Unpleasant smell in the apartment: causes and simple ways to combat it. How to get rid of mold smell on clothes and in the house

Toxic mold is found everywhere. Under favorable conditions - in warm, damp rooms - it can affect almost all things and objects in your home or apartment. Mold can cause various diseases - such as allergies, asthma, diathesis in children, leukemia, cancer.

The appearance of mold is accompanied by an unpleasant odor, which creates a negative reputation for its owners. There are no foreign odors in a thoroughly cleaned, clean, ventilated room.
If the moment is missed, the fungus has already formed and is developing, you need to find out ways to combat it and how to remove the smell of mold.

Causes of mold

Before eliminating the smell, you need to find out the cause of the fungus and do it once and for all. External manifestations of the presence of mold are spots in places where fungus accumulates. Factors for their appearance may be:

Excessive air humidity in the absence of quality ventilation. This applies, first of all, to the bathroom, kitchen, and toilet facilities;
Freezing of external walls;
Roof leakage;
High level groundwater. The first floor and basement Houses;
Insufficient heating characteristics premises;
Rare ventilation, especially if there are plastic windows.

Mold settles in condensation on walls and other structures, objects, and things and begins to rapidly multiply. In this case, you cannot get rid of the smell unless you urgently start fighting the fungus itself.

It is important to detect areas of mold formation as quickly as possible. She destroys Construction Materials, contributes to their rotting and structural damage.

An unpleasant musty smell and unsightly plaque stains require the immediate application of a set of measures. This:

Mechanical cleaning of surfaces from plaque.
Surface treatment antiseptic from mold.
Getting rid of things and objects damaged by fungus if there is no way to save them.
Elimination of sources of high humidity. Adjustment of ventilation and heating systems.
Systematic ventilation of premises.

How to get rid of mold smell?

Methods to combat the smell of mold in an apartment or house

It is clear that a bad smell is a consequence of mold. On modern market household chemicals There is a wide range of special drugs to combat it. There are also folk remedies that are less harmful, cheaper and no less effective than chemicals.
On this moment There are many ways to get rid of the smell of mold in an apartment or house.

Let's look at some:

Antiseptic primer “Olympus”, “Stop mold”, “Biotol spray”, etc. We use them if the walls and ceiling are affected by fungus. Apply to a clean, dry surface paint brush. We work according to the instructions on the packaging.
Bleach “Belizna”, “ASE”, “Vanish”, “Domestos”, etc. Active substance of these drugs - sodium hypochlorite. It reliably removes mold spores. It can be used on smooth surfaces– tiles, glass, faience. Not suitable for porous materials; it can ruin the structure of the object and color. Treat the cleaned surface with a solution of 1:10.
Regular vinegar and citric acid solution are safe means at hand. Treat the cleaned surface with a spray, wait, and rinse with water. This action must be repeated periodically.
Hydrogen peroxide H2O2 is another toxic substance for many types of fungi. Apply taking into account its whitening effect.
Ammonia is similar in effect to bleach. Works on smooth surfaces.
Baking soda - safest way get rid of the smell of mold. Treat the contaminated surface with a solution of 1 teaspoon of soda per glass of water, and after 1-1.5 hours wipe with a damp cloth.
Borax – also natural safe remedy. Using a solution of 2.5 liters of water and 1 cup of borax, brush the floor, walls, and interior items several times without rinsing.
An effective composition of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, boric acid in proportion: for 0.5 liters of water, 2 tbsp. spoons of peroxide, vinegar and 1 tbsp. spoon of boric acid. Wipe the surface or spray with the composition.
Essential oils of lavender, rosemary, and tea tree have disinfectant and deodorizing properties. They help remove mustiness. Treat with a solution of 1 teaspoon per 1 tbsp. water. Apply with a sponge or spray.

Work with caustic substances must be carried out observing safety precautions. Wear gloves when ventilating the room.

Removing mold smell from clothes

Do you smell mold in your clothes closet? This situation occurs when there is high humidity without proper air circulation. How to remove mold smell?
Initially, you need to make sure that the source of the unpleasant odors is not the cabinet itself. To be sure, you need to empty the cabinet and wipe all its internal surfaces with a solution of ammonia: 1 teaspoon of alcohol per 1 liter of water.

