An unpleasant musty smell from the fungus in the apartment. Basic methods to get rid of the smell of dampness
Mold is unpleasant, its smell is disgusting, and its destructive effect significantly reduces the value of your home. And most importantly, it is also dangerous!
A particular threat is black mold - Stachybotrys chartarum, which loves fiberboard, plaster and drywall. The spores of this mold contain a dangerous toxin that causes coughing, snot, throat irritation, burning eyes, watery eyes, red eyes, blurred vision, increased sensitivity to light, chronic fatigue, headaches, memory problems and diarrhea.
If the above is enough to stop putting up with mold in the house, we will begin to eliminate mold, its traces and smell immediately.
Determine the source of the smell. Mold likes to settle where it is damp, dark and warm enough. Places like basements, walls around a leaky tub, and under a sink are prime candidates. Look for non-statutory sources of water, such as condensation on pipes. Then inspect the mezzanines and cabinets. Keep in mind that sometimes a small leak in the roof is enough to start mold in the house.
Remove material damaged by mildew odor. This step depends on the type of material the mold is growing on. If it's a bathroom tile or other moldy surface, just clean it up and move on to the next step. If mold has grown into floor coverings or drywall that have become soaked with mold, minor repairs should be considered. When working with mold, wear protective mask to prevent inhalation of dust and spores.
Clean moldy areas. A good home remedy for mold removal is a solution: one part boric acid, two parts white vinegar, two parts hydrogen peroxide and four parts water. This combination will kill mold and help remove stains. Be sure to use rubber gloves. When removing mold, try to isolate problem areas so that dust and spores don't spread to other parts of your home. If the damage is too deep and extensive, consider whether it is better to seek help from specialists.
Deodorize and ventilate the room to get rid of the mildew smell. When you remove the mold, the surfaces where it lived will be even wetter than they were. Therefore, ensure the movement of air in the area of \u200b\u200bcleaned places. It is good if you can ventilate the room with the help of a draft from the street. Airflow will dry out the surfaces, making them an inhospitable environment for mold.
An excellent odor absorber is baking soda. Sprinkle it on the treated areas, leave for a few hours, and then vacuum. Baking soda will absorb the smell of mold and excess moisture. If the smell does not disappear completely, place an open box of soda in this place.
prevent reappearance mildew smell. So, you have removed the damaged and moldy material, cleaned all accessible surfaces, dried them and deodorized them with soda. Can we assume that the problem is solved? Unlikely. After all, if mold once started up in your house, there was a reason for that. And if you do not remove the conditions under which the mold has chosen your apartment, soon everything will return to normal.
Find the source of moisture and eliminate it. Repair leaking roof, seal mounting foam or energy flex pipes to prevent the accumulation of condensate, dry the walls in the bathroom after each use and organize good ventilation.
If you live in areas with seasonal humidity, it is absolutely essential to have an air conditioner or dehumidifier to control the humidity in problem areas.
These little fixes will keep your home free of mold and mildew odor.
Health to you and your home!
A musty, heavy, unhealthy smell is familiar to everyone. It smells like that in the dark damp basements and cellars, but such a “flavor” is categorically not suitable for living quarters. At the same time, it poses a serious danger. The unpleasant smell of dampness is almost one hundred percent indicator of fungi that have bred on the walls, which spread harmful spores. They pose a serious danger to all residents and guests, causing severe forms of allergies, skin diseases, asthma and other respiratory diseases. How to deal with such odors in the apartment, read on.
How to eliminate the cause of the damp smell:
- to get rid of high humidity: insulate the floor of the apartment or the ceiling of the basement;
- take off flooring, dry the floor;
- treat the screed with an antifungal agent;
- process the floor liquid waterproofing: first coat the corners around the perimeter, and then stick a protective latex tape. Using a brush or roller, cover the entire floor with liquid sealant.
If the reason lies in the wrong heating system, redevelopment should be done - install additional radiators along the weeping wall. Underfloor heating ideally fights the problem, which evenly heats the air.
