Damp smell driving me mad

[LiteraryDevil1]

Hi, my mum's house has always had a damp, weird and unpleasant smell to it since she moved in well over 10 years ago. Pretty much the whole house was done up including new bathroom, kitchen, old stone fireplace taken out, new fitted wardrobes in the bedroom, new carpets throughout etc. It still smells and it makes her clothes smell. She leaves windows open, her wardrobe doors open, had a dehumidifier and still the smell remains. Shoes and handbags have gone mouldy in her wardrobes yet damp testing has proved negative. This is causing us to fall out as I can't stand the smell as it sticks to her clothes so I can smell it when she comes round. It makes me feel sick and sets off my asthma as my lungs feel like they partially shut down to prevent me inhaling the smell. I'm out of suggestions as to what she can do about it and she just gets annoyed with me telling me the problem is mine and she can't do anything about it. If things weren't going mouldy then I might accept it was me with the problem but you can't argue with mould and black patches on the walls! It's a distinctive dare I say it, old persons house smell. She's lived in quite a few places but they have never been like this. The house is clean and tidy and well ventilated so I just don't get it. Any suggestions?

Do the windows have condensation on them in the mornings!

In the winter yes

If there’s mould and black patches on the walls it sounds very much like condensation (although I’m no expert).

That's your problem, I had single glazed windows, 8 months of the year my windows were Misty inside, we then got double glazing with tri vents, no more mould and no more Misty windows, when it really cold we may get an inch at the bottom of the windows but that's it. Nothing will cure the problem imo only new windows.

She had new windows. Double glazed.

Following because my mum has the same problem. New furniture, carpets, kitchen, bathroom, double glazed windows, yet still she has damp creeping up the back of the furniture and inside the wardrobe, and a constant damp smell.

I've suggested she spray something like febreeze it similar into her wardrobe to keep things smelling better but she doesn't.

Does she dry clothes indoors ALOT? Does she leave washing up bowls of hot water in the kitchen? When she bathes does she close the bathroom door and then open the window after?
If she does everything right then maybe she needs to get brick vents in the walls. Google it as I've searched for answers to this problem many times and I think these could be the answer. Also does she have roof insulation? Is there a gap around the edges? Apparently you need to leave a gap for the house to breath!

Has she had insulation in the walls between the bricks? If yes this can also cause issues as it stops the house breathing!

This is exactly why we refused the offer of free cavity wall insulation on our house. It might insulate the house and make it warmer but it also causes damp.

Not sure about the insulation but she dries outside even in winter or used the drier..pretty sure there's air bricks.

Has anyone looked under the floor boards?

yes, look under the floorboards

if it is constantly damp, I'd start by looking for a water leak, probably plumbing rather than roof.

Is the kitchen floor concrete?

Is there a water meter?

How old is the house?

Does the kitchen sink drain run to a gulley outside?

Are all rooms equally damp, or is upstairs worse? Or kitchen/bathroom?

It's a bungalow with the adjoining one higher than hers and I think they had a leak which is now fixed. I think they did look under the boards and there was water on the ground but not in recent years.

It's really hard to get rid of the damp in a damp house. I lived in a rented one where things went mouldy in the fitted wardrobes and it was horrible. Moved house and everyfhing is back to normal thankfully, but I did have to give up using the wardrobes other than a few times to allow plenty of space for air flow. Bunched up clothes is no good. Anything leather left untouched anywhere in my house for more than a month or two would go green and furry. If you moved non-fitted wardrobes and looked behind them the wall was thick with fur. These had to be scrubbed down regularly with hg mould spray to minimise. It was vile.

Solutions:

Hg mould spray on mouldy walls or windows.

Dehumidifier in each room/area, run as much as possible .

Wardrobe doors opened every day along with windows open whenever you can bear it. It won't go mouldy if you can ventilate enough, but that can be a real challenge bordering on impossible in a very damp prone house.

Dehumidifier boxes. I bought these in Tesco and they are filled with little beads that absorb moisture. An open box of bicarb or rice in each wardrobe may work just as well to absorb damp and smells (changed as necessary).

Get to the bottom of any leaks etc. Maybe get the water company to re-check the neighbours leak from before? Does she have dampproofing laid?

And the mould spores are terrible for lung disease like asthma, you are not imagining that.

I don't mean normal bricks with holes, there is a company that fit special devices into the wall that filter out the damp.

Ah right, I see. Am seeing my mum tomorrow so will ask her all these questions then. Thanks everyone!

Does she open the windows?
A lot of condensation is caused by how we use our homes, drying clothes inside, cooking without lids and not opening the windows

She keeps the windows open in her room st the time and my dad was a stickler for having them open.

I lived in a place where the upstairs had leaked and it was “all fixed.” It wasn't. Floors were ok, but the water had run down the walls and pooled in places you'd never have expected it.

I had that happen in my own house. By the time the landlord did more than apply new sealant it needed a whole new bathroom. Then he put the rent up

Windows open in her room only is not enough, you need to create a through draft so windows on the other side of the house need to be open at the same time.