Can anyone tell me how to remove the musky, mildew smell out of my house? It is a brick ranch with a dirt floor crawl space. No water is coming into the basement ,and I have installed an exhaust fan designed for the gable end of an attic at one end of the basement, but can’t get rid of the smell. Please help!
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If it is not too bad you might try zeolite. It seems to do a fair job, is renewable, by laying it out in the sun, and relatively cheap. If the problem is based in a larger problem, such as a wet basement, you may need a more involved, expensive, solution.
http://volcanic_zeolite.tripod.com/product_info___photos.htm
Just one of the many places to get this product.
http://www.iza-online.org/
General information and a list of suppliers.
Do you have 6mil pl;astic as a ground cover? If not cover about 95% of the craw space with plastic.
Charlie
You've got mold growing somewhere, which means you have water getting into the house somewhere.
You need to find where the water is getting in and stop it.
You also need to clean/eliminate the existing mold. See, e.g., http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/epi/epimold.html
You don't need to panic. You should do some reading. See, e.g., the Center for Disease Control at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/mold/
Is anyone in the house suffering from mold related symptoms? Consult with your doctor.
You might want to consider hiring a home inspector to help locate the moisture and mold and advise as to water controls. I'd recommend against one who does "mold testing" unless he/she also has specialized degreees such as in indoor air quality or industrial health. (Not some quicky few day course in mold testing.) Even there, the CDC says mold testing isn't necessary in most cases (e.g., you need to identify the type of mold.)
Use a home inspector with experience and training. For example, a member of the American Society of Home INspectors, See, http://www.ashi.org (it has a registry for finding inspectors in your area.)
BTW, I think you meant "musty," not "musky." A muskt smell would be an entirely different situation. (Like "get rid of those ferrets, bub!")
Edited 6/25/2002 6:09:37 AM ET by Bob Walker
You might want to try a bleach solution sprayed out of a good garden sprayer (industrial type) as a quick fix. That will kill all the mold immediately, until you find the cause of the moisture or dampness. Spray everything in site. Not expensive either.