Wipe with a damp cloth and leave to air.
If wet things accidentally get into the closet, a specific aroma comes from them. This is a signal to action. Only an instant reaction will save your clothes from hopeless damage.
You should go through all the products. If you find fungus on your clothes, you should act immediately. Removed contaminants do not smell.

We use turpentine to save items made of wool and silk. Wet a cloth and wipe the stain. Sprinkle it with white clay and iron it with a not very hot iron through a paper napkin.
We wash things in washing machine in delicate wash mode with high-quality powder and conditioner.
We try to remove stains on cotton fabric in the same way.
You can treat the stain with vinegar or lemon juice, then sprinkle it with salt, dry it and wash it laundry soap. Add vinegar to the last rinse.
White fabric from natural fibers Hydrogen peroxide, oxygen or chlorine bleach will get rid of the fungus.
We process things made of colored fabric ammonia in a 1:1 ratio, wash.
Curdled milk and onion juice will remove fresh mold stains. Treat stains and leave for 20 minutes. Wash.

Any stain removal procedure ends with washing. After When washing, the desired effect will be more complete if the items are dried and ventilated in the fresh air.
Of course, removing mold and the smell from it is a very labor-intensive process, and it is not possible to obtain an ideal result right away. Sometimes you need to try several methods to remove stains.
It is better to send expensive items to a dry cleaner for professional treatment; the specialists will rid your items of the peculiar aroma.
Preventive measures will prevent reappearance fungus. To do this you need:

Dry your clothes conscientiously.
Store things in the closet in proper order on hangers, on shelves, avoiding crowding. Leave room for air circulation.
Ventilate periodically outdoors seasonal items After ironing, do not immediately put the laundry in the chest of drawers or closet. Pause until completely dry.

Mold is the most dangerous enemy. How to remove both mold and the smell from it? First of all, it is worth making a rule of weekly cleaning and periodic aeration - sun and air. It is necessary to regularly get rid of potential sites of fungal colonies.
Then the smell of mold in the apartment or house will not have a chance to exist.

Constant dampness in the house strikes on several fronts at once: in such conditions, harmful human body mold, food spoils quickly, and a musty, damp stench constantly hovers in the apartment itself. To get rid of the smell of dampness forever, you need to eliminate the cause of the appearance, however, even if this is impossible due to circumstances beyond the control of the home owners, the unpleasant odor can be minimized.

Why does the apartment smell damp? There can be many reasons:

A leaking or burst pipe in the bathroom or kitchen, a sudden flood from neighbors.
Poor ventilation and too infrequent airing.
Insufficient waterproofing of walls, gaps between window frames and openings in which condensation accumulates.
Neglect of the rules for operating premises with high humidity– bathroom, kitchen, sauna, greenhouse.

Basic methods to get rid of damp smell

To eliminate the smell of dampness once and for all, you will have to try. In particular advanced cases it is recommended to do redecorating, completely drying the room and covering the walls with an antibacterial primer.

In such cases, repairs are required, in other cases - dry the room

If the situation is not so critical, the following devices will help:

A conventional dehumidifier or heater.
Ozonizer.
Store-bought aerosol air freshener (you don’t need a deodorizing composition that drowns out unpleasant odors, but an odor absorber).

Folk remedies

If the house smells of dampness, and it is not possible to carry out general cleaning comparable in scale to repairs, use the following methods:

1. Buy an aroma lamp and a set of your favorite essential oils, which not only refresh the atmosphere, but also prevent the growth of fungus.

However, remember that masking measures can only be applied after you have eliminated the root cause unpleasant odor, otherwise the situation will only get worse.

2. When wiping dust or washing the floor, add a few grains of potassium permanganate to the water (literally a pinch of powder per bucket of water).

3. Place linen bags with coffee, lavender, and other herbs on cabinets and bedside tables.

4. In especially “problem” rooms, place open jars with table salt so that it absorbs excess moisture and aromas in the air. Other absorbents are also suitable - activated carbon, soda, etc.

5. Wipe all surfaces with a solution of 9% vinegar (proportions with warm water 1:1).

To get rid of mold on tile joints in the bathroom or kitchen, use a steam cleaner.

