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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Why does my room smell?

28 replies

sunshine244 · 22/01/2026 09:45

Every early spring to late summer my bedroom starts smelling. Not a horrendous smell but a relatively strong whiff of musty type smell. It's really obvious when you first walk in but once in for a while you don't notice it much. I got the first whiff of the year today even though its only January, but it was a warm day.

My room is an attic room. Old stone building but in good condition. New carpets, it's definitely not the bed or other furniture. I've tried sniffing around and other have too. Everyone can smell it but there's no obvious source. No known issues with birds, bats, rats etc and no unusual sounds. No damp, no mould.

There's obviusly no loft but there are eaves running both sides the whole length of the top floor. Both sides have cupboards at the opposite end of the house and there's no smell in there (although i can't get to the far end due to no flooring). The smell is only in my room. It's definitely not me because it's actually worse if we're away for a week (probably because the room doesn't get aired) nor does it happen elsewhere. The room doesn't go to a point so there's a small roof space at the top but this will also run the whole length of the house. The corridor outside the room doesn't smell at all.

Could smell be coming through from next door? It seems unlikely because the walls are thick. Next door is quite run down and can often see condensation in the windos but I've never been inside.

Help - I've tried all sorts of cleaners, sprays etc and it comes back every year.

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 25/01/2026 18:30

Damp can absolutely travel through stone walls - this video is quite useful in explaining how that kind of thing can happen:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFXFo-RB_iw

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 25/01/2026 18:35

Weirdly I saw a post on FB about this from nethuns. There were 3 plants that were good at removing mustiness and damp - spider plant, Japanese peace Lily and one more... Might be worth a Google?

AndSoFinally · 26/01/2026 07:19

We had this. It was due to damp and would smell on warm days as it started to dry out. Stopped after we had some tiles on the roof replaced.

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