Musty bathroom smell

[Mamma27373]

We moved into our house recently and gave the bathrooms a good clean. We barely use the en-suite but when I go in every few days it has developed this strong musty smell. If I open the windows it does dissipate but it comes back.

What can I do? Any recommendations for specific drain cleaners or something that will absorb the smell? I tried leaving out bicarbonate soda but it didn’t help much.

Does it have a fan?
You can get one that runs continously and are almost silent.

It does but it turns on with the light and I don’t want to waste energy rather than tackle the source of the smell.

It’s most likely because it’s rarely used and the smell is coming from stagnant water in the pipes, try one of you using the en-suite shower etc daily and see if that fixes the problem

Thank you! Will try that!

We had this not long after moving into our current house and it turned out to be a slow leak under the bath so I would consider a plumber to check things out if it keeps up.

What flooring is it? Could damp have seeped under or through the floor covering?
I bought a house from a family who had 4 small boys and I suspect both they and the adult male had very poor toilet aim.
I had to strip right back to bare floorboards, wash them with Jeyes fluid and leave to air for many weeks.
a musty smell could be a ‘small’ leak not just a big leak under a bath or shower. Perhaps if previous occupants were careless splashing in front of the sink for example, or traipsing across the floor with wet feet or generally dripping? Is there a lot of water escaping if you use the shower?
other things to check - are there curtains or a blind perhaps?
are Plug holes including shower completely clean?
I’d do a deep clean of them all with drain cleaner to be sure.
previous owners may not have aired it effectively.

Also another thought if not done already give the whole room literally top to bottom a clean (including wiping and rinsing all tiles, the radiator, towel rails etc. there could be various gunk left on them even in small quantities). Hoover the vent from the extractor.