HELP!! House smells like sweaty pits after using heating....

[lucysmam]

The house is freezing at 4am when dp gets up for work so we've had the heating on then, and for an hour before I go to bed on a night for the past week ....

I noticed in the living room yesterday & now upstairs too this morning that it smells

I think the damp in the house might be contributing but it's rented so at mercy of LL as to whether that's sorted pretty much (not likely, they've done exactly nothing in nearly five years about the state of the place ) [we are saving to move, there just isn't much spare ]

Other than airing the house through the day when it isn't so cold, any idea what else might help with the smell?

I did debate plug in's but have a feeling the two smells will mingle and become worse.

How about bicarb? or something else that absorbs smells maybe?

tyvm

Slightly aside from your question - is the damp a result of the LL not keeping the structure/exterior in repair? No expert here, but as I understand it they would be liable to fix it which in turn should help the damp problem. You can also contact Environmental Health if there are problems with this (eg refuse/neglect to do the work). The LL should also be making sure that the hot water and heating are working properly. What does your tenancy agreement say?

A bit more on track, we lived in a rented property which had some damp issues, we dealt with a managing agency who were pretty useless (long other story). However in the end they agreed to provide a dehumidifier - they had several for helping to dry out walls after work was done - I was amazed at how much water it drew out. I know they're not cheap, but it could help, or perhaps you could get one second hand or even from your LL.

We also aired out the house each day and tried not to contribute to the moisture indoors, eg using extractor fans, drying things outside. I'd started using a hair dryer due to the cold (had been natural drying before) but found it contributed to the moisture hugely, so bought a cheap microfibre hair towel in a pound shop (still using it 3 years on!). Even went so far as to stop using the hob and everything went in the oven or microwave (the property was in a really bad way though, didn't realise until we moved in as they'd hidden it all ). We tried moisture traps but they were a bit rubbish, the dehumidifier was great.

At the time I did use plug-ins, the Febreze ones, tbh they made the place smell really nice. When we were leaving and the agents came to note what needed doing before putting the flat on the rental market again, they commented on how nice it smelled! no thanks to you...

yep, they're liable to sort it....they already know this but we had a two year fight to get a new boiler fitted when the old one packed up. Had to involve council then but even with their help it took sooooo long.

I'll have a look at the febreeze plug in's as as quick fix for now. Dp is off to play hell with agent tomorrow about various issues with the house (it's falling to bits around us!) and see if he can get them shifting...we shall see

I read a tip on here just yesterday. Wiping fabric conditioner on your radiators apparently makes your house smell nice. Haven't tried it myself yet but might be worth a try.

it might be that the carpets are damp and drying out, in which case keeping the windows open to let fresh air in will dissipate it. Pad the carpet all over with your hands to feel for any wet patches, often near leaking radiators and windows, and turn it back at edges in case you have a damp concrete floor, and sniff it.