Hello all!
I just moved into a house already occupied by a couple other folks, and noticed there is a rather unpleasant odor lingering on the first floor. It is a mixture of a musty smell and pet odor, I think... there is one cat who lives here, the litter box is scooped out once per day and he is perfect about using it, but the only good spot for it is an alcove between the living room/foyer and kitchen. The musty smell is I think a result of just being an old house that has been occupied for many years...

I have mopped, scrubbed, disinfected, replaced old furniture, etc, and still the smell remains somewhat. I would like a nice-smelling house!! Does anyone know of any odor absorbers that work really well, any other techniques to get rid of or minimize house odor, or at last resort any really good masking products (I hate Glade and similar chemical-smelling stuff, but if there's something really good and natural smelling I'd give it a shot)? I'd like to get this solved asap, mainly because it would be nice to have guests over without worrying about it, but also because I'm worried I'll get used to the smell!!!

Any advice would be MUCH appreciated.
-Rob

What kind of flooring? If it's carpeted, you'll need to go the steam-cleaning route and I'd recommend hiring a professional service...the commercial machines do a better job of both cleaning deeply and, more important, sucking the cleaner back out, if that fails, you may have to replace the carpet, mold and odors can take hold in the padding under the carpet and it's near impossible to fix that without pulling the padding and carpet.Hardwood should be stripped and re-sealed. You may need to check under the house, if you've got a mold and mushroom farm beneath the house, that could easily account for a persistant smell. If that's the case, get back to me and I'll tell you the tricks I know. Have you checked in the heat vents? Changed the furnace filter?
In all your scrubbing, did you remember to do the ceilings? Walls? inside closets?

An allergy-approved air cleaner will help, especially one that ionizes the air (change the filter as often as the directions say, and use the right one), and houseplants,fresh flowers, scented candles(even if you don't light them) and/or regular use of Febreze can all help with the musty smell. For quick relief, hit the health food store for one of the natural, non aerosol air fresheners, there are several citrus based ones that smell wonderful and a lavender one I really like, I just can't remember the brand.

Thanks so much for the reply and all the advice!

Errr... I really hope the odor is not coming from the wood floors, as I just rent the place and would really like to avoid doing major work on it. The floors are certainly old and worn and could stand to be refinished, but I have never done such and am not sure of the cost and time involved (if it's simply a weekend project and not expensive I'd consider it, I assume renting a sander and the finish would be the total costs, eh?). There have been a couple cats living here in the past 5 years, but to the very best of my knowledge they didn't pee on the floor...

I did scrub the baseboards and use floor cleaner, but the walls in the dining and living rooms have flat paint and I'm worried washing them will leave stains. The paint job is only a couple years old anyhow.

The smell is really something I can't put my finger on, but it is *strong* when you first walk in, sort of sweet and sharp. It closely resembles the unmistakable odor of a preschool or day care; though I'm not sure what the culprits are in those environments, they all seem to have that smell.

I did notice that when the upstairs sink is running for a while there is a dripping sound in the ceiling above the living room... it seems like a very small leak, but perhaps the moisture in the ceiling is collecting and giving off an odor (though it's not exactly a mildew scent). Hopefully it can be fixed promptly.

Well, if anyone has any further advice or input, I'd be quite grateful. This is a rather discouraging situation, as otherwise the house is quite nice and I was excited to live here!
-R

About the floors...Yes, it's pretty much a weekend project, the equipment can be rented and your landlord just might knock the expenses off your rent...you'll need his permission to do it anyway and it can't hurt to ask...or, if he has multiple properties, he just might have the equipment already.
About the walls, hit the paint store and ask them how to clean flat paint without damaging it... also is there wallpaper in the house? Sometimes the paste gets funky in damp conditions, which would certainly account for a "pre-school" aroma.

Unless you know the direct cause of the smell (which I think we don't) then the best you can do is arm up with glade/plugins/wisps/whatever-stinks-pretty.

