Basement Smell

We live in an old farm house. The basement always has a old smell and comes up through furnace ducts. Any ideas how to make the basement smell better? It could buy those spray things but would cost. Any way to take that old smell away? This is weird question, I know.
  4 answers
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Sep 24, 2013
    Old house with ducts?...Have they ever been cleaned? removing years worth of dust and lint would be a good place to start. An added bonus is clean ducts move air more efficiently.
    • @KMS Woodworks Follow KMS advice~we did it and it was the best investment we made when we bought our home. I vacuum as far as I can the floor ducts by snaking my shop vac down the vent but it only goes so far. I would also try to some charcoal to help absorb odor in the basement. Put it in buckets around the basement. You could may want to look over any duct work in the basement to see if there are any cracks, holes, etc where the smell could be drawn into the vents. Good luck!
  • Irene jarosz Irene jarosz on Sep 26, 2013
    Place apples around the basement to soak up the bad smell.
  • Mary Harcus Mary Harcus on Sep 26, 2013
    coffee grounds also work put in a nice vase and set around smells like fresh coffee
  • Patricia Franz Patricia Franz on Sep 26, 2013
    We live in an old farmhouse also. The heating/air conditioner man told us to set the fan to run constantly and that helped. We had to put in a new furnace later and opted for a light that kills bacteria, etc. That got rid of the smell completely. Hope this helps.
    • See 2 previous
    • Michelle Calhoun Michelle Calhoun on Sep 26, 2013
      @Patricia Franz Thanks!!