How Do You Get Rid of a Musty Smell in Your House?

Why Does My House Smell Musty?

If you’ve noticed your house smell musty, don’t just look for an obvious patch of mould.

Mould can develop in places you can’t easily see, including behind furniture, wallpaper, flooring or other surfaces. Damp can also be caused by leaks, water entering through the building or condensation forming inside the home.

Look out for other signs alongside the smell, including:

• Condensation regularly forming on windows
• Black, green or other patches of mould
• Damp patches on walls or ceilings
• Peeling paint or wallpaper
• Walls that feel particularly cold or damp
• Mould appearing behind furniture or in corners
• A musty smell that is noticeably stronger in one room or area

If you find a leak or obvious source of water, that needs dealing with. But if there is no clear explanation, it may be time to look at how the property itself is performing.

How Do You Get Rid of a Musty Smell in Your Home?

There are several things you can check straight away if you have a musty smell in your house.

Use extractor fans when you’re cooking, showering or bathing, and make sure they are working effectively. Keep trickle vents open if you have them and allow air to circulate around the property. Leaving a small gap between furniture and colder external walls can also improve airflow.

Try to limit unnecessary moisture too. If you dry washing indoors, for example, make sure the room is adequately ventilated.

These steps can help reduce condensation and moisture. However, if you keep doing them and the smell keeps returning, simply freshening the room isn’t going to tell you why.

That’s when it becomes more useful to investigate the property.

Can Poor Ventilation Cause a Musty Smell in Your House?

Yes. If moisture is being produced inside your home but isn’t being removed effectively, it can become trapped.

Cooking, showering, washing and drying clothes all release moisture into the air. Even breathing adds moisture. Effective ventilation helps take stale, moisture-laden air out of your home and replace it with fresh air.

When ventilation isn’t doing its job, moisture is more likely to collect on colder surfaces as condensation. Over time, that can contribute to damp and mould — and the musty smell you have been trying to get rid of.

AVT UK can carry out a ventilation assessment to check how airflow is working within a property and whether ventilation is performing as it should.

Could Cold Walls Be Causing It?

Cold surfaces can be another part of the problem.

Warm, moisture-filled air can condense when it comes into contact with a colder wall, ceiling, window or other surface. If this happens repeatedly, the area can stay damp enough for mould to develop.

So, if one room regularly feels much colder than the rest of the house, or you have a musty smell around particular walls or corners, it can be useful to understand how heat is moving through the building.

AVT’s Heat3D thermal heat loss surveys measure heat loss through walls, roofs and floors. They can identify cold spots, thermal bridging and areas where the building fabric isn’t performing as expected.

That gives you measured information about the problem before you spend money trying to put it right.

What If the Musty Smell in Your House Keeps Coming Back?

If you’ve cleaned affected areas and improved everyday ventilation but the musty smell in your house returns, don’t keep masking it.

There may be several factors involved.

For example, you could have inadequate ventilation alongside particularly cold surfaces. There could be unwanted air leakage affecting the way the property performs. Or there may be a building defect or source of water that needs a different type of investigation.

That’s why the right test depends on what is happening in your property.

AVT can assess different parts of building performance, including air tightness, ventilation and thermal heat loss, helping you get clearer evidence about what’s happening before deciding what to do next.

Landlords: Should You Investigate a Musty Smell in a House?

If your tenant tells you there is a persistent musty smell in the house, don’t wait for a large patch of visible mould before looking into it.

A mould odour can be an indication that mould is present somewhere that isn’t immediately visible. It is also worth checking for condensation, leaks, damp, inadequate ventilation and unusually cold areas within the property.

For landlords and housing providers managing multiple properties, AVT UK can also supply and install Switchee smart monitoring. It provides ongoing information about conditions such as temperature and humidity, helping you identify patterns associated with condensation and mould risk and decide where further investigation may be needed.