Dry Basement Smells Musty

Both air flow and sunlight can help deodorize a room a great deal.

Dry basement smells musty.

The solutions to fix these two problems are different. You re not going to like this answer. Allow the spray to dry. Musty smells in the basement air are caused by mold growth water damage or high humidity levels.

A musty smell from your basement indicates the presence of mold and mildew. As basements are typically below the ground level they don t have windows. Or if they do the windows don t provide significant amount of sunlight or more inportantly air flow. You can place bowls of white vinegar cat litter in open containers or baking soda throughout your basement in order to absorb the stench.

Since basements are built underground the basement exterior walls are generally cool in temperature and while warm air in the home comes into contact with the cool walls or surfaces it will produce condensation. Sewer gas distinctively smells like sewage and permeates through to affect all of the house smells. Remove the source of odor. You should notice a more pleasant smelling basement in a couple of days.

Wet drywall has a musty smell while wet fiberglass have a sulfuric rotten egg smell. Musty odors commonly occur on the basement for the following five reasons. Mold growth can be in visible spaces as well as hidden in wall cavities in carpets and above ceilings. What causes the musty smell in basements and other places.

You can have enough mold growth on your basement walls or basement slab to have a musty smell even when the mold is invisible and the concrete looks dry. The musty odor on towels tile and basement walls can be a sign you have a mildew problem. For an uninsulated slab the solution is to install a layer of polyethylene and then a layer of rigid foam and then osb or plywood subflooring above the slab. It s likely mould and mildew.

To remove any lingering musty smell try the old fashioned yet effective remedy of setting out a few small bowls of baking soda around the room. Neutralize the musty smell in the basement. Closed dark and damp places are the perfect location for moulds to thrive. If it smells musty it is musty.

The most common reason for musty odors in basements is the prolonged growth of mold in the space. The final step for how to get rid of musty smell is actually lifting the odor. It s probably not the first time you ve heard this but mould and mildew aren t exactly healthy. The key is to keep the moisture down in the basement area.