Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with musty

Something is rotten in my state (not Denmark).

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:43:43 -0800

Last Wednesday I was assaulted by a foul smell in my front (guest) bathroom. I have been trying to pinpoint the cause for several days. I'm about to go out of town and need advice on what to do, especially since I'm extremely broke and have tried all the usual methods of attack. Details inside... Thursday I noticed there was a bit of a poo smell going on in the front bathroom. Often, it takes two flushes, and I assumed the toilet was clogged. I plunged, cleaned, plunged, etc. and then lit a candle. I never use those drop-in toilet cleaners.

Friday the smell was WORSE. It smelled like sewage. I did my due diligence; I read up as to what the various causes may be and bought every cleaner imaginable. I opened up the drains and did the vinegar/baking soda clean on all of them.

Saturday, the smell was better... I followed it along the ground until I realized it was emanating from the bathtub drain.

Once again, removed all fittings possible, dumped some special drain cleaner (a green product specifically for drains, no lye, no bleach) down the hole, several pots of boiling water, etc.

Went around and checked every other spot in the house; there is no smell except in the front bathroom. Ran water in every sink, tub, shower, etc. to ensure there were no dry traps.

The smell has now dwindled from a sewer-gas smell to simply a musty, sort of unpleasant dust-like odor. Stale, but not poo-ish or sewer-gassy. (To contrast, when I came home on Friday, when I opened the front door I SMELLED SEWER. FROM SEVERAL FEET AWAY, WITH THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM CLOSED.)

My house was built in 2003. The drain is at floor level and the tub/shower are completely surrounded by stone and concrete. I have crawled, literally, with my nose shoved along the edge of the toilet, sink, wall, everywhere in that bathroom and it is coming up out of the drain. As of right now it smells musty and vinegar-y just a bit from all the treatments I've done. The smell is now confined to just the bathroom and is severely diminished.

I have no idea where the pipe is that goes to the roof. There is nothing under my house, it's on a concrete slab foundation. There are no signs of dampness or leaks anywhere in the walls, around the tub, around the toilet, around the sink, etc.

The shower liner is immaculate. I opened the closet door that shares the wall with the tub/shower. The inside of the closet is dry, smells pleasant, no dampness. I took a knife and pried up a bit of the carpet that runs along the wall that is shared with the drain... no dampness, nothing. Even shoved my fingers up under the wall right now where I'd pried the carpet; I feel/smell nothing. Flashlight showed everything is white and normal-looking just opposite the smell.

What I'm asking is... did an animal possibly get trapped somewhere and die? If so, can I just leave and come back assured that the smell will probably be gone? I'm in Texas and the temps are expected between 40-77F over the next week.

I really don't think it's mold. I am extremely sensitive to such things and take daily medication for allergies, and have yet to sneeze or itch at all, even with my nose shoved into the drain.

At this point were I not about to leave for 3-4 days and severely broke, I'd probably just call a plumber. My trip is non-refundable and was paid for in advance, so I can't change plans and use the money for a plumber. Also, I'm concerned that I'll call somebody and they will either tell me 1. I have something terrible going on and they have to tear the wall apart and the bill will be several thousand dollars, which I cannot pay or be here to supervise, or 2. it's nothing, a mouse died somewhere, I'll have to wait it out (plus pay $150 for a house call at a weird hour that resulted in nothing).

What say you, MeFi homeowners? What would you do?

How to clean Musty Towels

milestogo — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:34:00 -0800

How can I get this awful, musty smell out of my towels? A wierd thing happened with my towels. I left them in my apartment over the summer, and the subletter here made the entire place stink, including my towels on the linen rack. When I came back, I noticed thier awful, musty smell (same as the apartment smelled), and threw them in the wash. They came out just fine.

Here is the wierd part: after one use, the old smell was triggered again and it reemerged! So they smell just as bad as when I thre them into the wash. How can I remove this smell once and for all?

Do any MeFites have similar experiences?

Thanks, all!

How to de-stinkify a musty bassinet

SobaFett — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:12:59 -0800

We're expecting our second child in the next couple of weeks, and I (foolishly) stored the co-sleeper/bassinet that we used with our first in the basement for the last two years. Now it smells musty. I need as benign a solution to the odor as possible. I don't want to put a newborn in a musty bassinet to sleep, but I also don't want to use harsh chemicals on something where she'll spend several hours a night (fingers crossed). What will work best? Will one of those passive odor absorbers like an air sponge, or that German metal thingie be sufficient, or do I need to use something that I actually apply to the surface fabric?

I must get the musty out!

spinifex23 — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:22:00 -0800

How do I get the musty smell out of a room, after the musty item has been cleared away? My roommates love to camp. After one trip, they brought home their sleeping bags, and left them to dry under the dining room table, on a rug. Unfortunately, that was the same week we had really hot, really humid weather, and the sleeping bags became moldy instead. There's no mold anywhere else in the condo.

They have since moved the sleeping bags down to the basement (they will be washed later), but the musty smell has now permeated the whole first floor of the condo. And it's aggravating my asthma. I've tried leaving a window open for ventilation, but the condo has really horrid airflow, so it's not clearing out. I'm giving the place a thorough cleaning this weekend in case there's something I missed. If not, how can I get rid of this smell?

Ah, The Rank, Musty Smell of Knowledge

scaryblackdeath — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 08:53:14 -0800

How do I get rid of that musty book smell? I recently inherited about 100lbs of books from my grandfather. He had some mild dementia, and I think part of it included buying books in large quantities and leaving them stacked in his house. My mother sent me a selection of stuff she thought I might like.

But it all smells bad. Like "old paper" bad. And some of them aren't really that old.

Since it's paper, I can't exactly wash it. Any suggestions?

Musty, what does that mean?

517 — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:06:36 -0800

Can you describe what mold smells like without using the word musty? I have just moved into a new apartment and it has a smell that I have not been able to get rid of. I've been trying to identify it but I've never been very good at smells.

If I had to describe it, I would call it a sweet smell.

How do I make an old guitar smell nice?

Faze — Thu, 05 Aug 2004 06:19:37 -0800

How do I get rid of the musty smell in an old guitar that's spent a lot of time in a damp basement? (It's a pre-Beatle Hofner bass with f-holes.)