How do we get rid of musty smell in the house?

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Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to get rid of musty smell in the house we have just bought?

The previous owners were elderly and the house has been left empty for 6-7 months.

Thanks

If its carpeted i would replace the carpet if you can. Open windows as much as possible. I assume it probably needs decorating as well - all of those things will freshen up the place. Get rid if any sift furnishings such as curtains too.

We had this in our new house although it did have people living in it!! I had never used them before but I bought a load of those plug in air freshener things. That helped. Then obviously aired the house often (don’t think previous occupants ever did that judging by the black mould around the windows). We have had carpets replaced, done a lot of painting and I could still smell it when we came back from holiday last week. I don’t think ours will be gone until we get our downstairs flooring done and insulated, although of course it depends on the source of the smell. If yours has been vacant for a while it might just be a case of airing and heating the place up again and general cleaning.

It does fade when the house is back to being warm and dry and lived in, but it can take a few weeks. Get any carpets and curtains cleaned and throw the windows open at every opportunity. Also having the heating on for an hour or so in the chilly evenings helps dry out any dampness/fustiness under the floor etc.

Definitely air it out. Also I've heard onions can soak up the smell of paint so it possibly could work for musty smells too. Just cut an onion in half and leave it open but obviously bin after a day so it doesn't go mouldy. Also, lemon and hot water on the hob. Change the carpets. Clean the walls and re paint!

I had this, elderly couple house had not been painted for years, old kitchen etc,

you need to give everything a good clean, sugar soap in the kitchen, paint when possible, get the carpets cleaned and air it out

Onion thing doesn't work 😞

Fresh air, not awful air fresheners which just stink equally as bad

@Kittykatchunjy I would have agreed with you before I bought this house! But goddam the smell was horrendous and I had to do something drastic, the air fresheners were better than I expected although wouldn’t use them once the smell has gone.

We bought a house that was empty for a similar length of time. What worked for us was :

Shake n vac all the carpets (carpet cleaner would probably have been even better)
Wash all the curtains
Air the house loads in the day and then run heating in the evening

Use a dehumidifier while the heating was on to get the damp out

Zoflora solution on any hard floors and put neat zoflora down all the plugholes

We didn't use air fresheners and the smell went fairly quickly once the ohsue was being lived in.

Deep cleaning, including carpets and soft furnishings eg curtains, rugs
Daily and consistent airing of the house

Wash the ceiling and walls down with sugar soap.
Don't forget places like behind the radiators.

All of what everyone else says. But when the smell still didn’t go in our house we had the kitchen ripped out (when we pinpointed the smell to there) and under the floor was completely rotten and giving off that dank old village hall smell. So if the above tips don’t work (I tried everything including boiling lemons on the hob too) then it might be something more in the fabric of the house.

Also my friend bought a house from a heavy smoker and had to get all the walls and ceilings stripped back and replastered in addition to ditching all carpets etc and swears that she can still smell the smoke when it rains or when she returns from being away.

Deep clean and open the windows , especially if it's a bit chilly and windy. Cold air seems to be better than warm air imo.

Open the windows and leave them open for as long as you can stand to get a big draft through. Change the carpets if you can or get them deep cleaned. If there are curtains left wash those too.

Wash all the hard floors with vinegar and hot water with a few drops of essential oil.

Put a big pot of 50/50 white vinegar and water on to boil with your favorite spice or citrus peel in it ( cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, star anise, rosemary, bay leaves orange and lemon peel) and let it boil and steam and then set it down in every room, once it cools, boil it again and change room. It will smell vinegary at first but will then dissipate and leave a clean smell.

You'll be cold for a few days but you really need to air everything out with the windows open as wide and as long as possible.

When you put the heating on add a few drops of your favorite essential oil directly to the radiator surface.

I'm not normally a bleach fan but I'd also pour thick bleach down all the drains and loos and let sit overnight.