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Getting Rid of Mildew Smell in Home

The water line behind my stand up shower leaked between the walls and now it smells like mildew really bad. The entire house smells that way when it's all closed up. I took the fiberglass/plastic panel out to replace a leaky valve. I also let it dry out for a week. I sprayed it all down with Tilex/Bleach and water. But that hasn't fixed anything. What can I do to get that smell out?

David from Louisville, KY

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RE: Getting Rid of Mildew Smell in Home

Our house flooded severely. Basement already had mold. The flood exasperated it. I used Lysol liquid, found it at walmart It is old school product been around for years and used in hospitals, has a medicinal smell. It killed the mold! It says on the bottle: "kills staphylococcus, viruses, mold mildew"... etc! IT WORKS. One bottle makes like 20 gallons. I just diluted it and used a spray bottle and sprayed all over all the walls and poured it into the receding water on the floor and the smell and mold was gone! I swear by this stuff and even the FEMA guy was impressed! Its like $4 tops at Walmart. Brown bottle yellow white label says lysol Disinfectant. Good luck

Post by Firedancer67

RE: Getting Rid of Mildew Smell in Home

Go to a rock shop and buy some lava rock, it's very inexpensive. Put it around the problem area, it works.

Post by letageraldine

RE: Getting Rid of Mildew Smell in Home

I have this smell in my finished basement. You are right. It makes the whole house smell bad. My daughter's doctor told her that a clean house doesn't have a smell or odor. So its important to be sure its very, very clean.

I've seen on a TV show, Sell This House, that carpets and fabrics retain odors. So you may need to remove carpeting and/or wash shower curtain in HOT water. Also, the walls retain such odors. On this show the hosts say that fresh paint seals the odors. I'm thinking of using a good primer like Zilm or Zissner. I think they are spelled correctly, but check at your local home improvement store. Best of luck with all your endeavors.

Post by Carol in PA

RE: Getting Rid of Mildew Smell in Home

I had the same problem, we had a leak under my kitchen cabinets, and some of the wood had gotton some mold on it. We repaired the leaks, sprayed straight Clorex Bleach.

I bought Damp Rid at the grocery store. All you do is hang it up, and it collects the moisture, which causes mold. And leaves a very fresh smell. It worked great in my kitchen cabinets, the the smell was horrible, and was throughout my whole house. Now you cant smell a thing. $5.00 is what that cost me at Krogers.

Post by JennyJo

RE: Getting Rid of Mildew Smell in Home

Hello David, I don't know whether you're a homeowner or just renting. What you could do is call either Home Depot or Lowes and see if you can talk to a plumber about the problem. And if it's impossible to fix it yourself, you might have to hire a professional plumber.

Post by MCW

RE: Getting Rid of Mildew Smell in Home

More important than the smell is the cause: MOLD.

My sister-in-laws daughter and her two children ALL
got pneumonia from an apartment with mold.

You must get your landlord to find the cause of the moisture and replace all moldy materials. Even if you have to call the city health department.

Mold is causing it (mildew is mold), and it is a health hazard. Construction workers wear special gear to clean out a moldy place. Just imagine spores in your lungs.

If you have to, move.


Post by PIKKA

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