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Post by gottaproblem on Aug 19, 2014 12:46:29 GMT -5
I am faced with the problem of this smell. Unfortunately I don't notice it unless I have been away from it. So I do not notice when I leave the house and my clothes smell. I have developed asthma and the doctor says she knows it is from mold and that she knows I have it because she can smell it on me. (So much for showering and wearing clean clothes to the doctors.) I have been reading loads of suggestions on the internet and many suggest white vinegar. Has anyone had luck with that?  |
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Post by dtesposito on Aug 19, 2014 14:17:01 GMT -5
GP, when you come into your home, do you smell the musty smell? Or do you think it's just your clothes? Do you have a working dryer?
I don't have a working dryer, so I hang my clothes to dry--and on humid days, I need to put a fan blowing around the clothes, otherwise they start smelling moldy. If I'm not careful I have to rewash some items, using a stong solution of one of the enzyme laundry additives to get the mold smell out.
If you do have a working dryer and use it, then it sounds like the smell IS coming from your home. Are you able to buy a dehumidifier?
Diane
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Post by aa on Aug 19, 2014 14:21:01 GMT -5
It certainly won't address the cause of the problem, but I think washing with a cup of vinegar, and especially if you can hang to dry outside would help. (Of course, you first have to make sure it isn't your washing machine causing the problems in the first place.)
Do you believe you have mold at your house? I think that would be something to work on. I saw in an earlier post you mentioned that your bathroom fan had stopped working and you didn't have a window in there and you thought that might be a culprit. It won't help with what has already been done, but if you have a box fax and could leave it pointed out the door and turned on for an hour or so after someone showers, that might help. Our bathroom does not have a fan to start with, and the window opens onto the driveway, so we don't open it. DH uses the box fan method after he showers in the evening. I shower in the morning when no one else is at home, so I just leave the door open the entire time. I don't take a very hot shower and our bathroom is large, so thankfully this has been working for now. After we get some fundage built back up, I think we may look into installing a fan where the current heat lamp is.
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Post by PaperGrace on Aug 19, 2014 14:34:35 GMT -5
White vinegar does really help, so does sunshine. You also have AMNESTY for clothes that don't seem to be getting better. If its making you sick it can go in the dumpster. Bleach things that can be bleached. Mold is alive and if you don't kill it--well, rabbits are slow breeders in comparison.
I second the advice to get a dehumidifier if you can afford to, it will run up your electric bill, but your health IS important.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 14:42:04 GMT -5
Well, my moms clothes and purse had a musty smell. Then when she was in the hospital, I went to clean her house and there was mold everywhere. YOu didn't see it right away, it was behind furniture, growing on the walls and stuff. I am sure it made her very sick. I think you may want to do a mold test in your house. It can mean the difference between being sickly and being well.
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Post by gottaproblem on Aug 19, 2014 15:00:32 GMT -5
Thank you everyone- dtesposito-I can look into buying a dehumidifier when I get paid. I have a working dryer so it is mold somewhere else. Unfortunately the way our condo is located we are in a shady corner with no where to hang clothes in the sun. Could also be the reason for the mold. (Once a month at the end of the month) They are a little pricey. aa-I will start using the fan for the bathroom. I know that it is damp in there and today when I get home from work it will be the first room to get a thorough cleaning. PaperGrace-I will try the vinegar and I will look into getting a dehumidifier at the end of the month. hordfest-I will also check behind furniture, especially on the outside walls. I appreciate all of your help.  |
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Post by moonglow on Aug 19, 2014 15:07:55 GMT -5
Hi gottaproblem,
I may be restating something someone else said or alluded to but...
it is important not to think of getting rid of the odor...
you want to identify the source of the odor and eliminate it.
Living with mold is very unhealthy. Toxic. It has already made you sick. It can make you sicker.
This may require the services of a professional.
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Post by gottaproblem on Aug 19, 2014 15:12:38 GMT -5
thank you moonglow! I know you are right, but at this point I could not have a professional in, so I have to start with each room to identify the problem.
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Post by papermoon on Aug 19, 2014 16:56:28 GMT -5
I worked as a temp in an office where one of the staff wore a moldy leather coat to work and hung it in the community closet. I started smelling it on my jacket, too! People get accustomed to their own odors... I don't think that worker was aware of how much she was adversely affecting others in the office. Mold spores can become airborne, land on nearby surfaces, and trigger allergic reactions. If your doctor is mentioning it, then it's a serious health issue and not merely an unpleasant odor. You really do need to take care of the source(s) as well as the collateral damage, even if it means throwing some things away. Distilled white vinegar is very effective at destroying some types of mold. Use one cup in both the wash and the rinse cycles for optimal effectiveness. Check out the advice here for mold cleanup, as well as the links for prevention: www.epa.gov/mold/cleanupguidelines.html |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2014 18:54:40 GMT -5
I heard vodka works well, too. but I haven't tried it yet
I used bleach at my moms, but I know that is not too healthy either.
