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How to get rid of a damp smell
One of the signs your home has a damp problem is the smell of mildew or a musty odour. Here’s how you can get rid of a damp smell in your home.
Step one: Locate the source of the damp smell
Your first step should be to locate the source of the damp. Is it isolated to one or two rooms, or coming from a certain piece of furniture? The source could be as simple as a damp cloth or fabric that has fallen behind a counter and begun gathering mould. In which case, throwing the fabric in the bin should get rid of the smell.
However, the smell of mildew is also often a sign of a damp problem, such as poor ventilation, rising damp, penetrating damp, or even problems affecting your rafters or floorboards such as dry rot and wet rot, which will need to be properly eliminated to ensure that the damp smell does not return. We are experts in the removal of all aspects of damp in Dorset & Hampshire, so don’t hesitate to contact us with your problem.
Step two: get air circulating
Once you’ve isolated the room (or even if the smell is widespread) the next step is to get fresh air circulating and allow the stale air to escape. A good method that ensures a lot of circulation is to open windows on opposite sides of the room or house, in a method known as cross ventilation.
Step three: use air freshener
Boiling lemon peel in a pan of water is an excellent natural air freshener. Once the fragrance starts to release, you can remove the pan from the heat and place it in the location of the damp smell. You can also put the mixture in a spray bottle to cover more area.
Step Three: wash affected fabrics or walls
If the source of the smell turns out to be clothing or linen, then you can either chuck them away or wash them. You can safely pre-treat most fabrics with a mixture of vinegar and water, either by soaking or applying a more concentrated mixture directly to a stain. Bleach is effective at killing mould, but can also cause colour fading and damage, so ensure that you check your fabric label first.
Washing your clothes at a higher temperature is a good way of killing mould and mildew spores and you can use a mould stain remover and scrub them with a toothbrush to remove stubborn stains. If the source of your damp smell is mould on your walls, then follow our guide to safely removing damp from your walls.
If you follow all these steps, then your home should be free of the smell of damp in no time! As your property preservation experts in Dorset & Hampshire, we can answer your queries and provide solutions to your problems with damp and mould. Contact us on 01202 737739.
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