Preventing damp smells

The smell of dampness can come from clothes that are not completely dried or damp towels. If possible, try to dry your laundry at least on the balcony, and not in the house, and carefully check how dry things are before putting them in the closet.

Monitor the waterproofing of utilities and walls, regularly renew damaged areas, do not forget to ventilate the room, do not leave wet things in cramped and stuffy rooms, iron your laundry thoroughly. Don't neglect the house, keep it clean.

If the fungus has not managed to spoil the item or has spread so much that plaque or stains appear, then you can remove the corrosive odor by washing and then drying it in the sun. Ultraviolet light is harmful to mold, so you need to hang your clothes so that they receive direct sunlight.

After washing and drying in the sun, be sure to iron the items on the appropriate setting:

Clothes made from delicate fabrics are hand washed and ironed through gauze. Pour aromatic water into the iron steamer; this will also help get rid of the moldy smell.

Cotton and linen items are ironed maximum temperature to kill fungus and spores. You can also pour flavored water into the iron's steamer.

After ironing, do not immediately put the clothes in the closet, but let them cool. This will protect your closet from excess moisture.

Not everyone has the opportunity to remove the smell of mold by airing and drying in the sun. In this case, you can use vinegar and special flavorings. The latter are sold in household chemical stores.

How to get rid of strong mold smell on clothes

The persistent smell of mold on clothes is more difficult to remove, but there are several popular methods, at home, bypassing dry cleaning services.

Method 1. Turpentine and clay

Soak a cotton swab in alcohol and wipe the moldy areas on the clothing.

Then sprinkle with white clay powder (you can buy it at the pharmacy).

Iron with a paper towel.

Wash by hand with laundry soap, you can dilute the soap and wash clothes from mold in the machine, but the first method is more effective.

Method 2. Soda

It perfectly removes any odors, including mold. You just need to add a tablespoon of baking soda to the washing powder.

Method 3. Vinegar and powder

Same excellent remedy from unpleasant odors, and mold dies in an acidic environment. You need to add 9% vinegar to washing powder to make a creamy mass. Next, machine wash on a cycle appropriate for the fabric.

Method 4. Borax and powder

You need to make this mixture. Dilute a tablespoon of borax in warm water, add washing powder. Soak moldy items in this solution, wash and dry after a couple of hours, preferably outside on a sunny day.

Method 5. Vodka or ammonia

Mix a small amount of ammonia, which can be replaced with vodka, in water and pour into a spray bottle. Treat the clothes, the smell of mold will disappear.

What to do to prevent clothes from smelling moldy

Any problem is easier to prevent than to fix later, so you need to follow the following recommendations and mold will not settle in your closet.

Once a month, do a general cleaning wardrobe, pull out all the drawers and open the doors. Air out all clothes, especially if they are not used and they have been lying or hanging in the closet for a long time.

Use fragrances for your laundry or put a bag of aromatic herbs in your closet.

Do not put wet things in the closet, this will create favorable conditions for the propagation of mold fungi.

Do not immediately place ironed items on shelves; let them dry.

Also, don’t immediately hang your outerwear in the closet after going outside.

And, of course, you need to monitor the humidity level in the apartment, because if mold appears on the ceiling or in the corners of the room, it will not be difficult for it to move into the closet.

An unpleasant smell in an apartment is the first thing that greets you and your guests as soon as you cross the threshold of the house. And no exquisite interior, And expensive furniture will not be able to outweigh the negative impression that will inevitably be created if there are unpleasant odors in the room.

Causes of odor in the apartment

Sometimes it seems that there is no reason for the occurrence of unpleasant odors in the apartment - it is carried out daily wet cleaning, the rooms are ventilated, but there is still some kind of unpleasant, annoying stench. The appearance of odors can be influenced not only by strongly smelling objects, but also even by ordinary things that in everyday life could not even suggest that they belong to the category of “unpleasant smelling”. Here is a list that describes the main reasons for the appearance of odors in the apartment:

Rags for cleaning the floor. Due to the occurrence of mold, such a fetid aroma can arise that will become noticeable immediately from the threshold. In addition, mold is dangerous, so it is better not to fight this smell, but to immediately throw it in the trash.
Ashtray, trash can. These are the items that collect the most smelly garbage - even if there are no cigarettes in the ashtray and the garbage can is empty, don’t be lazy to rinse them with vinegar to remove the smell
Sewer pipes, ventilation shafts. Probably not everyone will be able to look through these systems on their own, so if you smell a strong stench from there, don’t be lazy to call the experts.

