Partners home smells musty

[Leoliving]

Hi,

I’ve moved in with my partner and he’s not the most domesticated. This has been a struggle as I was taught to clean from a young age and I’m generally very house proud. He’s never been shown how to properly clean things so I’ve shown him how to do certain things. He’s been very receptive and is a lot better now. He’s not a slob per se but has slobbish tendencies which are thankfully improving after living alone for some years. His home tends to get dusty which aggravates my allergies. He also wasn’t properly ventilating by opening windows as he didn’t want his pet to escape. Pet is no longer with us so the animal smell has gone but there’s a musty odour that persists. We’re going to do a deep clean this week so I was wondering if there’s anything in particular we can do to get rid of it once and for all and quickly? I really don’t like the smell and it clings to my clothes and hair. We’ve cleaned the carpet and the sofa and I’ve bought a steamer in the hope that will help. Also going to get a second dehumidifier for downstairs as we dry clothes indoors due to no garden. I’ve checked and there’s no mould. Any tips would be greatly appreciated

For anyone else that wants to comment negative things about him. Can I just say this is the happiest relationship I’ve ever been in. This is a man that makes me feel loved, beautiful and safe every day. He’s not quick to anger, he’s ambitious and family oriented. He didn’t know how to clean properly before he met me but he’s come on leaps and bounds. This is our only hiccup. I’d much rather have this issue than some of the ones I see people post about on here. And for the last time he has always shown a willingness to learn, he’s gotten better and he doesn’t treat me like a domestic slave. Hope that helps

Bicarbonate of soda absorbs smells. I know you cleaned the carpets but I would try sprinkling that over it and leaving for as long as you can manage before vacuuming it up. You can also just leave some in a pot on a shelf somewhere to absorb it.
It works on my manky running shoes so is worth a try.

Why did you even post this @Leoliving ? You don't seem to want to hear ANYthing negative said about your bloke, and yet clearly he does have some unpleasant and negative traits, like all men! (and women to be honest.)

None of us are perfect, and your bloke clearly has hygiene issues that you are concerned with, or you would not have posted this thread. People are free to say it's a dealbreaker, and they couldn't date him, and it's so annoying how men don't see dirt and muck, and that they say 'cleaning is not one of their strengths' etc.

All you are doing now is singing his praises and making out he is a God.

What on earth was the point of the thread???

As previous posters have said, this sounds like the tip of the iceberg. I think much deeper rooted issues will surface eventually, and him having a musty smelling house, and poor hygiene will be the least of your worries.

What on earth was the point of the thread???

Err to get cleaning tips??????

OP, good luck with the musty smell and congrats on finding a lovely man. Ignore the relationship police.

Jesus Christ. So many assumptions and you know what they say about that. The point of the thread was to get cleaning tips! I don’t need or want relationship advice and I’m well within my rights to defend my partner from unfair criticism. He’s not a god, he’s a normal bloke that didn’t know much about cleaning beyond spraying a bit of bleach here and there. There are no other issues. I’m so sick of people assuming things and pushing a negative narrative when all i asked was how to get rid of a persistent smell. We did a big clean about a week ago but it’s still there so I want to know how to get rid of it. I’ve had some good advice on how to do that so keep your venom to yourself. This isn’t AIBU and I’m not going to keep quiet so you can keep projecting. I’m assuming that’s why you’re making so many assumptions about people you’ve never met

Did he or does he smoke cannabis ( no judgement) I have a friend who smokes it a lot and his place always smells musty and so do his clothes.
Deep clean tips wet clean everything down, don’t dust as it just throws the particles in the air. Open all windows as much as you can for a few days ( wear jumpers) move furniture where possible away from the walls for these days. Once furniture put back then then open the windows a bit each day if possible.
soft furnishings are the worst wash everything you can , big stuff take to laundrette, if it can’t be washed consider replacing even a bit at a time if can’t afford to do it all at once. Professionally carpet cleaning rather than washing yourself, it sucks way more water out of the carpet.
Declutter if you have stuff lying about its going to be harder to keep clean, vacumn pack seasonal clothes and bedding once washed to keep it fresh. If you don’t have outside space to hang up your washing, do you have family or a friend nearby so you could go round and use space on their lines/ whirly to hang up the bigger stuff.
Dehumidifier is great for helping to dry small things inside.
Declog all drains sinks, showers and washing machine.
If it persists after after all that and a deep general clean you may have an actual damp problem.

