Fusty smell in new house

[RoxieLoxy]

Our new house (new to us but built about 1960) has a strange smell which is ok once we are in it (I guess we get used to it) but when we leave our hair smells of it.

It isn't actually a horrible smell. It's kind of a dusty vaguely perfumed smell. Not unpleasant but not great either.

What could it be? I've cleaned the floors and there are no carpets. The shower room smells a bit damp but doesn't have external windows and we had a level 3 survey so I think damp is unlikely.

Does anyone have any ideas please?

Bed bugs?

Have you been up in the loft?
Does it smell most on rooms with fitted furniture which could have mould behind it?
When did you move in? Have you had the windows open to air it fully?

Ghosts?

Glad it's not just me who read the post and immediately (rather unhelpfully) thought that's clearly a dead old lady ghost smell 😆

I have a piece of furniture made of camphor, and it seems to impregnate everything with the smell of moth balls.

Could it be wood or wood treatment? Any panelling?

Cockroaches smell dusty/ weird.
Not unpleasant but noticeable

Eek definitely doesn't seem a ghosty house 😀

Hmm wondering about wood treatment now. It does remind me of a kind of polish/paint smell actually. I'll check in the loft too.

Thanks everyone.

How long have you been there? Only as each house has its own smell
And with time, cleaning, your own stuff, if you use reed diffusers etc it should pick up your scent

My house had a weird smell when I moved in - not quite damp but in that neighbourhood).

It is only 20 years old and no damp. It lingered for a while. Having the windows open and the carpets cleaned helped a bit. It didn’t completely disappear until I redid the en-suite - I think it might have been the old lino (that is now beautifully tiled🥰).

Sorry may have been helpful to say that we're not living there yet (long story) so it's empty. I haven't aired it for very long yet but when I have had doors/windows open the smell comes back after. I was thinking that because we can smell the slightly fusty smell in our hair when we leave, it must be kind of 'in the air' and so more than just the previous peoples' house smell?

I haven't a clue really but am very sensitive to smells (DH hasn't noticed it) and a bit paranoid about chemicals etc so it's really getting to me. I don't want my DCs breathing in dodgy air when we are there. I think that's what bothering me the most.

I've just moved and located a musty smell that I am livid about - took off the bath panel as it was cracked and needed replacing and there was an overflowing washing up bowl of water wedged under the bath at the tap end catching a very slow leak. No amount of survey would have picked that up and now I have more work than I thought to do on the bathroom.

Ours was genwral minor neglect n by the time we laid new flooring, removed carpets, painted the place and had the windows and doors open, the house smell went away over a couple of months I think houses just absorb the smell of the people living there so I'm sure yours will be the same.

Has it been repainted @RoxieLoxy

I don't think so @justasking111. I think the odd bit where a picture had been might have been filled in and painted over but that's all.

@Tocktocknearlybedtime. DH says give it a month or two of us living there and it may go. Fingers crossed.

Did the previous residents leave carpets and curtains behind for you? If so, it might be worth getting a firm in to clean the carpets, and I think some do curtain as well. If not, the curtains could go to the dry cleaners. Maybe that might help.

Hire a wet vac and deep clean all the carpets is my first thing in a new house.

There aren’t carpets people lol

Do check for bedbugs in crevices as they smell sweet and musty.

Wash floors down with dilute vinegar.

Leave a dehumidifier running but you will have to empty regularly.

Hopefully once ur in and the heating is on the smells will dissipate.

We are all just trying to help. None of us have any idea what the source of the smell is - you included!

Thanks everyone, I do appreciate all the help! Had lots of ideas from you all.

I actually wish there were carpets as then it might explain it!

I'm going to buy a dehumidifier today, thanks. I'll check for bed bugs although the whole place visually looks very clean. Will try vinegar on the floors.

Only other thing I can think of is sealing some of the untreated wood in the house with a varnish or something. Wondering if smells have soaked in to it over time.

Any soft furnishings at all in there, bin them - curtains, blinds, furniture etc.

Wash every surface including the walls and ceilings.

Are you doing work there before you move in?

You didn't mention burning it down 😂😂

Being empty is actually a major part of this. You need to live in it, your own furniture etc, heated properly and it will dissipate, your husband is right.

When I move into a new place it always smells funny for a few weeks. Give it time and just clean and air it normally for a while, before jumping to spending loads of money to fix it.

Ours still smells after 10 years. We had a small leak behind the bath. And as the bathroom window is open pretty much always, a draft sometimes comes down to the front door. So every time we came in the house it smelt musty. The same draft can pull the back drain wafts and what not occasionally. I have washed every floor, wall and ceiling in the house.

The other horrible smell that sometimes creeps is just normal damp/condensation, through poor air circulation that usually kicks in when it gets very cold. Smells a bit like onions. I hate that smell.

But as yours is a pleasant smell. Woods generally smell good unless they are treated or something like camphor! I'd certainly think twice before varnishing.

If it was yucky, I'd check chimneys/crawl spaces for dead things. There were two rats in the attic when we moved in. And the smell was unbelievable.