Why does my flat smell?

[Florabritannica]

My flat is on the ground floor of a three-storey Victorian terrace conversion. Despite being newly decorated, with new curtains and no carpets, it has a permanent musty smell - a bit like potting compost. What can I do about it?

Damp?

Try a dehumidifier?
A fancy dyson air purifier?

Mold.

Check for damp.

I don’t think it’s damp but it could be. Dyson purifier ££££ but may be worth trying a dehumidifier.

Do you air your flat by opening windows regularly?

I did have a survey done before I bought it - wouldn’t that have picked up damp?

Damp or mould

I would think it could be damp.
Check stuff on outside walls for mould. Make sure you allow air circulation. Consider a dehumidifier.

Other thoughts are if you have a food waste container, or open fireplace(s)

Yes a survey should have picked up damp. I bought an air putifier from Amazon for around £30, you don't have to spend loads of money.

What sort of flooring and sub-flooring? I had a problem in a former flat of mine where laminate had been laid onto a new concrete screed which hadn’t dried sufficiently and began to smell damp after I moved in. Had to take it all up and have industrial driers brought in. Are you able to lift a small patch of the floor and test what’s underneath with a moisture metre?

Alternatively, do you have cavity walls and internal air vents? In my current house after heavy rain I can occasionally smell a musty, earthy sort of smell at the side of the living room nearest the vent, which is basically the musty air in the cavity.

Or do you have a chimney breast? Does it have a working fireplace or a fireplace which has been blocked off and sealed (or in your case, perhaps not correctly blocked off and sealed?)

Ground floor Victorian terrace definitely sounds like it’s going to be damp. Sorry. The survey should have picked it up, yes, but we found out when we moved in that we had a damp problem that the survey had missed…

The smell is in the communal hall as well. I’m reasonably confident about the floors as I had new wooden flooring put down in the bedroom (where the smell is worst) and the rest of the flat is boards.
I hadn’t thought of chimney breasts though. There are three in the flat. It’s entirely possible that they’re the source of the problem. I’ll have a look when I get home.
Sometimes I really love Mumsnet!

If it’s also in the ground floor communal hallway, do you know if there’s a cellar or crawl-space underneath the property? As with cavity walls, the air down there will be dank and musty and can seep up through gaps between walls and floors or skirting and so on. The underfloor insulation or boards might need repairing.

This all makes it sound as though I’ve lived in a whole succession of period properties with a slight random musty smell… and alas, this is the case! It’s never been actual damp or mould, fortunately.

How do you dry and air your laundry?

What sort of bathroom extractor do you use?

I don’t live there permanently so I take my laundry away with me.
Bathroom extractor: very noisy fan on outside wall.

Pretty sure the fan can easily be improved. Please post some pics. They usually have a 4 inch/100mm diameter duct through the wall, and an 8 inch/200mm square casing inside.

Does it come on with the light switch and have a run-on timer?