In the spring of the year 2014, I and my family moved into an apartment that we got at a very good price.
This house had been left vacant for over 1 year and it was in a very bad shape.
However, the price was very attractive and we couldn’t say no to the very juicy offer.
We felt the house didn’t need many renovations and we spent the first few weeks fixing minor problems around the house.
However…..
We had one major issue while renovating the house.
Water was leaking in some major areas of the house and as a result, the bathroom had a mildew-like odor.
Very Frustrating!!!
This was a terrible experience as some of the clothes we used to soak up water also had the mildew smell.
We tried various futile methods until we finally got how to remove mildew smell from clothes through this method.
In this article, we would be discussing
- The meaning of mildew smell
- How to get rid of mildew smell
- How to avoid future problems with the mildew smell
Mildew smell is very common and noticeable in bathroom floors, basement walls, and towels as a result of their damp environment.
It is very imperative to get rid of mildew smell as the musty odor can be frustrating.
That apart, it can cause occupants of the house to fall sick.
Yes, you read that right!!
Despite the fact that its easy to get rid of mildew smell in your home, a lot of work has to be carried out.
You also need to have a lot of materials and ingredients in place to ensure you are successful.
Mildew is a microorganism from the fungal family.
It has the tendency to irritate and release hostile smell to its host environment.
The causes of mildew smell are not far-fetched.
They range from the presence of water to low ventilation and high warmth.
Mildew can replicate in any moist condition as mentioned above.
With the few steps explained below, you would learn how to remove mildew smell easily.
Read on!!!
Clean up your house
In other to know how to remove mildew smell, the first step in the right direction should be to get to the root of the problem.
Ensure that your house is not clustered and get rid of stuff that might slow down the task while looking for the source of the mildew smell.
Get rid of the usual suspects; old clothes and papers. Toiletries, shower curtains, and towels should not be left out either.
The above-mentioned items can keep mildew spores and allow them to replicate. Concentrate on places that are prone to moisture.
Any fabric to be reused should be properly washed; same goes for furniture.
After getting rid of these, you should take time to properly wash the whole area with bleach and ensure the surface gets dried. products out there like RMR-86 and Concrobium are also effective in riding clothes of their mildew smell.
Leave doors and windows open to allow ventilation and warmth work wonders to the surface.
This would go a long way in removing the mildew smell.
Smell Absorbents
There are certain absorbents that are designed to get rid of the irritating smell.
You should try out one of these for your mildew smell problem.
There is a certain procedure you should adhere to while using them.
An example of one of such absorbents is charcoal briquettes.
Try to get empty containers and put these charcoal briquettes into the containers.
Leave these containers in selected rooms that have the mildew smell. These will get rid of the odor by absorbing it.
These charcoal containers would also suck in air which has the mildew smell, thereby giving room for fresh air.
However, you need to replace these containers every 4 weeks to get an optimal result.
Another absorbent you can use to get rid of mildew smell is Baking soda.
It is regarded as one of the best smell absorbents and it has experimented to a certain degree of success.
Simply leave the baking soda container open for a while and your mildew smell would be gone.
Another weird but effective idea is cat fecal matter.
Sounds strange………
To do this, collect the feces of your cat from its cage. Allow it to dry for some days.
Then spread it in a container and leave it to absorb the unpleasant air.
However, this innovation needs to be changed twice every month.
Environmental Control
In other to get rid of mildew, you need to control your house temperature to ensure that mildew can’t survive.
Try to keep your house at optimum temperature and ensure the basement is always dry.
To control the humidity, you might need to get a dehumidifier that would get rid of moisture in the air.
If you cannot get a dehumidifier, you can also opt for an ionizer.
They are quite similar to the latter also gets rid of humid ions in the air while giving your room a good smell.
In controlling your environment, you should ensure that your house is well ventilated.
Make sure that sunshine enters the rooms and that the rooms have enough doors and windows.
If you have an exhaust fan, keep it on as it would help get rid of the irritating smell.
If your room is not well ventilated, an oscillating fan would go a long way in reducing the mildew smell.
Conclusion
The only way to avoid mildew smell permanently is to avoid it from coming up.
Try to clean your home regularly to ensure that its risk factors are quickly eliminated.
Ventilation is another important parameter as mildew smell cannot thrive in a well-ventilated environment.
Ensure that you have dehumidifiers or ionizers around your house from time to time.
Smell absorbents like charcoal briquettes and soda should not be left out as they all do a great job.
With the above-mentioned put in place, you would totally get rid of the irritating odor around your house.