How to Get Rid of Musty Odors in Your Home Using Natural Methods

One of the worst things that can happen in a home is for bad smells to permeate the air. Sometimes, the culprits of these odors are difficult to find. Here are some tips to help you find and get rid of those malodorous smells in your home.

Mustiness is one of the worst smells a home can have. It will usually be coming from moisture in a closet or basement. The best solution is to dry it out, obviously. It may be difficult to do this, though. Open the doors and windows wide. If there are dressers in the closet that may also be holding moisture, take them outside. Take the drawers out of the dressers and let them dry out, as well. You can also put an electric fan blowing on anything that has unwanted moisture and add some air circulation to help dry it out. If there is anything that can be done to dry out the offending space it will be time well spent. If you do not stop the problem as quickly as possible, it is possible the it will have mildew or even insect infestations.

Unwrapped bars of soap work just as well as expensive sachets to help get odors out of drawers. It is even possible to use pleasantly scented cat litter. This will collect any unwanted moisture and odors. Be sure to refresh the cat litter every few days. If you have a small item that has a musty smell, place it in a plastic bag with some cat litter and let it sit for a few days. You may have to repeat this a few times to get all of the odor out.

If your furniture is smelling musty, spray a deodorant or sprinkle cat litter over the piece. Let this sit for a while and then vacuum. You may have to do this a few times, as well, to get the odor out of your furniture.

Suitcases that smell musty will make your clothes smell bad. To get rid of the smell, vacuum the luggage and then rub the lining with a solution of equal parts rubbing alcohol and water. You can also use a solution of lemon juice and salt water. Be sure to try this on an area that does not show before using it on the entire lining. You may end up staining your luggage. You can also fill the suitcase with crumpled newspaper. Change the paper every two or three days until the smell is gone.

For musty books, fill a large brown paper bag with crumpled newspaper. Then put the books in the bag and seal it tight. Leave them in the bag for a day or so. Change the paper every other day until the odor is gone.

Used parched rice to eliminate a musty or mildew scent in an enclosed space, like a metal cabinet or safe. You can parch the rice by cooking it over a high heat. Stir it constantly until it starts to show scorch marks. The rice should then be placed in a shallow pan and put in the musty space.

To get rid of musty odors in a larger space, such as a room, place pans of charcoal briquettes where needed. You can do several rooms in this manner. And, you can later used the charcoal in your grill to cook with.

If nothing seems to absorb the musty smell, try using a solution of water and bleach. Be sure it is only five percent bleach. Use this as you would the charcoal briquettes. Place it in pans in the closet or room until the musty odor is gone.

A bad odor, such as mildew and mustiness, can make your home a miserable place to be. Hopefully, these tips will help you get rid of those musty odors no matter where they may be.