Caused by an excess of humidity, mold gives off a most unpleasant odor, which tends to permeate the fabrics as well as the walls of our houses. As it can lead to health problems, it will be essential to find the source and resolve the issue.
However, the musty smell may persist. Fortunately, there are tricks to eliminate it. We offer you its top of the house tips and recipes to remove the musty smell.
1. Eliminate the musty smell in the house
Once you have found the source of the odor and fixed the problem of water infiltration, if necessary, it is time to tackle the smell. 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 help to finalize the disinfection:
- Enough hot water to fill the spray bottle
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 drops of lemon essential oil
2. A recipe for eliminating moldy odors in the house
To make an anti-odor spray, try this recipe based on essential oils:
- Lavender essential oil
- Tea tree essential oil
- Eucalyptus essential oil
- Thyme essential oil
- Lemongrass essential oil
- Hot water
Add 2 drops of each of the essential oils to 300 milliliters of boiling water. Then spray all surfaces with a bad odor, including walls and fabrics.
3. Eliminate musty odors on walls
If the smell has permeated your walls, disinfect them with this recipe:
- 1 tablespoon of soda
- The juice of a lemon
- 5 drops of lemon essential oil
- Hot water
Combine everything in a spray bottle, and generously sprinkle the walls with this mixture. Let dry without rinsing. Don’t forget to wear gloves, glasses and a mask!
4. How to remove the musty smell from your clothes
Most of the time, it is during their passage in the washing machine that the clothes imbibe the smell of mold. It will first be necessary to resolve the problem at the source and disinfect the device. Give it a full cycle when empty, with hot water, and pouring in pure white vinegar and baking soda. Then wash your clothes by pouring a cup of undiluted white vinegar into 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, choosing the highest temperature your clothes can tolerate.
5. Remove the musty smell from a closet
Hot water, vinegar and baking soda
If mold odors have invaded your closets or kitchen cabinets, start by cleaning them with a mixture of warm water and pure white vinegar. Air well, then place a bowl containing baking soda to which you can add a few drops of an essential oil whose flavor you like, for example, lavender or lemon.
Ammonia to remove odors from the closet
Another technique for removing musty odors from a closet or furniture is to mix a little ammonia with hot water and wash the surfaces with a bad smell. Then leave the doors or drawers open to ventilate well.
Use an odor destroyer.
You can also buy and place an odor killer in the closet. This gel product helps absorb and suppress bad odors in a small space such as a closet.
7. Eliminate 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 unpleasant odor of musty, which eventually permeates your clothes and household linens. To begin, you must:
- Thoroughly clean the surfaces and seals of the washing machine with undiluted white vinegar.
- Then make an empty cycle with hot water, pouring a cup of baking soda into the tank, and a cup of pure white vinegar into the softener dispenser. You can also add a few drops of real lavender essential oil to the vinegar for a good smell.
- Finish with a regular cycle in cold water to rinse the washing machine tub well.
8. How to remove the musty smell in the basement
The smell of mold in a basement is most often caused by water infiltration at the foundations of the house as well as poor ventilation.
Before tackling 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 of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces affected by mold.
Wear gloves and a mask, then:
- Mix one part of pure white vinegar with three pieces of hot water in a bucket.
- Rub mold stains well with this solution.
- Leave it on for twenty minutes before rinsing and drying.
Since some basements tend always to be damp, you may need to purchase a dehumidifier. This device could prevent the appearance of mold and its bad odors.
9. Eliminate musty odors in furniture
Furniture, such as cupboards and wood chests, can sometimes be moldy or musty. A few tips can help you get rid of that nasty smell:
- A glass of hot milk: place a glass of warm milk in the cabinet and leave it in place until the milk has cooled.
- Baking soda: the absorbency of baking soda can help eliminate the odor. Just put it in a saucer or a small bowl, and place it in the affected furniture.
- Cedar shavings: in addition to absorbing bad smells, cedar shavings will give off a pleasant scent.
10. Remove moldy odors from a carpet or area rug
To easily get rid of odors that permeate your floor coverings, sprinkle them with baking soda. Leave on overnight, then vacuum to remove powdery residue and odors.
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