why would our house smell...

[Anonymous]

anytime we go away for two days or more? Everytime our entire family travels somewhere overnight, the house has a musty smell when we return. It doesn't have this smell at other times or even if one person stays home and the rest of us travel so I'm guessing it either has something to do with us turning the heat/ac off or the mere fact of us coming and going through doors does enough to prevent the smell? not even sure who to call about this issue since I have no clue what the problem might be....

[Anonymous]

You get used to it when you're home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:anytime we go away for two days or more? Everytime our entire family travels somewhere overnight, the house has a musty smell when we return. It doesn't have this smell at other times or even if one person stays home and the rest of us travel so I'm guessing it either has something to do with us turning the heat/ac off or the mere fact of us coming and going through doors does enough to prevent the smell? not even sure who to call about this issue since I have no clue what the problem might be....

Do you have a garbage disposal? Check that. If there is a lot of gunk built up they can start to smell without having water run down them frequently.

[Anonymous]

Is it possible the house always smells this way, and you are just used to it? We notice our "house smell" after we've been away for a while.

I guess ask a close friend who will be honest (and had a good sense of smell).

[Anonymous]

How often do you change filters on the hvac? How often do you vacuum and dust? How old are your carpets? Could you have mold issues? You can test for dampness, and also mold. Do the windows need to be cleaned in between the glass and screen?

[Anonymous]

You should keep the HVAC running when you leave, just adjust the thermostat. You are smelling mold.

[Anonymous]

If you spray Febreez, basically the way it works is it kills your sense of smell. It doesn't eliminate what's causing it. So if that's how you "clean" your house, it could be wearing off while you're out then take a while to kill your sense of smell again once you return.

[Anonymous]

High humidity? Do you have a humidifier in your basement?

[Anonymous]

Sorry, DE humidifier?

[Anonymous]

OP here -- It definitely doesn't smell this way most of the time --- my mother is brutally honest and hasn't noticed it.

Mold is my big fear but wouldn't it always smell that way with mold? DH says he hasn't seen any mold anywhere so he doesnt think it's that --- may have someone come check for it regardless. We did recently replace the HVAC filter so maybe we let that go for too long?

[Anonymous]

No open windows can lead to mustiness pretty fast, particularly if the carpets/drapes/upholstery are dusty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No open windows can lead to mustiness pretty fast, particularly if the carpets/drapes/upholstery are dusty.

Woops -- hit submit too soon. I meant to add:

That's why old people's houses always smell musty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No open windows can lead to mustiness pretty fast, particularly if the carpets/drapes/upholstery are dusty.

This. And if someone is at home, they're bound to open at least the front door throughout the day, so that gets the air circulating. If doors or windows don't open for several days, smells are going to get more concentrated.