Old homes have personality and charm that most new homes don’t have. Unfortunately, those same old houses can also have that, uh, musty, stagnant smell.
Before or after finishing your move-in cleaning checklist, don’t forget to get rid of that stale house smell.
Here are 8 ways to get rid of old house smells if your old house doesn’t smell as fresh as the ink on your purchase and sale agreement.
1. Find the source
To get rid of the smell of an old house, you need to know what makes it smell that way. It’s clear that it’s much easier to get rid of the smell’s source than to just cover it up with something else.
So, where do you start looking for the smell’s source? Use all your senses and look everywhere in your house.
Follow your nose. The smell might only be coming from one part of the house (maybe a previous pet liked doing their business in a specific room).
Look for leaks and mold in your basement, crawl space, and attic with your eyes. Look for leaks under every sink, faucet, and pipe in your home, and try to fix it as soon as you find it.
If you can’t find the source, you might want to talk to an expert. If your house smells like mildew, call a plumber to look for water leaks in old pipes.