Odor can also be caused by:

Dish sponge stink
Musty smell from clothes closet
Not pleasant aroma from cat litter or another pet
The smell after painting works
Residual aroma after frying fish, onions or garlic
Tobacco stink and so on

For each reason, you need to select your own remedy, carry out special measures, since, for example, tobacco smoke Vinegar will not help at all, and the musty smell in the house can be removed with potassium permanganate.

How to remove odor from furniture

If bread bins and kitchen cabinets emit a stale smell, we recommend periodically wiping their walls with a cloth soaked in vinegar or citric acid. On the shelves kitchen cabinets place containers with ground coffee or charcoal which will absorb foreign odors.

How to remove tobacco smell

The smell of tobacco will very quickly be absorbed into the curtains, upholstery of your furniture, if any, carpets, etc. Do you think that your spouse or other family member will smoke, and then you just wipe the room and the smell will disappear? You are wrong. You will soon see this at own experience. There are good traditional methods.

When you wash the floor, add 2-3 drops of ammonia to the water.
IN various places You can place 2-4 or more wet towels around the room.
If you want to remove tobacco aroma from upholstered furniture, buy special remedy, dilute it with water and apply it to the furniture with a brush.
Do you have guests who smoke? Light a candle with your favorite scent on the table in the room. It will absorb the smell of smoke in the house, and it will not disperse.
If someone smokes in the kitchen, save the peels of oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits. You can bring water to a boil in a saucepan, throw the peel into it, and the aroma that comes out will hide the smell of smoke.
Lighted coffee beans do a great job of masking the smell of smoke. You can walk around the rooms with this smoking incense.
Place canvas bags in the chest of drawers and in the cabinets. Add dry lemon + orange peels, coffee beans, a little cinnamon (or a stick), vanilla (without sugar) to them. A couple of drops will enhance the aroma of this collection at home. essential oil. Citrus or bergamot or another oil will do.
Black tea bags perfectly absorb odors in the room. They need to be hung near doors and windows, on a chandelier. At the same time, ventilate the room for 15 to 20 minutes.
Do you want your clothes to not smell like tobacco at home? Turn it inside out, lay it flat, for example, on a table, and place wet towels on top, and they will absorb the smell of tobacco. When dry, your clothes will smell normal. Of course, you can wash your clothes, dry them on the balcony and put on fresh ones.
If you set it on fire in an ashtray, on a plate bay leaves and walk around the room with such a smoking mixture, the smell will overcome the tobacco smell. But not everyone likes the aroma of bay leaves.

Buy home fragrances in a store or market. They are sold in the form of aerosols, aromatic balls and in solid form. Validity ranges from 1-2 hours to 1-2 days. Choose the aroma to suit your taste. The main thing is to like it and not get bored quickly.

How to eliminate damp smell in your home

The smell of dampness indicates that mold has appeared somewhere. Most often it occurs in the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and where water stands and can spill, for example, near a bowl of water for an animal, etc.

Let's look at folk methods to combat the smell of dampness.

An excellent absorbent is activated carbon. It even disinfects the air in the room. It is enough to place 20 tablets in the bathroom in inconspicuous places. The bathroom requires 40 pieces.
Coffee beans are very effective against stale air. Place them in a stack and place them somewhere in the bathroom or toilet. After a week, throw these away and add fresh ones.
You can wipe the floor and walls weekly with water (1 liter) and vinegar (2 tablespoons). Add essential oils to the mixture. Choose your favorite scent. Smells of citrus, pine or lavender are good.
Pour rock salt into a glass and place it in the bathroom or toilet. It perfectly absorbs excess moisture. Change when necessary.

