How do I find the source of a musty mildew smell?
by
Pamela
+8
We bought a house 3 years ago. I didn't have this issue for the first year and a half. My problem is , when you first walk into our home you get a strong mildew smell, just in the entrance way. We now , are starting to get it in the back bedroom closets. We don't live here yet, we are here every other weekend, until we retire. There is no evidence of damp areas. When we first moved in, we had the crawlspace redone with new insulation and automatic vents , everything has been painted, I had the sprinkler heads adjusted so they no longer hit the foundation of the house. Just a few months ago we installed a commercial dehumidifier in the crawlspace ( which has no odor ) we just pulled out and replaced all the old carpet and padding. The smell disappeared, but it was just the strong new carpet smell that masked the smell. I don't know if this has anything to do with the smell , but both areas back up to a slab....the entrance way to the front porch & garage. The back closets back up to the 3 season room that is on a slab...we need help !!! Anyone have some ideas ??? Even who to contact ???
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Check in your kitchen ,for mildew in the cabinets,or your bathroom ,where water usually can be a problem.Sounds like your smell is somewhere hard to find,try under floor too.,could be rotted places where water made a home sometime in the past or present.My aunt had it in her walls.A leak from roof,and couldn't see it ,until the paint on wall chipped off.
under the carpet - carpet padding?
You may have a leak in the roof since you smell it when you enter the home, and it is in the wall(s). You need to do a thorough inspection for leaks of pipes too. Something is leaking!
If you have a crawl space have someone look there. Our house in NC had a problem with it due to moisture under the house. After it was cleaned up a moisture barrier was added to keep it from coming back.
Thanks for answering my question . As soon as we moved in , we had our crawlspace redone. Even though there weren't any smells in there or the house , the insulation was falling and improperly installed. They came i and cleaned everything out , installed better insulation, the installed new automatic vents , and put down a vapor barrier, then a few months ago we had crawlspace dehumidifier put in...