This has been the wettest year I think for where I live. We have had more rain and clouds than sun. Now it's getting humid, I don't remember being this humid before. Anywho, one of the bedroom closets smells musty and so does the downstairs, the area below were the closet is at. If you walk around there is a hint of musty odor. I am lost what to do. I have picked up my clutters, the closet is now empty, wipedevery thing down with viniger and water and the bathrooms are getting done today. It's still here. I have the a/c units on high right now for two days and doors are open to get around upstairs. I did find my husbands shoes smelly and my daughters so they are outside in the sun. We are like on our 8th day of sunshine, a first in a while. What do I do now? I am lost what to do. My husband doesn't want anyone over because of the smell. I just don't know how to get rid of it. Now the upstairs bathroom as I think mildew on the ceiling but I need a scrubby because its not comming off with just wiping. IT was there a few weeks ago. Any ideas? I asked here and was told that I only have a few more months letf. I like have people over so I need to get this issue done now.
I don't know if this will help at all, but maybe some bleach would work to get rid of the mildew. We also get a musty smell in our basement in the summer if we don't run our dehumidifier. You might want to have one of those running. They cost a bit and they cost a lot to run, but it gets rid of the musty smell right away.
As a last resort you can have somebody come out and inspect your home. They will tell you if you have mildew, mold, or water damage in your walls where you can't see it. I agree that you should get a dehumidifier. It might help. Around here, usually we are so dry that people purchase humidifiers instead. I hope you can get rid of the smell.
I'm not sure where you live but if it's not too humid outside I would suggest opening the windows and doors (if you have screens of course) and letting the whole house air out, also you can try this to get rid of the moisture in your air and it's a little cheaper than running a dehumidifier and way cheaper than buying one if you wont' need it often. I keep this stuff in our bathrooms because they are tiny and I also put it in our closets just in case.
I would try mean green for the mildew. I would also try setting out baking soda, it will take the oder(you know like in the refig.) can't think of anything else though
put bounce in closets, frebreeze is great.... stick up smelly things, KWIM I don't know what they are called.
My daughter had some ick shoes and we think that was the cuz because they went out the door and the smell is improving. They were all wet and icky. I also tossed a bunch of old shoes out too. We do have wet spots from when there was ice on the roof and when it started to melt it came inside. Housing isn't to concerned about it. They painted over the spots to make it less nocitable. Still have to tackle one more bathroom. It's not comming off easily. Thinking about the damp rid at least for the bathroom with the tub in it.
I clean mildew with full-strength white vinegar. The kind of mildew that I get on our bathroom ceiling wipes away easily with vinegar. The other suggestion is to buy a can or bottle of odor-neutralizer from an auto parts store, and go crazy with it. If the dry wall is mildewed from the leaking roof, then completely painting the walls and ceilings with KILZ might help. (I'm assuming that they just used regular paint to touch up the bad spots.) I also agree with using a dehumidifier and lots of fans in the windows pulling the air from in the house outside. I hope you find something that works.
Baking soda works wonders when left to sit on the floor for a few hours before vacuuming it. The damp rid stuff also works well. Here in Guam we are mildew/mold/musty central and with my asthma that just doesn't work well for me. Vinegar also works well. If you need to you can put a big dish (like 1 or 2 boxes of baking soda) in the closet and shut the door. Leave it that way for at least a week and the odor's will be gone.