If you want to prevent the smell of damp in your home from appearing again, follow these recommendations:

You can’t dry towels for a long time in the bathroom and hang out a lot of laundry frequently.
Wash and dry thoroughly the rags you use to wash the floor or the cloth napkins you use to wipe away dust everywhere. As soon as the washing machine finishes, leave it open for half a day to allow the moisture to evaporate. If you notice droplets of moisture somewhere, wipe the area dry.
Do you smell a bad odor from the drain in your bathroom or bathtub? Pour 0.5 cups or more of soda into it and pour in 2 liters of hot liquid.
Do you feel that there is a foul smell of mold from the washing machine? Pour 1 cup of bleach or vinegar into it and run it in any washing mode without laundry.
Store dirty laundry in hampers, rather than throwing sweaty sweats or used socks straight into the machine unless you plan to wash it right away.
Do you shower daily or bathe every week? Ventilate the bathroom immediately. You can turn on the fan in the bathroom. It will drive away too humid air.
Wipe the water drainage area in the bathroom regularly with a brush or sponge with chlorine-containing products. Mold will not form.
Make sure that the bathroom is clean, open the window (if there is one) and ventilate it, or leave the door open for a while.
Have you placed a cat litter box in the bathroom? Remove any dirt from the device. Change the filler every 3 days.

How to get rid of the smell of cat urine

A sexually mature, uncastrated male can mark territory. Do this:

Buy an aerosol at the supermarket or pet store that removes the smell of cat urine. Other products that eliminate the smell of cat urine are also sold;
remove stains on the floor with the mixture liquid soap and soda (1:1). Apply this mixture directly to the stain, on upholstered furniture, rugs and cover with a floor cloth. After 2 hours, the remaining product can be vacuumed or removed with a damp cloth;
the smell of marks (urine) is perfectly removed by a composition containing soda, lemon juice, and peroxide. Instead of juice, you can use 1 tsp. vinegar. Spray this area with citrus deodorant. Cats don't tolerate it well.

After the death of a pet, the smell may be unpleasant. Get rid of it in the same way.

Clean your cat's litter box on time;
Remove stains on the sofa and other upholstered furniture with water and vinegar and cover with baking soda. When dry, you can vacuum it.

How to remove odor from a toilet

Thanks to annoying advertising, the toilet is considered to be a dirty room in an apartment, where hordes of insidious bacteria and microorganisms gather. Without a doubt, there is some truth in this, but if you equip the toilet effective means from the plaque that hangs under the rim, the cleanliness will increase. But the problem is that almost all of them have a very unpleasant chemical smell.

Therefore, in order to toilet room It has become more pleasant to come in; you need to put cotton sponges soaked in drops of aromatic oils on the top shelves (select the scent to your taste). It's very cheap and very effective. Well, if your budget allows, purchase a special room fragrance. And your toilet will become an indicative place of cleanliness and freshness!

How to remove odors from the kitchen

Having finished with the bathroom, let's move to the kitchen: refrigerator, microwave, sink, kettle, pots - all this can become an object for an unpleasant odor. But first of all, of course, it's a trash can! Invest in a lockable trash can or bin with a lid to prevent unpleasant odors from floating into your room or kitchen when you open the cabinet door. Better yet, before putting the garbage bag in the bin, rinse it, dry it and drop a few drops of lavender or pine onto cotton wool or a cotton sponge, lowering it to the bottom of the bucket. Our mothers and grandmothers got rid of it with the help of ordinary 9% vinegar, because at that time in the USSR there was not a single bottle of “Mr. Proper”, “Fairy” or “Toilet Duckling”! It was vinegar that washed not only bathtubs and sinks, but also almost all pots, kettles and even cast iron frying pans.

Vinegar is still dealing with the stain with a bang - just pour water half diluted with vinegar into a kettle and boil it several times. Not a trace remains of the raid! Then this boiling water should be poured onto the plaque in the bathtub or on the sink and lightly wiped with a hard sponge. As a result, both the bathtub and the sink will shine with a clean shine. Wipe the inside of the refrigerator with a slightly cooled vinegar solution or microwave oven- the unpleasant smell will evaporate in the blink of an eye. The only disadvantage of such cleaning is that you will then have to ventilate the room to remove the vinegar aroma! For those who are against using vinegar in everyday life, essential oil, which has already been covered in previous tips, will help. A few drops of lemon or orange oil sprinkled onto the liquid in the container will help refresh the internal aroma of the microwave if you warm it gently for 1-2 minutes. The inside of the refrigerator will be refreshed in almost the same way - a couple of drops of essential oil, chosen to your taste, will help you avoid the appearance of an unpleasant aroma.

