House doesn't smell fresh. Ever.

[retreatingheadlights]

I clean my mum's bungalow top to bottom weekly and hoover most days. It never smells fresh when I walk in. There's an odour that I can't put my finger on. Like unwashed clothes or bedding except they are washed regularly. I change the bed every other week as there's only mum in it. The duvet is a couple of years old and looks new. New pillows. Mum showers every other day and washes her hair. The rubbish is put out every day that I'm here which is 4-5 days a week. She's not incontinent. It's a little bit old person house smell but not quite.
I've put Zoflora on the radiators this morning and did it at the beginning of the week too. It's not the drains. It's not the carpets and the windows are opened daily.
It's driving us mad and upsetting mum that her house smells.
Any ideas what it could be and how to fix it?

Does she keep the house warm? Or does the home run cold?

I agree with pp, get a carpet cleaner in (sofas too if fabric) and wash the machine. She may need a new machine. My washer wasn't cleaning my clothes properly and they had a musty smell. New one fixed the issue.
Also check the drains are all clear outside. Smells can back up the pipes into the house.

It is actually chilly despite the thermostat being on 20. The heating comes on at 7am and I get here between 9.30 and 11am usually and the rooms are only 16/17 degrees. She does tend to not close doors though. I've turned the boiler up now to see if they helps.

It might if it's a general damp smell. Condensation and the damp that follows might just be slowly undoing all your work in the background.

Get a new dehumidifier. Ours is amazing.

Bi carb everything fabric then hoover.. followed by using a carpet cleaner.

old unwashed clothes in the wardrobe? Towels not dried properly? A mop head that needs changing? Unwashed coats hanging in the entrance?

I run holiday lets and sources of weird smells have included: mould on the backs of bedside tables (caused by condensation), a pipe embedded in a wall leaking into a cupboard, slight water ingress into a roof space which soaked a ceiling but no visible damage for a while until it started bowing, a musty mop, a damp cloth left at the back of a cupboard, a dead mouse, dog wee on a rug, a fridge drain (the hole at the back inside the fridge which goes to a collection container), spilled milk dried behind a fridge door shelf and missed by the cleaners. Agree with a pp, if you have a sensitive sense of smell then go through the house methodically trying to work out where the smell is strongest. If it's a damp smell then some kind of slow leak or condensation build up is the most likely cause. Check for damp patches near plumbing, check the roof isn't leaking and look behind furniture for condensation and mould.

Sounds like your damp and condensation issue then from your most recent update. The dehumidifier needs to run all the time not just when drying clothes indoors.

I was in a rental property for 7 years and it always had a weird nursing home combined with leftover food smell, despite my stringent efforts to keep it clean. No amount of opening windows, carpet shampooing, bleaching drains made any difference. Cooking smells lingered for days, washing never smelled nice. I remember someone saying to me that I smelled of my house, which even made me wonder if I was the problem! I moved to a newer house and honestly the difference was amazing, it always smelled clean/fresh and I think it must have been the carpets in the previous house. I actually cleaned a lot less in the new house and it always looked/smelled better.

Could it be a pipe or radiator with a slow leak. If it was in a corner or behind furniture you might not notice.

She probably should keep her thermostat on 16 overnight too (turning her bedroom rad off if she likes a cooler bedroom). The house is taking ages to warm up and staying at a low temp will cause damp.

Bless her.

Sniff the carpets, if it’s not that does she have the heating on? How is drying washing?

Is your mum a natural-fabrics-only snob? If not, it could be the smell of aging polyester (aka charity shop smell). It'll whiff even if washed.

Check the drain at the back of the fridge. My sons house was really pongy and we couldn't find the answer, turns out it was that.

Persimmon soap is supposed to get rid of old people smell even if your mum doesn’t need it might it make difference?

I don't think you can dismiss damp like that if you want to get to the bottom of this.

Also roots of houseplants

Damp carpet or underlay?

Hidden damp/mould, have you checked underneath the carpet? Under the sofas on their base?
Or there is a dead rodent curled up somewhere, but I'd bet it is hidden mould.

MIL's home is the same (and agree it's really not pleasant) - I concluded it's probably nonenal ('old person') odour having found articles online that explain it.

At what age does this "old person odour" appear? I was born in the 80s 😂 Is there no chemical known to man that will eradicate such an aroma?

It's upsetting me to realise that it is actually old person smell which she says she's wheats been keen to avoid. I've been away for a week and it smelt so bad when I walked in. It's a faintly sweet, stale, sicky smell like fleece when it needs washing. It's quite powerful when she dries her hair yet it's been washed. I don't know what to suggest but it makes me not want to visit due to my sensory issues.

My parents' house can smell like this, sometimes more than others. It started when they got to their 80s and I don't know any older folk that don't have a bit of a niff. I clearly remember the smell of my Nan's house and my parents is the same. I agree, its not nice. 🤢

Try reed diffusers and plug ins, plus febreze and opening more windows.

For yourself, try a bit of Vicks under your nose or a dab of Olbas oil on your neckline.

PS, it doesn't help that sometimes mum has bowel issues so imagine that both 😂😂😂🤢🤢🤢