How to Get Rid of Mildew Smell In A House?
Question:The house has been vacant for a year. I've had a dehumidfier going for several weeks. The house is carpeted.
Answers:
bought a house just like this, and it had been boarded up for almost three years with a leaky roof.
I took everything out, (old furniture) and powerwashed the walls with bleach and water. Then I took out the sheetrock and did new sheet rock for the parts that needed it. worked like a charm
spray bleach in craw space / basement and kill it
if its deep in the carpets youll have to pull out the carpet and have it replaced but it can also be behind the walls and stuff .
get some charcoal and put some in the corners of each room it will help absorb the smell.
There is a new product that I saw at the hardware store call mold away. It is a spray that you spray on wall, carpet etc... It is about $17/ bottle but I looked at the active ingredient and it is trisodium phosphate. This is the same stuff the TSP (for stripping wall paper) is made of. The only difference is, price. You can buy a carton of TSP for about $3 and mix it up yourself.
Much of the smell is in the carpeting, so once the carpeting is removed, along with the padding, the house will smell a little better. A general good cleaning will get rid of the mildew smell. Check the basement & if it has an odor as well, wash it down with Pine Sol or Clorox. Open any windows you can while it's drying. Spray lots of Lysol throughout the house. I like the scent in the white can, as it's not so strong.
I have this problem sometimes at my lakehouse since we don't go up there often. The best thing you can do is find the source of the mildew and clean it thoroughly and keep it dry. Then just open the windows and doors and let it air out. Febreeze works really well too.
I moved into a house that a smoker lived in for 14 yrs. and the house was carpeted. While the house was vacant I bought 12 lbs. of baking soda and dusted the carpet with it liberally and let it sit for a couple days. I vaccuumed it all up and the smell disapeared. Also, baking soda is cheap.and good to have on hand for lots of things.Try it, it works.
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