You just need to drop them on a cotton sponge and leave them on the refrigerator door. Every time you open and close the appliance, the aroma will spread both inside and outside the refrigerator. By following these simple tips, you will forever forget about unpleasant odors, and new pleasant aromas will create a special atmosphere of coziness and comfort in your home.

How to make your apartment smell pleasant

To remove unpleasant odors, place 5-7 drops of essential oil on the entrance mat. You can hang a bouquet of dry herb inflorescences under the front door.
Ikebana will look beautiful, which will not only give a pleasant smell to the apartment, but also decorate it.
The unpleasant smell will disappear if you put marjoram, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves in small sachets.
Rinse the floor once a week with water with the addition of tincture of hops, chamomile, mint or oregano.
Before vacuuming your apartment, add a drop of essential oil or perfume to the filter.
You can place pleasant lavender or delicious soap in your closet with clothes.
If you're tired of the sewer smell coming from your water pipes, add coffee grounds to them.
To give your kitchen a fragrant aroma, you need to boil cinnamon in milk. This smell is simply divine, it will give you bright emotions and good mood.

The most important companions that rid an apartment of an unpleasant odor are, of course, regular wet cleaning and ventilation. Therefore, dear girls, all the products are certainly good and will help cope with any unpleasant odor, but cleanliness is the most

A few little tricks

To ensure a pleasant aroma greets you at the doorstep, drop 3-4 drops of orange or tangerine essential oil onto the rug lying next to you. front door. Under the ceiling of the hallway, you can strengthen several bundles of dried flowers. If desired, decorate an ikebana or wall panel using dried wild flowers - this will not only give the apartment a subtle pleasant aroma, but will also diversify your interior and give it a zest. Place small elegant sachets filled with marjoram, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla everywhere. Lavender bags are perfect for the bathroom. By the way, a heated towel rail in the bathroom is not a luxury at all, but a real necessity: it will help prevent the smell of dampness. For living rooms excellent option indoor flowers will become, which are known to produce oxygen and refresh the air. When washing floors, it is very good to use not just water, but infusions and decoctions of hops, oregano, mint, and chamomile. After this treatment, the light aroma of a flowering meadow will settle in the house for some time.

Any smell evokes certain feelings: the smell of hot baked goods awakens the appetite, the smell of perfume creates pleasant associations, the smell of gasoline is associated with cars. What is the smell of dampness, often referred to as the smell of humidity, associated with? As a rule, nothing good: if a musty damp smell appears in the apartment, then it causes nothing but discomfort. Why it appears and how to remove the smell of dampness in a house, apartment or room, what causes it and how you can influence it - now we’ll figure it out.

The main reasons for the smell of dampness:

basements with outdated utilities;
old housing stock (cracks in the walls);
neighbors flooded;
roof or attic leakage;
non-functional ventilation.

If water pipes in basements have not been changed for quite a long time, and, as a rule, this is what happens, the steam they create passes through cracks in the walls, enters the apartments and settles on the walls in the form of condensation. But this reason is more suitable for the first floors of houses, since condensate from pipes in basements, as a rule, does not escape higher up.

The same problem may occur with the upper floors of a building, only the cause here will be cracks in the roofs, and, accordingly, leakage through them. Damp attics allow condensation into the apartments - and they smell damp.

On the middle floors of a building, the problem of musty smell appears due to cracks in the walls and divergence of the seams between the slabs - rain and snow pass into these cracks and thereby bring the smell of dampness into the rooms.

One of the most common reasons the appearance of the smell of dampness is due to careless neighbors who accidentally flooded you and your apartment. How longer water will drain from above, the greater the likelihood of a long-term damp smell. Drying the entire apartment after this event is a rather difficult and time-consuming process. But in summer this situation is not so bad, unlike in the cold season. If the house is weak or does not work at all, the smell of dampness will also spread throughout all apartments much faster and more intensely, since the natural flow of air is disrupted, humidity increases, mold and mildew appears, and the apartment or house smells damp.

