Smelly House

W.--We had the same problem when we moved into our home. It was owned by little old people and although the house wasn't abused, it wasn't cleaned very often. We purchased an air purifier from EcoQuest International. It's a purifier not an air cleaner. It's a unit that you can run continuously and on occasion set it on a higher setting while you are out of the house and it will definitely get rid of that odor. We have a friend who bought a used car from a smoker and it was the only thing that got rid of the odor. If you would like more information on how to get one, please contact my husband at ____@____.com are a little pricey, but they are definitely worth it. My house is a A LOT less dusty and I am a severe airborne allergy sufferer and it has helped so much. You are welcome to contact me as well. D.

Essentially, Febreeze works elimanating the odor (not the cause of it), so that isn't going to be a permanent solution.

I would try the baking soda and cedar chips. Kilz has paint that can help with some odors.
http://www.kilz.com/pages/default.aspx?NavID=24

Also, the smell could be a small leak in the plumbing inside the walls.

And definately get the carpets cleaned, and replace them if that doesn't work.

I've also read that poor ventillation in the attic could contribute to the smell being forced down into the house.

And that the mustiness picks up more in the humid, summer months.
Running a dehumidifier may help too.

Hi W....I use all natural products that take out all germs, dustmites, etc...they work great and are safe and healthy for your family. I'd love to tell you more about it if you're interested.

T.
____@____.com

Building materials can really soak up smells (drywall, carpet, wood, etc.). My friend bought a house and the only way she found she was able to get rid of the smells from the previous owners was to rip up some of the carpets and paint the walls. There was one closet in particular that had a very foul odor (like rotting animal). She tried going into the attic to see if she could see anything between the walls but she couldn't. She pulled up the carpet and put kilz on the walls and ceiling but she eventually had to cover one of the walls with cedar wood to get rid of the smell in that closet. I'd definitely try the things the other mama's suggested (baking soda, cedar planks or balls, cleaning carpets, etc.), but you might want to prepare yourself for even more drastic measures if the smells bother you that much. Good luck!

Try throwing some cedar chips aroung the corners in the closet. I have the same same smell plus my cat got mad and used the restroom in the closet. Once we did that the chips absorbed the smell and it smelled of cedar.....Good luck.

Hi W.,

There are a lot of different non-toxic things you can use to remove odors from your house. I would suggest you check out this website http://www.care2.com/greenliving/. Annie B. Bond is the Queen of Green Cleaning, I love all her non-toxic, earth and family friendly solutions. She has a wonderful book called Better Basics for the Home that you might want to check out as well. It's full of recipes for safe cleaning products that you make at home out of things you probably already have in your kitchen pantry. Depending on the materials in your house - carpet, wallpaper, drywall, wood - she'll have suggestions on what to do to get rid of the smells in your home either on the website or in the book.

I would strongly suggest that you paint your baby's closet with several (3 minimum) coats of a no-VOC paint as soon as possible. Moth balls are made of very nasty chemical compounds and those compounds are still around if you can smell them and if you smell them, they are getting into the air in your baby's room as well as anything in that closet. Olympic Brand paint offers a low or no VOC paint (this means that they do not off-gas toxic fumes, so you feel safe using the paint with a baby in the house) available at Lowes.

Good luck and happy cleaning! N.

If you have the money, replace carpets. If you don't have that much money, hire a carpet cleaner and they can apply special de-odorizing cleaner. If you don't have that much, steam clean your carpets yourself (or rent a steam carpet cleaner if you don't own one - you can rent them at Lowe's or Home Depot). The cleaner will leave your house smelling great. And it stays because it's in the carpets and under the carpets in the carpet pad.

I use my Bissell carpet cleaner a lot ...and lately I also use a mixture of hot water with some OxiClean in the main water tank. Really does the trick, especially when I use the high quality carpet spot cleaner in that cleaner well of the machine.

First I would try sprinkling some baking soda on the carpets and letting it sit for about 30 minutes. Then vaccumn. If that doesn't work.....try having the carpets cleaned. I have a wonderful carpet cleaner. His name is Jeremy and he is the owner of A Cleaner Carpet. His number is ###-###-####. Jeremy is very good at what he does and I trust him. I leave my house and have never had a problem leaving him here alone.

Try spraying some Lysol in the closet and closing the door for a couple hours. Then maybe sit a box of baking soda in the closet and see if that gets rid of the smell. Good lunk!!!