This thread is incredible.

I'm glad my OH didn't place cleaning high on his list of attributes when he was first seeing me!

Honestly OP ignore the assessment of your relationship ' via cleaning ' on here.

I'd go at everything fabric. Clean, wash or replace , refresh.

Freshen paint.

Windows open regularly.

Dehumidifier when they're closed.

Smells also cling to clutter.

Don't layer on Febreze it just smells worse.

Oh and your partner doesn’t sound rubbish and you should keep him. My DH was a bit useless when it came to housework when I first met him, an over indulgent mum. Guess what at the start I had to tell him what needed doing and he did it. Now he just sees what needs doing and does it, I had a couple of big operations last year and he did all the housework for weeks on end. He does about 90% of the cooking as well. The washing machine is a bit of a mystery to him so I do that when he is cooking or doing some gardening. According to MN I should have binned him off cause I had to show him how to give the bathroom a good clean right at the start.

He initially said cleaning isn’t one of his strengths but then followed it up with “but i need to learn so please can you show me?” He was very embarrassed and yes I was annoyed he didn’t know as it was instilled in me from a young age. But the willingness to learn won me over. Not once has he pushed back. Surely that should count for something

It counts for nothing unless he gets his own house clean now, and then keeps up with his fair share the of cleaning.

If he was serious he would have learnt from YouTube etc. It's not brain surgery.

I would sprinkle bicarbonate of soda all over the carpets and leave for 24 hours as it absorbs odours naturally- much better than sprays etc which only mask things

I would also hire someone to do a deep
clean

If he was serious he would have learnt from YouTube etc. It's not brain surgery.

Serious about what? No one said its brain surgery.

He didn't care/wasn't interested/other priorities/too busy - pick one.

Because houses can be cleaned, but personality flaws are much harder to fix.

Serious about wanting to clean his home.

Re brain surgery. Do you not understand analogy?

This thread has actually made me laugh out loud, so, a big thank you all the people who are completely missing the point!

Do a deep clean, including all the fabrics.

Then impress on him the importance of opening windows in every room daily, hanging up bath towels (preferably outside) and changing them regularly, airing the bed (pull back the duvet for the day), giving the bins a swill round with disinfectant every week or so.

Also make sure he understands that it is preferable to dry washing outside or in a dryer but if he has to dry indoors to use a decent airer and put it in a small room (windows and doors closed) with a dehumidifier running.

If he recognises the issue and is willing to learn I don't think you have the issues people are saying you do. In my capacity as a director of a freehold company for our block of flats I am astonished at the amount of grown adults who do not understand the need to air properties daily (we often have complaints of condensation which 99% of the time turn out to be inadequate ventilation).

Re brain surgery. Do you not understand analogy?m

🙄

Jeez the woman is looking for cleaning hacks etc not relationship advice! 🤣🤣

Jeez the woman is looking for cleaning hacks etc not relationship advice! 🤣🤣

Omg this!

Well this thread has taken a turn for the worse!

Re: "we just need to do a deep clean", I'm willing to bet that's not enough and you need to replace soft furnishings/mattress/sofa as I said before. Might as well just bite the bullet and buy new rather than go through the palaver of cleaning, realising it's not enough and then buying new.

Has he got a lot of old books? We brought a load of books in from the garage and they made the rooms smell very musty.

Once everything is cleaned (including carpets and curtains) look out for signs of damp. It could be rising damp, guttering, insulation issues, etc.

As it is summer you should be able to air it really well and then see where any signs appear of there are any more.

Also air the house for along time then when you close the windows again look to see if the smell returns to particular places first.

Place smells musty = LTB