As a result, the fresh aroma of washed clothes, the smells of freshly prepared dishes or new furniture - all these wonderful little things in life can be overshadowed by dampness, because if the smell appears in the house, it will quickly spread throughout the room, penetrate into the cabinets, and therefore - all the things in the dressers will smell bad. In addition, the smell of dampness contributes to frequent colds, joint problems, chronic bronchitis and other diseases. How to remove the smell of dampness, what methods exist and how to apply them? Let's understand further.

Everyone who is faced with the problem of an unpleasant odor from things and in the house is wondering: how to get rid of the musty smell. The very first and logical solution is to eliminate the cause of the smell of dampness in the apartment. Identify the cause, carry out preventive measures: change or repair pipes in the basement, patch cracks in roofs, check the attic, plaster walls where joints are leaking, close cracks construction foam, check all ventilation, call special services to repair it and clean it in case of malfunction.

If all measures have been taken and the main causes have been verified, let’s move on to prevention: here, frequent is the most basic remedy. Periodic flows of fresh air prevent the appearance of damp odors. If a lack of free time or lack of desire prevents you from arranging regular ventilation on a schedule, you can install one that will promptly and automatically deliver Fresh air into the room without your participation, maintaining a healthy microclimate.

If all this ventilation doesn’t really help, it’s worth checking the surfaces for the presence of mold. If it doesn’t immediately catch your eye, it means it’s hiding in the corners of the walls, under the wallpaper, or in places inaccessible to the eye. What will help you fight it? Nowadays there are many different types of fungus, and in addition, there are some clever folk remedies: bleach, ammonia, borax, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar - based on the same chemistry. However, no matter what product you choose, simply treat the areas where the fungus is found and you will get a clean surface and the source of the damp smell destroyed. But on folk remedies Let's go into a little more detail.

How else can you remove the smell of dampness in a house, room or apartment? You can’t write off folk methods of struggle either. Discarding the most dense and delusional ones, you can find among “grandmother’s recipes” remedies based on scientific laws and quite effective.

The most popular of them is a mixture of salt and ground activated carbon. These ingredients are known to absorb moisture well, and with it the smell. You can pour the mixture into a decorative vase and make it part of the interior. The contents will have to be changed about once a week. However, in this case, the folk mixture can be replaced with modern silka gel if you don’t want to bother with vases and salt. The absorbent is well suited for removing the smell of dampness from closets and chests of drawers. First you need to take out all the things from them and carefully examine them for the presence of fungus. Then, if there is one, treat it with all of the above methods (except for ammonia), dry the inner walls using a heating device. Then put a mixture of coal and salt inside. Once the damp smell has subsided, place fragrances or fragrant herbs like lavender inside the cabinet and the problem will be solved.

Another folk way to hide the smell of dampness - the so-called “pomanders” - citrus (orange, lemon, grapefruit) in which clove stems are stuck - a rather beautiful and pleasant-smelling method that works for one to two months. This design neutralizes the smell of humidity very well.

How to eliminate damp smell from upholstered furniture?

We talked about cabinets, but how to eliminate the smell of dampness from upholstered furniture? It is more difficult to remove odors from furniture, since the base itself, usually foam rubber, is located inside, takes a long time to dry, and there is no guarantee that the odors will go away completely. In a good way, such furniture is taken out into the fresh air for several days, for example, to the country house. There, under the sun, it warms up to a sufficient depth for the smell of dampness to disappear. But, if this is not possible, you can dry the furniture using household heaters and fan heaters. If possible, you can replace the upholstery with a new one. If this is not possible, try pouring green tea, coffee (or other aromatic herb🙂) for 8-10 hours - these ingredients have a rich and specific aroma that can eliminate the smell of dampness.

If we talk about protecting shoes and clothes, then again we need to go back to ventilated and dried closets and chests of drawers, since both shoes and clothes are stored there. If there is an unpleasant odor, outer clothing must be dried and then washed. Naturally, you shouldn’t hang it in a closet that smells damp. It is better to protect shoes with a special deodorant and good ventilation, or wipe them with ammonia, put salt inside and leave for a day.