactured homes use building products containing formaldehyde, including walls and flooring.
If you have carpets or upholstered furniture in your basement, consider renting a carpet and furniture steamer to give them a deep cleaning. Keep in mind that musty smells could also be due to pet odors on furniture or carpets. If everything is watertight and dry, and your traps are full of water, there’s a good chance that the issue is in the fabric of your carpets or upholstered furniture. Without a deep cleaning, it can be difficult to eliminate musty odors from the home. The first step is to identify the source of the odor, if you can. From there, you’ll have a better idea what steps you need to take to eliminate the odor and to prevent it from coming back.
If you keep breathing in air that smells musty and stale, it's time to work out exactly where it's coming from. Houses with high humidity levels tend to suffer with mold and mildew. Mold is a type of bacteria, and it requires water, oxygen, and food to thrive and grow. As such, it gets the oxygen and moisture it needs from your humid environment and can feed on the wallpaper and even the wood in your home. As well as regular hoovering, give your carpets a good, deep clean, at least twice a year, but every three months is better if you have pets or a humid house. It not only helps eliminate stains and dirt, but it deodorizes and kills bacteria.
A full drain pan can cause a musty smell.
Even if you don’t have mold, ventilation should help move the air and remove any musty smells. If you've ever smelled decaying wood or wet, musty towels left in a pile after a long weekend, you've smelled the stale, earthy odor of mold and mildew. A leaky pipe or roof can also cause the buildup of humidity and moisture that results in this offensive smell. Moisture and still air lingering in dark crevices around your home create a welcoming environment for the growth of mold and mildew. When the spores begin to multiply, they emit gasses that our noses can detect. Carpeting and upholstery can trap odors and continue to smell musty long after a basement is clean and dry.
Get Your HVAC Thoroughly Cleaned, Inspected, and Replaced
The good news is that you don’t have to just accept the foul odors. A call to your local Aire Serv team will help you understand what’s causing the musty odor and how to eliminate it. There’s no one size fits all approach to addressing musty smells, which is why calling for help is so important. If your initial efforts to remove the odor haven't worked, schedule an appointment online with Aire Serv today. Such an odor can be a red flag that something is wrong and needs to be addressed. If you’re unsure if your home has mold, a musty odor is a good indicator that it may indeed be an issue.
Just make sure it's excellent, and there's adequate ventilation or airflow to make sure it dries properly. A musty smell can be really offensive and left to its own devices, the problem will likely only get worse, rather than go away on its own. After cleaning areas with mold or mildew, see what you can do to prevent future moisture problems.
Clean drip pans regularly – especially if you'd had any spills in the refrigerator. See Best Odor Eliminators for Refrigerators for more detailed fridge care. (See Preparedness Storage for more bulk storage information.) We tried keeping an area rug in the basement for a time, but found it was prone to cause mildew under the rug. To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at Clean the drain pan, which is located under the evaporator coil.
Clean your air conditioner at least every year to prevent a musty smell. You can also clean it at the start of every season by cleaning the components and changing the air filters. If you feel uncomfortable cleaning your HVAC unit on your own, call a trained professional. Stachybotrys chartarum is a hazardous mold that produces poisonous mycotoxins that can cause respiratory problems and allergic reactions.
And because it is the job of your HVAC to push air around the house, it means that a musty smell in the pipes or dirty ducts will produce an obvious smell that gets pushed around the house. This is made worse because your solution to a musty smell might be to turn the AC up. To get musty smells under control, repair any leaks that you find. In areas with excessive moisture, install ventilation fans, place moisture barriers over damp soil, or redirect water flow on the home's exterior.
While a musty smell in a home is more often than not a symptom of mold and mildew, sometimes a musty smell is the result of a lack of ventilation and a build up of dust and grime. A common source of musty smells in homes are carpets and rugs that are either old, or have not been properly cleaned. It is easy to think that running the vacuum over them every few days is enough to keep them fresh, but it is no substitute for occasionally deep cleaning a carpet.
Carpeting is one of the worst offenders, but mold growth can hide in books, furniture, walls and more. Older houses develop leaks over time, letting moisture in where it shouldn't be. New houses are built so tight they trap too much moisture inside. Once you’ve done the work to eliminate the underlying cause of your home’s musty odor, the last thing you want is for it to come back. Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to keep your home smelling fresh and clean. Many homes develop a musty odor, especially during seasonal changes and wet weather.
An HVAC system can smell musty when you turn it on due to mold or mildew, a dirty air filter, or some other issue with the internal components. If you notice a musty smell, address it immediately by inspecting the system or calling a licensed HVAC technician. If your air conditioner has a musty smell, you can perform a few troubleshooting steps. A dirty air filter can often cause an unpleasant odor to come from an HVAC unit. Mold or mildew, which is common in most air conditioning units, can also cause a foul smell to circulate.
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