If the smell of dampness appeared after flooding, but there is no fungus yet, dry the apartment or house thoroughly. Use everything available funds: fan heaters, heaters, dehumidifiers. Otherwise, you will find yourself in a difficult situation: because of the fungus, the smell of dampness will settle in closets and behind furniture for a long time, gradually filling the entire apartment.
If the house is already saturated with basement mustiness, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the source using the methods suggested above. But in addition to the walls, floor and ceiling, in damp housing the fungus is already infected most of of things. What to do:
- Examine the furniture
On the rear walls cabinets, behind sofas and in all adjacent to the walls hard-to-reach places may have a fungus. Damaged elements and upholstery should be replaced if possible. However, you can take the item out in the sun and treat it with an antifungal agent several times, including drawers and shelves.
- Examine clothes and all textile items
The down jacket and jacket will have to be washed several times, and the fur coat should be taken to the dry cleaners. If the fabrics have not just a smell, but traces of a fungus, feel free to throw them away, they can no longer be saved.
- Take a close look at the library
Books are breeding grounds for bacteria and fungal spores. Therefore, an insufficiently dry bookcase can cause musty smell.
Means against the smell of dampness
Antifungal agents will also help get rid of the smell of dampness:
- potassium permanganate solution;
- acetic solution;
- diluted chlorine bleach;
- industrial antifungal agents.
They need to wipe all surfaces in the house, especially dark corners and hard-to-reach places.
The smell of dampness in the house can sometimes just piss off its owners. Clothes in closets and an upholstered favorite chair become damp. Moreover, pillowcases and sheets are like on a train, always damp. In such situations, the question arises sharply, how to get rid of the smell of dampness? To answer it, one should understand why the dwelling becomes damp.
On the first floors, the reason for this is the old, always soaring basements, in which plumbing and heating pipes either have not changed at all since the construction of the house, or no one remembers when it was. Through the floor slabs, steam enters the apartment, and there, in the form of condensate, it settles on walls, windows, furniture, etc.
The last floors are also quite often at risk: clogged storm drains or leaky roofs lead to the fact that rain or snow does not flow down sewers, but straight into residential apartments.
Sometimes in panel houses the seams between the plates are crumbling. Any rain with wind brings with it hated dampness to housing.
Some neighbors with upper floors like to arrange for those who live below, the scenario of the Flood. At the same time, not only walls are filled with moisture, but also furniture, carpets, things. In the summer, all this can be dried quickly, but in the cold after such cases, very unpleasant moments can begin in the apartment.
Poor ventilation in the home also contributes to dampness.
Getting rid of damp smell
How to get rid of damp smell? This is a question that worries the owners of houses and apartments where this "ailment" has settled. Indeed, in addition to external discomfort, there is also enormous harm to human health (frequent colds, the risk of chronic bronchitis, asthma, joint diseases, etc.). Let's solve everything in order.
1. Eliminate the cause of dampness
After analyzing the reasons for the appearance of high humidity in homes, the answer to the question arises by itself, how to get rid of the smell of dampness? Experts advise first to eliminate the cause of dampness. To do this, a number of measures should be taken to eliminate the problem.
Change plumbing, heating and sewer pipes in the basement.
Close the roof, clean the storm drains.
Plaster the outer seams between floor slabs, and it’s even better to sew them up with construction foam, then the apartment will become not only dry, but also warm.
Conduct preventive conversations with neighbors from the upper floors, and in the summer it is better to check or change all the heating risers so that in winter there are no unpleasant surprises in the form of gusts of the system.
Check, clean or equip with new equipment all ventilation ducts in the apartment.
2. More fresh air
Ventilate the room more often. When all the causes of dampness are eliminated, you can directly address the question of how to get rid of the smell of dampness? This smell "settles" everywhere - not only in the walls, but also in clothes, in closets, in upholstered furniture, even in shoes. Therefore, the fight against it is a difficult task, but doable.
