My new house smells

[Summerhillsquare]

It just honks. Sort of musty, unwashed body smell. What can I do? So far I have had the carpets cleaned, taken down the curtains to wash/dispose and dusted and sprayed all hard surfaces. This has improved things a fair bit but I can still smell it. The weird thing is the bathroom smells worst of all!

will it just go away with time? Will I get used to it? All tips appreciated.

We had this with an old flat - there was a subtle but definite musty smell in the ground floor bathroom. After around 6 months of this we found (quite by accident) that we had a slowly-dripping pipe under the bath, and that a small area of the floor boards had started to rot. I’d suggest investigating thoroughly to see if anything is wet

But how long have you lived there? Mine smelled of unwashed hair for a few weeks, then went away after lots of airing and cleaning/painting. I did worry I'd simply got used to the smell but trusted visitors have told me it's gone.

Could be your radiators? Have you washed them down? Mine seemed to bring the smell out worse.

Well shower and sink drains have been treated. Washing down radiators next.

Put bowls of baking soda in each room, keep any DC or pets away from it, baking soda sucks up smells.
Could it be coming from the drains?Put soda crystals (Tesco and Morrison's) around every plughole, build like a circle around the edges then go into the middle so you have a pyramid, pour a whole kettle of boiling water and wash the crystals down the plughole, might need to do it a couple of times

Years ago people used to cut an onion in half, it was supposed to absorb the smell. No idea if it works and you would probably need a few onions round the house.

That's a brilliant tip.

My money is that there is/has been a leak in the bathroom and what you can smell is damp wood behind the tiles.

My MIL’s house smells. Our clothes have a musty smell when we leave. We were wondering about possible damp. After a discreet conversation with her neighbours (who have just sold so I wondered whether their buyer’s survey had identified any possible damp issues - the houses have suspended floors), we were told she NEVER opens her windows even in Summer as she doesn’t like insects. I know it’s still cold but maybe try opening all windows in the house as frequently as you can.

I think I have this exact problem. The question is, who will fix it? A handyman or a plumber?

@PutMyFootIn plumber first to fix leak. Then carpenter or handyman to fix damage.

Op I think I’d investigate. Is it musty? Is it in the bathrooms mainly? Is it just an odd smell? My mothers place smells and I’m sure it’s the carpets. Which are new but laid down really cheaply with no underlay and probably cleaned with some horrible stuff. She won’t change the carpets but until she does I just can’t stay there the smell is just too much!

If the smell is coming from the bathroom, you most probably have an issue with a water leak somewhere. Bleaching and cleaning isn't going to fix it.

Can anyone else smell it? When we moved into our house, I thought it smelt terrible. DH couldn’t smell anything. Turned out I was pregnant!

It smelt of unwashed bodies, frankly. I think the previous occupant was a bit of a minger 😱

I've had the bath panel off, was dusty but dry. Now vacuumed. Drain cleaner used. And it's vastly improved - either that or I have gone nose blind.

Thanks everyone!

We used old paint that had gone off in the tin (who knew?) Anyway, we eventually painted over it with gloss paint and it took the smell away

Update - it was penetrating damp! Water bouncing back from the paving over years had damaged the mortar, so it soaked through eventually. Re-pointing and taking up slabs.

Interesting… how did you identify the source of the problem in the end?