They say moms are the best at finding things in a house, but when it comes to how to find mildew smell in house, everyone, especially you, needs to know it. We assure you, it’s not something you can withstand and ignore until it eventually dies off on its own.
Annoying smell that passes your nostrils the moment you open your main doors is one of the most unwelcoming things, and you won’t love staying in there at all. Compared to others, the thing about mildew smell is that you can’t leave it by itself since it’s from a living thing and will continue to grow and intensify the odor.
Mildew smell comes from mildew produced by certain fungi living off something inside your house. Since these organisms’ specific requirements to survive are pretty easy to fulfill, they can thrive on almost any part of your home.
Tips For Finding Source Of Mildew Smell In House
Finding the source of something disturbing is a bit of an awful job. After all, you’ll need to follow the stench itself, which means it’ll keep getting stronger and harder to tolerate.
Here are some items for you to use and increase your success rate on your search operation.
1. Check all water connections and pipes
The most crucial variable that you need to pay attention to is the possibility of water leaks. Mold and mildew both require a certain amount of moisture to continue reproducing.
That’s why when you’re searching, look for water first. Here’s a list of possible water sources that mildew can stick into:
- Piping
- Faucets and showers
- Washers
- Aquarium and tanks
You’ll probably find the source of the musty smell in the vicinity of one of those moisture sources, especially on your sink or bathroom. Check each of them one by one, especially those not getting used often.
Here’s an article on how to clean mildew out of washer if that’s where you found it. Leaks also happen after a typhoon or earthquake; make sure to check all these water sources after such an event.
2. Check your refrigerator, freezer, and dispenser
Another thing that can impart moisture for the mildew growth is your appliances that use or store water, such as your water and ice dispenser. When such machines are kept running for a long time without thorough checking and maintenance at least twice a month, they likely have mildew.
Mold and mildew are also commonly discovered on food, even if it’s already refrigerated, so that should also be one of the places you check for the smell source. Make sure you also look into its compartments and behind every movable part inside.
3. Dispose of old and spoiled food and condiments
After looking inside and outside of your fridge, you might as well pay attention to every other food you get stored in your house. Beyond what’s in your fridge and freezer, you might also want to check those you got in your cupboards and other cabinets.
Check this article on how to get mildew smell out of cabinets to address the source.
For food getting molded or having mildew colonies, it’s usually the ones that are already or close to spoilage. This means you should check inside your dishwasher and behind disposal bins if they got caught and stuck.
4. Dispose of the contents of your garbage can
In connection to the previous possible source of the mildew smell, the next to check are the garbage cans if you still haven’t found the odor’s origin. First, check those near your kitchen and the bathroom because that’s where wet garbage comes.
If you typically line garbage cans with plastic bags, the moisture inside can’t escape, so make sure you dispose of the contents immediately. Garbage, if even slightly wet, will smell and invite mildew growth.
5. Check your indoor plants
One more surface that mildew will likely grow on is plant leaves. While this mildew has a low chance of killing the plant itself, it can grow in terrible amounts on the plant’s surface.
Plants you carry inside your home can carry such pesky organisms inside as well. In the case of mildew, having a plant infested with too much mildew can start smelling if they don’t see the sun soon then spread its spores to other items inside your home.
6. Check your storage
One last place to check for the smell is storage areas. This includes rooms you don’t usually visit unless you have something you can’t throw yet but still have used.
Mildew in storage can be caused by improperly stored items such as those that weren’t dried and cleaned enough before shelving. Storage units would also include clothes cabinets and wardrobes.
Those are all the spots that have the possibility of hiding mildew. Another important thing is that you remember that mildew smells musty in your house, with its intensity getting worse with the amount.
With all the tips to find the source, ensure you know how to remove the mildew smell and the mildew itself.
Conclusion
We’ve successfully identified all things worth noting on how to find mildew smell in house. You can check our site to see how to remove the mildew depending on where they grow properly, and the scent should entirely go away.