3. Removing damp smell from rooms
Perhaps, due to the high humidity in the dwelling, on the ceiling, walls, under the wallpaper, in the corners, a very unpleasant and dangerous neighbor has settled - a mold fungus, the spores of which spread very quickly throughout the apartment. It can also be the source of the smell. Sanitary measures should be taken immediately to destroy it. To do this, all places of the formation of the fungus must be carefully treated with the following means: Bleach. It destroys almost all types of mold, leaving behind clean surfaces. Ammonia. Removes fungus from all hard surfaces (glass, countertops). Bura, baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide. These are harmless products that do an excellent job with mold. Answering the question, how to get rid of the smell of dampness in the room, recommend purchasing ozonizers, dehumidifiers, installing an automatic air freshener dispenser in the room. It is also good to include aroma lamps with essential oils of orange, lemon, etc.
4. Folk remedies
People's Council: take 2-3 packs of activated charcoal and 100 g table salt. Mix. Pour the mixture into containers (for beauty - you can put it in a decorative vase) and put it in the room. As you know, coal and salt perfectly absorb moisture, and with it the smell. The mixture should be changed once a week. Very well neutralize the smell of damp pomandera. This is an ordinary orange, in the peel of which sticks of cloves are stuck. Beautiful, safe, smells good for 2 months. Instead of an orange, you can take a lemon, grapefruit, tangerine or any other citrus fruit.
5. Fighting the smell of dampness in cabinets
Wood and materials derived from it (chipboard, MDF) readily absorb moisture and odors. Therefore, cabinets, bedside tables, , hanging shelves and chests of drawers also need to be saved from an obsessive aroma.
First, they must be freed from the content.
It is good to inspect all surfaces of the furniture. If a fungus is overstayed there, then you need to process it with the above folk (except ammonia) or ready-made means.
Dry the cabinet thoroughly, for example, using a fan heater. Drawers can be taken out to warm in the sun.
Put a mixture of salt and activated charcoal in the cabinet. During the day, moisture will be absorbed from the walls of the cabinet.
Place ready-made furniture fragrances or bags with fragrant herbs. The most commonly used for this purpose is lavender. She also saves from moths.
We hope that the answer to the question of how to get rid of the smell of dampness in cabinets is clear to everyone.
6. The smell of dampness in upholstered furniture - how to get rid of it?
When a problem arises, how to get rid of the smell of dampness in upholstered furniture, it is obvious that it is rather difficult to solve it, because under the skin there is a soft base (in modern sofas and armchairs it is mainly foam rubber), which dries for a long time and continues to exude unnecessary odors. But you need to get rid of it.
The ideal option is to take the furniture outdoors for a few days. Under the influence of sunlight and wind, it dries well.
Use fan heaters and dehumidifiers for drying.
If possible, replace the upholstery of the sofa with a new one.
On the upholstery, you can sprinkle ground coffee or green tea for 10-12 hours.
7. Elimination of the smell of dampness on clothes and shoes
Getting ready for work in the morning, it is very unpleasant to put on foul-smelling clothes. Therefore, it is worth taking a number of measures aimed at solving the problem of how to get rid of the smell of dampness on clothes.
Definitely, you should first tidy up the closet or chest of drawers. Sheepskin coats, fur coats, leather products must be taken out in the sun to dry and ventilate. This procedure lasts 2-3 days. Dry first and then wash small items. Shoes can be saved from smell if you put a sponge soaked in vinegar essence in it and wrap it in plastic bag for a day. Then treat the shoes with ammonia and pour salt into it. Leave again for a day. Treat with ammonia again. Put in new insoles and spray with shoe deodorant.
In addition, they will help a lot in this matter and.
In this article, many tips have been given on how to get rid of the smell of dampness in houses. Maybe they will help someone a lot. But we wish you that this problem has passed your house!
High level humidity in the house is a problem that many are familiar with firsthand. This provokes the appearance of mold on clothes. Did you find a subtle, but unpleasant, musty aroma on things? Then you need to get rid of it, and I'll tell you how.
We eliminate the smell of mold - 8 recipes
You can get rid of the smell of mold on clothes, the main thing is to immediately begin to take action. The measures by which you will solve the problem directly depend on how strong the "aroma" exudes your jacket, jeans or dress.