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Post by cricket on Aug 19, 2014 20:32:33 GMT -5
We took care of our musty basement with a dehumidifier similar to this one. Items that had absorbed the odor had to be cleaned, but it got it out of the air and cleared up the residual dampness that was causing it. Getting the air in a living area too dry could aggravate dry eyes or cause itchy skin, so after the initial dry-out you'd have to find a balance. To deodorize laundry, I add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle, using the fabric softener dispenser. I've wiped down things I couldn't wash, like a leather jacket, with a water/vinegar mixture, and once sprayed straight white vinegar on a musty carpet and let it air dry. Vinegar doesn't seem to damage much, but of course test an inconspicuous area--or decide if you can't deodorize it you'd have to toss it anyway so you might as well try. If you can't locate once source of the odor, you could try wiping down or spraying all surfaces with vinegar or vinegar and water and ventilating well to air dry. |
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Post by misssue on Aug 19, 2014 20:48:06 GMT -5
I can not say enough good things about Odor Ban for musty smells! Sams and Home Depot have it. You can clean with it, but you can also dilute it and spray with it. I have never like Febreeze, but love this. You can buy a gallon for under 10 dollars and dilute per directions. I use as a spray, and use it to clean floors with.. in laundry too. It is suppose to be safe, and I use vinegar around the house, but I hate to do clean something twice, so I go with the Odor Ban.
But you have to find the source of the dampness that is causing it. Do a little on line research. Bleach they claim will not get rid of mold entirely on hard surfaces.
I have a basement, and I had two water issues that made my basement musty. One was a window well that filled up with rainwater and came in the basement window in a downpour, and then hit a pile of fabric I had in the middle of the sewing room.. and I did not realize it till it started to smell musty! That was last summer! I washed the fabric, and I cleaned it all up and gone. I have a dehumidifier that I empty every day. I also have central air, and if it is musty down there, it smell musty when the AC runs in the house. I opened the vent down there so AC can help too. I also opened the two windows when it is dry and cool.. fresh air.
A few weeks ago I had the same issues, even though the dehumidifier was running... My washer had overflowed up stairs in my laundry room, ran down water down, and now had a moldy couch I had in the basement.. I did not know that happened! I cleaned that all up, anything on piled on top of it.. and I threw out all the cushions, and I sprayed the couch frame with Odor Ban.. because until I get my guy friend to get over her and help me haul it out for next week..for big garbage pickup, it has to stay. It is an old couch, from when I got married in the 80s. I can not smell anything musty, and neither can anyone else. I asked? I also took things out in the sun on the line to air out.. fabrics, a cloth footstool, my luggage.. I sprayed it with Odor ban, not all of it, but the luggage was out in the sun for 3 days, and I could still smell that musty odor. I sprayed with Odor B and it is a fungicide I believe.. musty smell gone. I HATE THAT MUSTY smell..I have wrote about my saga with the basement before on here.
I have lived here 22 years, and never had a musty smells, but something so simple like a plastic bag left on cement, or one wet box that got musty, can really stink! In any basement. I have books down there, and way too much stuff, I am smelling it all. Some of the books I can not smell the must smell on it, until it comes upstairs and "warms" up! I am emptying that dehumidifier daily. SO I hope this helps, and just IMHO. It is a real PIA...
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Post by papermoon on Aug 19, 2014 20:53:27 GMT -5
Beware of combining vinegar with any product containing bleach. The combo creates deadly fumes.
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Post by def6 on Aug 20, 2014 15:15:18 GMT -5
Hello Gottaproblem  I think the only way you can get rid of the musty smell is to get rid of the mold. If that is impossible to do; I love the Glade plug-ins ( or any of those regardless of the brand) If you could move your bedroom to a mold free part of the house it would be better for your breathing. |
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Post by dayeanu on Aug 20, 2014 19:57:31 GMT -5
I believe that white vinegar kills mold, but I'm not positive. I put white vinegar and baking soda or 20 Mule Team Borax or Washing Soda along with my laundry detergent and let stinky clothes soak before washing. It kills odor. For floors and walls, mix white vinegar with water and put if in a spray bottle and spray it on the carpet, upholstery, walls, etc. You can mop with it, too. Check for colorfastness in fabrics.
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