Musty smell, how to remove it?

How to remove the musty smell? Caused by excess humidity, mold gives off a most unpleasant odor that tends to permeate the fabrics as well as the walls of our homes. As it can lead to health problems, it will be important to find the source and solve the problem.
Fortunately, there are tricks to get rid of the musty smell. 10 Tips offers you its best tips and homemade recipes to remove the musty smell in the house.

1. Eliminate the musty smell in the house

Once you’ve found the source of the odor and fixed the water infiltration problem if there is one, it’s time to tackle the odor. Start by disinfecting surfaces with mold stains, using bleach.

Then, spray in the rooms of the house this recipe using natural products which in addition to eliminating odors, will contribute to finalizing the disinfection:

• Enough hot water to fill the vaporizer
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 drops of lemon essential oil

This sanitizing spray is ideal for the whole house. Come and discover other tips in this article: Deodorize a room naturally.

2. A recipe to eliminate musty odors in the house

To make an anti-odor spray, try this recipe using essential oils:

• Lavender essential oil
• Tea tree essential oil
• Eucalyptus essential oil
• Thyme essential oil
• Lemongrass essential oil
• Hot water

Add 2 drops each of the essential oils to 300 milliliters of hot water. Then, spray all surfaces giving off a bad odor, including walls and fabrics.

Here is a set of quality essential oils at a great price:

3. Eliminate musty smells on the walls

If the smell has permeated your walls, disinfect them with this recipe:

• 1 tablespoon of soda crystals
• The juice of a lemon
• 5 drops of lemon essential oil
• Hot water

Combine everything in a spray bottle, and generously spray the walls with this mixture. Let dry without rinsing. Don’t forget to wear gloves, goggles and mask!

Most of the time, it is during their passage in the washing machine that the clothes are impregnated with the smell of mold. It will first be necessary to solve the problem at the source, and to disinfect the device. Run it through a complete vacuum cycle, using very hot water, and pouring pure white vinegar and baking soda into it. Then, wash your clothes by pouring a cup of pure white vinegar through the washing machine during the wash cycle and again during the rinse cycle.

You can also wash your clothes with baking soda. Just add a cup to the washing machine water, going for the highest temperature your clothes can tolerate.

5. Remove the musty smell from a closet

Hot water, vinegar and baking soda

If mold smells have invaded your cupboards or kitchen cabinets, start by cleaning them with a mixture of hot water and pure white vinegar. Ventilate well, then place a bowl containing baking soda to which you can add a few drops of an essential oil whose scent you like, such as lavender or lemon.

Ammonia to eliminate closet odors

Another technique to remove musty odors from a closet or furniture is to mix a little ammonia with hot water, and wash the surfaces giving off a bad smell. Then, leave the doors or drawers open to ventilate well.

Use an odor destroyer

You can also purchase and place an odor eliminator in the closet. This gel product absorbs and eliminates bad odors in a small space such as a closet.

Here is one below that you can buy to remove musty smell effectively:

7. Get rid of the musty smell from your washing machine

When you do not do regular maintenance and cleaning of the washing machine, it ends up giving off an unsavory musty smell that eventually permeates your clothes and linens. To start you need:

• Thoroughly clean the surfaces and seals of the washing machine with undiluted white vinegar.
• Then run an empty cycle with very hot water, pouring a cup of baking soda into the tub, and a cup of pure white vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser. You can also add a few drops of true lavender essential oil to the vinegar for a nice smell.
• Finish with a normal cycle in cold water to thoroughly rinse the tub of the washing machine.

The smell of mold in a basement is most often caused by water infiltration in the foundations of the house as well as poor ventilation.

Before getting down to the cleaning task, you will have to solve the problem once and for all, by identifying the source of the infiltration and making the necessary repairs. Then, it will be necessary to think about cleaning and disinfecting the surfaces affected by mold.

Equip yourself with gloves and a mask, then:

• Mix one part pure white vinegar to three parts warm water in a bucket.
• Rub the mildew stains well with this solution.
• Leave it on for twenty minutes before rinsing and drying.

Since some basements tend to always be damp, you may need to get a dehumidifier. This appliance could prevent the appearance of mold and bad odors given off by it.

For other specific basement tips I suggest reading this article: Get rid of the damp smell in a basement.

9. Eliminate musty odors in furniture

Furniture, such as cabinets and wooden chests, may be impregnated with a musty or musty smell. A few things can help you get rid of that nasty smell:

• A glass of hot milk: place a glass of hot milk in the unit, and leave it in place until the milk has cooled.
• Baking soda: the absorbency of baking soda can help eliminate the smell. Just put some in a saucer or a small bowl, and put it in the affected piece of furniture.
• Cedar chips: in addition to absorbing bad smells, the cedar shavings will give off a pleasant fragrance.

10. Get rid of musty odors from a carpet or rug

To easily get rid of odors that permeate your floor coverings, sprinkle them with baking soda. Leave overnight, then vacuum to remove powdery residue and odors.

For those who don’t have baking soda at home, here are some at a low price right here:

If other odors persist in the house, come and read these other practical tips and tricks: How to remove bad smells in the house?