There are too many possibilities of what could be causing the odor. I would suggest waiting until the warmer dryer months in your location, open al the windows and doors and turn on a few fans to pull the air out of the house – let those run a couple of hours while you are away from the house. Then go in, turn off the fans and start sniffing – hurry because you will get used to the scent rapidly.

You need to find out what or where the odor is coming from before you can address it. Everything in a house, from wood to paint can absorb odors – previous tenants have their distinct smell and that gets absorbed by wood, plaster, and paint. You in return are leaving your particular scent behind as well.

I’m going to lay odds and say it is a bit of mold/mildew behind the walls or beneath the floors – it happens all the time, the older a house is the more likely it has trapped moisture which has lead to mold/mildew growth. Short of ripping out walls and floors most are not readily a problem.

In the case of your house I think a good summer season with a lot of airing out may go along way at solving the problem – that and perhaps a new coat of paint.

For cutting odors in carpets sprinkle baking soda. It now comes in 5 lb bags and I use it everywhere for nearly everything including at the bottom of the litter tray where the urine settles it helps to cut that smell. For wood, say wood trim, wood floor, making a paste like mixture of baking soda allows you to “scrub” a wood surface without scratching it – it also helps to absorbs any odors that wood may have.

Cleaning flat paint:

Start off with plain warm water on a soft cloth – wring out the cloth to where it is damp. You can LIGHTLY scrub with a soft cloth.

If stuff still remains then mix up a batch of 1 Cup white vinegar to one gallon of warm water, use a soft cloth, and again wring it out until damp. Follow up with a clean water only damp rag to remove the vinegar residue.

I will assume that most of the dirt is regular human grime, water should get the most, vinegar and water will get more.

Of course test in a hidden spot first. Different paints react differently – most usually can hold up to a cleaning, some (the cheap ones mostly used on rentals ) do not hold up well to any wiping.

SINK + Drip do not always mean a leak. It is possible that from your J Joint (trap) beneath the sink to the pipe in the wall the transition is from a horizontal to a vertical fall as the sink drains out the water goes through the trap, the horizontal pipe beyond that going to the wall may be near level thus water is slowly moving down to the vertical pipe behind the wall were it “falls” down the vertical pipe hitting another horizontal pipe. Since this is in the wall/floor which is hollow it is possible that the sound is amplified by the lack of sound deadening material and being beneath it means you can hear it.

Of course anything I suggest you are cautioned to try on a hidden area first.

We have the same problem with a house that we just purchased.

Very strong and almost sweet/perfume odor. It is noticable throughout the house, but strongest on the first floor. Similar to a dry must. I'm assuming it is mold behind the drywall.

Let me know when you find the tcause of yours, and I'll do the same.

Thanks again for the replies...

To the last responder, yes, sounds like we may have a similar problem. Not that it's a permanent solution, but after some experimentation I've found that those Glade "french vanilla" plug-ins mask the odor somewhat better than other products.

I have done pretty much everything advised save for the floor refinishing (mopping, washing, even put a new coat of paint in the living room). The smell is still there and about as strong as before, so I'm thinking it does have to do with the leak. There is a slow-to-rapid tapping noise in the ceiling after the upstairs sink or bath drain has been used for a couple minutes. Not that they get tons of use, but perhaps enough to have that moisture collect. Just today I noticed a soft-ish spot in the ceiling as well! Not sure if this is old or new.

So the next step will be to get the landlord to stop dragging her feet about it. Now, hypothetically, if the fix-it guy opens the ceiling and discovers/fixes a leak, what's the quickest and most effective way to de-fuse any mildew, mold, or what-have-you up there?

Best odour neutraliser?
Do they sell Neutradol where you live? Preferably the white jar with the foil lid this will damp down the Pong (lasts for quite a bit )
Good alternative to Perfumed Air Fresheners Which make me choke sometimes
www.msg.co.uk/uk/
PS It seems to be UK only A pity .Ask your Shop to see if they can get hold of this?

until you can find the source of the odor, use oust. is amazing. it took the smell of minutes old skunk spray from the house in under an hour. not covered it up, made it go away and not come back.
we used the oust fan, not the spray aerosol type.