Musty smell in bedroom….help!

[MinnieGirl]

We be just moved into a 1960s semi-detached bungalow. Needs a bit of updating but nothing major and the area etc is fabulous. But in my bedroom, there was a musty smell from the moment we moved in. There are fitted wardrobes along the unattached side and i thought it might be damp. But no signs of damp, the backs of the wardrobes aren’t black or warped. We’ve opened the windows every day for the whole day, washed out the wardrobes and the left the doors open for 48 hours to air, and the smell is a lot better. But I’ve just opened the wardrobe to put away some clothes and there again is a faint musty smell… so what do i do now? We know a teenage boy was using that room, and probably didn’t open the window or worry about leaving damp towels etc around. Is it just a case of ventilating the room and keeping the wardrobe doors open for a while? Any suggestions gratefully received.

What sort of smell is it? Damp musty or dirty sock under the bed for six months musty? Does the room have carpet down? Not to judge but teenage boys can be a bit gross. Is there a nook or cranny that something could be hiding in, for example is the base of the wardrobe the floor or is it raised slightly with a void underneath?

I once rented a flat with an annoying smell in the living room that turned out to be what I can only describe as an invisible stain on the carpet that you couldn't see. It was my boyfriend who found it when walking barefoot and said the carpet felt different. A go with our spot cleaner pulled up something funky and the smell along with it.

Are the wardrobes on an exterior wall? It could be a bit of damp that you can’t see if they are built in. It would be caused by condensation. If this is the issue, you are already on the right lines with increasing ventilation through opening windows and the wardrobe doors, a dehumidifier may help too, in the end, the answer might be to remove the built in wardrobes and have furniture that can have an air gap behind it.

Congratulations on your move. What sort of flooring is down? Could it be damp underneath the carpet or flooring? I’m guessing a survey would have picked up anything major.
If you think it’s the wardrobes you could try some of the hanging dehumidifiers and maybe some good old fashioned lavender bags for a while.
Are there ventilation vents in the room?

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It’s a musty smell rather than dirty. And i totally agree about teenage boys! There is carpet on the floor so we are going to deep clean that but of course that will temporarily add more moisture to the room….
The wardrobes are in an outside wall, and that’s what worries me. There is no black in the inside and no distortion and it doesn’t smell like mould, just very musty. I had the wardrobe doors open for about three days when we moved in to give them a decent air, but yesterday the smell was back, although not as bad…
No ventilation vents and the wardrobes have been there a while… i would hate to have to remove them as we would then need to completely redecorate and have new flooring etc not to mention the cost of furniture… but if i have to…
i have those disposable dehumidifiers in the wardrobe already so hopefully they will help

we have the exact same problem. In a 1960s semi detached bungalow! I think ours is the floor.

If you haven't replaced the carpet id say it was that. Good luck with the house it sounds nice

i wonder if there was once a cat or dog scent marking in there.

id get one of those £3 odds black lights from ebay or whatever that shines a purple light on carpets and walls etc and if any cat or dog pee is around.

if so you will see it go luminous greeny-yellow and can concentrate on it and clean it up with an enzyme cleaner. white dust and rugs etc look a bit doubtful but when you see the pee youll see the difference!

defo hire a carpet cleaner once you have the black light so you can see where to concentrate.

I’m going to clean the carpet and see if that makes a difference…

It might well be. But there is definitely a smell coming from the inside of the wardrobe. One in particular. I personally think it’s lack of ventilation.

They did have a cat and the living room carpet had cat pee smell on it which we’ve cleaned and it’s a lot better. Need to re clean it but we are getting there… this is not a cat smell it’s definitely a musty smell. Hubby has just said he noticed it when we viewed and thought I didn’t mind so didn’t bother to say anything…🫣I didn’t smell it and wouldn’t have bought it if I had…. Bloody idiot.

We had a bit of improvement by repainting the render! We used the best masonry paint we could find!

We have small hygrometers in every room and the humidity in the problem area has most definitely fallen by 8% since repainting.

Only £2 each off Amazon or eBay! Sorry I forgot to mention this earlier.

Have you tried putting lots of bowls of bicarb of soda in there? I was dubious but it really does soak up the smell. That and lots of airing.

before you just clean the carpet, check the underlay isn't rotten underneath. You can just replace the affected underlay , then clean the carpet. Shameless plug, but you can hire all you need from us