What to do with a weak musty aroma
Barely noticeable but bad smell clothes after washing will help eliminate the sun's rays. Hang the products in the sun to dry, and the ultraviolet will do everything for you. If this is not possible, vinegar and special flavors sold in household chemical stores will help remove the smell of mold from clothes.
After washing, be sure to iron the products. The choice of ironing mode should be based on the type of fabric.
- For delicate materials. Wash them first on hand wash. Then pour fragrant water into the steamer or iron and iron the product through gauze or a thin cloth.
- For cotton and linen. They can be ironed maximum temperature, it will help get rid of microorganisms and bacteria - sources of an unpleasant odor. After that, let things lie down and cool down a bit, and only then lay them out in the closet.
5 recipes for persistent odor
Getting rid of the persistent smell of mold on clothes is more difficult, but still real. There are several folk recipes, the effectiveness of which I experienced firsthand:
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Method 1. Turpentine and clay
If you are looking for how to remove the smell of dampness from clothes, try this recipe:
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Method 2. Soda
Soda, which can be found in any kitchen, will help remove the smell from clothes. Just add a spoonful of this product to your laundry detergent. |
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Method 3. Vinegar
Dilute the laundry detergent with vinegar to the consistency of thick sour cream. Pour the mixture into an appropriate container washing machine. This method will help remove the smell of dampness from any type of clothing. |
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Method 4. Borax and powder
Dilute a tablespoon of borax in warm water and mix the resulting liquid with washing powder. Soak the clothes in the solution for a couple of hours and wash them. The musty smell will disappear, as if it never existed. |
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Method 5. Vodka or ammonia
Dilute a small amount of ammonia or vodka in water and pour the solution into a spray bottle. Spray it on your clothes, hang them on a line and dry them. |
3 options - get rid of mold stains
How to get rid of the smell of dampness on clothes - figured out. But what to do if whitish mold spots appear on things? It is worth resorting to such methods:
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Method 1. Salt and lemon juice
Saturate the damaged fabric with juice squeezed from one lemon and leave it for 10 minutes. Then sprinkle the stain with salt, wait a bit, wash the product with your own hands and dry it in the sun. |
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Method 2. Onions
Soak the mold stains with the juice of one onion, let them dry a little and repeat the procedure several more times. Then load the clothes into the washing machine and turn on the washing mode with a low temperature. |
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Method 3. Whey or curdled milk
Dairy products are another option for getting rid of mold on clothes. Soak the damaged product in whey or yogurt for 12 hours. Then you just have to wash the product as usual and dry it thoroughly. |
Prevention measures
To think about how to get rid of the musty smell of clothes, you no longer had to, you need to properly store things:
- Dry items thoroughly. Never put clothes in a closet until they are completely dry. Even a slightly damp product can cause serious problems.
- Use an iron. High temperatures prevent the growth of mold spores.
- Clean your washing machine regularly. If things smell damp after washing, then perhaps the problem lies in washing machine. Check sealing gum drum, if necessary, clean it with any detergent with chlorine content.
- Treat cabinet shelves. A high level of moisture in the room causes increased dampness in the closet. This, in turn, leads to mold growth. To prevent such a nuisance, sometimes wash the cabinet shelves with alcohol and air it regularly.
Summary
I talked about ways to deal with the smell and mold stains on clothes without resorting to dry cleaning. And if you follow the recommendations, you will generally forget about dampness on your clothes.
Mold is a frequent resident of city apartments and private houses, preferring to actively develop in conditions of high humidity, heat and lack of access to fresh air.
The presence of such a fungus, tightly biting into walls, furniture, clothes, is always accompanied bad smell dampness and requires immediate action to eliminate it. How to get rid of moldy smell?
Tidy up the closet
Mold on clothes appears in case of high humidity in the closet and can not only “reward” products with an unpleasant aroma, but also significantly spoil them appearance: destroy the fibers of the fabric or change the original color of the material. Therefore, it is imperative to check the cabinet for the presence of fungus and carry out processing to remove it or as preventive measure. How to get rid of moldy smell? You should take out all the drawers and shelves, wipe them with a solution of ammonia (at the rate of 1 tsp for 5 liters of water) and leave for a couple of hours to dry. Then you need to turn your attention to the contents of the closet.
