How to Get Rid of a Mysterious Bad Smell in Your House
If your whole house has a bad smell or even just doesn't have that clean smell we all love, your first line of defense might be to invest in scented candles for every room or arm yourself with a can of deodorizer. But the only way to truly stop odors in their tracks is to seek out their source.
Left unchecked, a single room’s stinky problem could permeate your entire home. Here’s a list—though not exhaustive—of common reasons why there's a bad smell in your house, and what to do to fix it, as well as stop it from happening again.
In the Kitchen
No wonder why the kitchen is often ground zero for an entire smelly house—spoiled food stinks to high heaven.
Dirty dishes shouldn’t be left to pile up in your sink or dishwasher, and don’t keep leftovers for too long in the fridge. Your kitchen trash should also be taken out often, especially right before vacation or a work trip to avoid an unpleasant homecoming. (By the way, when’s the last time you cleaned the trash can itself?)
If your refrigerator and trash are clean, your garbage disposal might be making your whole house smell. There could be food stuck in the gears or, worse, bacteria could be growing.
Citrus peels are an easy DIY hack for cleaning your garbage disposal, but you could also call in a pro to see if it’s working properly in the first place.
DIY or Pro? Clean up your kitchen and garbage disposal; call a pro if the latter is acting up.
In the Bathroom
There’s good reason for so many bathroom air fresheners on the market, but they can’t help you when your bathroom is stinking up the whole house. If the smell is above and beyond, consider the following:
Rotten egg smell. Your sewer or septic tank could be backed up. Disaster isn’t always imminent, but it’s worth a call to the relevant pros to get it checked out.
Damp, musty smell. Do you have a habit of leaving wet towels or sweaty workout clothes on the floor? Well, stop it! Air dry towels properly between uses, and don’t leave it in a hamper wet. Same goes for sweaty clothes. You might consider using a small hamper just for post-workout gear so they don’t get lost among—and stink up—your other laundry.
DIY or Pro? Leave sewer and septic issues to the pros; only you can reform your daily habits and stop creating hospital environments for mold and mildew.
In the Laundry Room
Front-loading washers make it easier to remove wet clothing after a wash cycle. But they also make it easy for mold to grow in the door’s rubber gasket and other nooks. And yes, the smell of a molder washer could eventually stink up your entire house.
After a wash cycle, keep the door open to dry it out. Inspect and clean the washing machine itself, checking the gasket and around the fabric softener/detergent dispenser for gunk. Monthly, toss in a cleaner tablet or make a DIY washing machine cleanser with vinegar, baking soda, and bleach and run it for a cleaning cycle or two.
DIY or Pro? If cleaning out the washing machine doesn’t do it, call an appliance pro for service.
In the Utility Room and Vents
An odor might start in your utility room or crawl space, but it can become a whole-house stink through the ductwork and vents.
Don’t be too alarmed if that rotten egg aroma wafts from your gas-powered furnace when you first fire it up for the season—it’s just the dust burning off that accumulated during non-use.
But if the heat’s off for the season and you’re sensing something foul in the air, it could be coming from the vents. If you have high humidity levels or have had water damage recently, mold spores could be growing in the ductwork. Or—sometimes worse—you could have animals living in your vents. Either way, call in the appropriate pro—an HVAC pro or a pest control company—to fix the problem.
DIY or Pro? Never take any issue with major home systems lightly. If you suspect a gas leak, report it to your utility provider right away. Call a mold remediator or a pest control expert if you think mold or pests have gotten into your vents.
What Causes the Rotten Egg Smell in a House?
The rotten egg smell occasionally emitted from gas-powered appliances is the sulfur in the mercaptan, an organic blend that also contains carbon and hydrogen. Natural gas is odorless in its raw state and therefore can pose a risk, so the very smelly mercaptan is to help our noses better detect the presence of natural gas.
When the Odor is Everywhere—And You Still Don’t Know Why
Deep cleaning your house from top to bottom is never a bad idea, but it might only be a temporary fix. To avoid all that work only to have the rankness return, consider these potential causes for an entirely smelly home:
Pets
We love our animal companions, but it’s easy to become noseblind to them. If they have free range of the house and you haven’t groomed or bathed them recently, now’s the time.
You’ll also want to do the following:
Wash and replace any of their bedding and toys
Ensure pet food containers are completely sealed
Vacuum couches and other furniture
Launder area rugs and steam clean wall-to-wall carpets
High Humidity
Humidity could contribute to the general mustiness you detect in your whole house. But if the odor is getting stronger or worse, triggering headaches or allergic reactions, mold could be afoot.
If a dehumidifier can’t bring down the humidity levels, call in a professional mold remediator for an air quality check. If mold is detected, your immediate course of action is to blast it out at the source.
Read Next: How to Make Your House Smell Good All the Time
Read the original article on The Spruce.