Mold found on woolen and silk fabrics can be wiped with a piece of cloth soaked in turpentine. Then trouble spot sprinkle with powder, cover with paper and iron. After the procedure, it is recommended to wash the item with laundry soap and rinse with water a small amount mold?
It is recommended to sprinkle the moldy surface on cotton fabric with chalk, cover it with a napkin and gently iron it with an iron. The second option: wipe the stain with vinegar or lemon juice, sprinkle with salt, let dry, then wash and rinse well.
You can save white material from mold by treating it with bleach or hydrogen peroxide. At the same time, it is required to control that the fabric is not damaged during the process of mold removal. In order not to spoil the whole thing, it is better to conduct a trial processing on a piece of clothing that is not conspicuous.
Folk methods recommend getting rid of mold and the smell it creates with onion juice or yogurt, which should be applied to the stain, wait 20 minutes, then rinse warm water. At the end of the treatment, the item should be washed with washing powder.
Good for drying things
The appearance of a damp smell can be observed if things have been wet for a long time (for example, they have not been taken out of the washing machine for a long time after washing) or remained underdone, which often happens in spring, autumn and winter when drying on covered balconies. How to get rid of the smell of mold on clothes at home? Firstly, you should not try to kill the persistent “aroma” with perfume - this will only aggravate the condition of the product, and it will begin to “smell” even more. If the smell of mold is insignificant, then it can be eliminated during ironing by pouring a special perfumed liquid into the iron first. Or you should wash the thing again (with the addition and dry well, preferably on fresh air, in a well-ventilated and well-lit area. In apartment conditions, if it is impossible natural drying it is recommended to direct the jet at the product warm air from a hair dryer or heater. How to get rid of moldy smell?
An effective way to get rid of the smell of dampness is to soak products in a warm composition of washing powder and vinegar, taken in a tablespoon per liter of water. Then you should wash, dry things well in the sun and iron on both sides.
Preventive actions
In order to prevent the smell of dampness, things in the closet should be regularly sorted out and dried. You can use aromatic sachets - small scented bags filled with plants, flower petals and other elements of natural decor. They perfectly absorb the smell of mold, which are recommended to be lit near the closet with clothes 1-2 times a week. Be sure to be careful not to keep flammable fabrics near the fire.
- often air the closet;
- when washing, sometimes replace washing powder with 1 glass of soda, which perfectly cleans and disinfects things;
- put clean things separately from those that are currently worn;
- before folding the washed laundry in the drawer, make sure it is completely dry;
- if the products were dried outside in cool and humid weather, they must be dried in warmth;
- after washing, it is recommended to iron the linen, let it cool and only then put it on the shelf.
How to get rid of the smell of mold on shoes at home?
It is much more difficult to solve issues with shoes that have a moldy smell. How to get rid of the smell of mold on shoes? You should replace the old insoles with new ones, dry the shoes, and then apply one of the following methods.
You can remove the moldy smell with the help of natural ground coffee, which is poured into boots (shoes, boots) for a day. A steam generator can also help in this matter, after using which it is recommended to drip a little aromatic oil inside the boots.
To get rid of the smell of mold in shoes, you can apply a more complex recipe:
- place a cotton swab soaked in vinegar essence in each shoe;
- pack shoes in a plastic bag and leave for a day;
- after the set time has elapsed, pull out the tampons, and inner surface treat the shoe with ammonia;
- pour table salt into each bot and leave again for a day;
- the next day, shake out the salt, treat the shoes with ammonia, put new insoles inside;
- treat with shoe deodorant.
Properly store shoes
Shoes should be stored properly to avoid moldy smells. It is advisable to use native boxes for this, stuffed with paper from the inside. The room in which shoes are stored must be constantly ventilated. For the purpose of air access, it is recommended to open the boxes sometimes.