How to get rid of the smell of dampness in an apartment on the ground floor

Today, the pressing question for many is how to get rid of the smell of dampness in an apartment on the ground floor. As a rule, homeowners on the lower floors are faced with an unpleasant basement smell, cold and low light. Because of this, moisture after precipitation, washing, and cooking remains in the room for a long time. Unique methods come to the rescue, thanks to which you can quickly remove the smell of dampness from the room.

You don’t need to endure the unpleasant smell in your apartment; you should start eliminating it.

Reasons for dampness in an apartment on the ground floor or in a house

There are many factors causing unpleasant odors in a living space:

Flooding. This problem is relevant for apartment residents and owners of private houses. Due to the particular popularity of suspended ceilings in interiors, it is sometimes difficult to detect leaks. Water accumulates in the ceiling and stagnates, emitting an unpleasant odor. In any case, in case of severe flooding, it is impossible to do without drying for several days, and sometimes repairs are required.
Accommodation on the first floor. Basement flooding is a fairly common occurrence, especially in older homes. The gradual accumulation of condensation sooner or later leads to the penetration of dampness into the living space through cracks in the floor. The smell of mold in an apartment can only be removed through major repairs and waterproofing of the floor.
Poor insulation of the water supply system in an apartment often becomes the source of a moldy, damp smell in the bathroom. The condensation that forms on the pipes contributes to the appearance of plaque and mold. In addition, often an unpleasant odor comes from unwashed linen placed in the bathroom, for example, from towels.
Poor ventilation is a common reason why the kitchen on the ground floor smells damp. The main problem is the accumulation of steam during cooking and poor ventilation of the room.
Love for floriculture. If you have flowers in the house, do not forget to ventilate the room after watering. Very often, the cause of the stench is waterlogged flower soil.

Damp walls harm both repairs and the health of residents.

Damp smell: reasons

Please note that there are several reasons for dampness.

Causes:

Flooding by neighbors. Due to the large amount of water that has hit your ceiling, dampness in the room appears due to the gradual evaporation of water from the flood site. It is necessary to ventilate the room as often as possible to dry the flooded area.
Basement. This is especially true for those who live on the first floor. Dampness from the basement penetrates into the apartment through the ventilation, as well as the floor and cracks. An unpleasant, musty smell appears.
Roof leak. This most often happens if a person lives on the top floor and there is a roof leak. In this case, a truly musty smell may be constant in the room due to frequent flooding. Because as a result of melting snow or heavy rain, water enters the apartment.
Cracks in the walls. Often happens with old houses. The joints between the slabs are not sealed by utilities. This causes a damp smell because moisture penetrates through these cracks into the apartment. Also observed if the apartment is corner. It is precisely such rooms that are prone to the appearance of a constant smell of dampness, which almost never goes away.

Damp smell

How to get rid of damp smell in your home

Methods for eliminating odor in a room depend on the cause of its occurrence:

Increase the heating of the rooms. Installing heaters or replacing old radiators with new, more powerful ones will help you cope with the smell of mold.
Check the seals on doors and windows. They often serve as a provoking factor for condensation and, as a result, the appearance of mold on the wall.
To get rid of the damp smell in the refrigerator, you should carefully sort and remove stale food from it.
To prevent and eliminate stench from the closet, monitor the condition of things and air humidity - things become damp and become a source of unpleasant aroma. Do not put dirty things in the closet and make sure that its back wall does not touch the wall: this will ensure good air circulation.
Dealing with the stench from the bathroom is quite easy: do not store dirty laundry, use shower curtains and insulate the pipes.

The smell of mold comes from a fungus that grows in the bathroom due to dampness.

How to eliminate the feeling of dampness left after a flood?

After a serious flood, repairs have to be made. In this case, the room is first dried, then work is carried out to eliminate all traces of mold, and as a final manipulation, the walls are primed with compounds with antibacterial additives.

We recommend: Cleaning the electric kettle: from the dishwasher to boiling with citric acid

How to get rid of the smell of dampness after minor flooding of the walls, ceiling or floor in the apartment:

The humidity level is checked, based on the results of which a heater or special dryer is installed in the room.
The affected areas are treated with profile odor absorbers. They can be purchased at a hardware or hardware store.
All hard-to-reach places in the house are inspected for signs of mold (behind wallpaper, under linoleum and carpets).
To prevent the appearance of a damp smell, it is recommended to dry all textiles in the room, from upholstered furniture to clothing items.

All surfaces are additionally treated with a weak vinegar solution, which can eliminate subtle notes of dampness. In the case of multi-layer products (pillows, furniture), it is better to additionally treat the material with antibacterial compounds.

Advice: All of the above manipulations must be carried out in conditions of good air movement. If the ventilation does not work for some reason, and ventilation is not possible due to the season, you need to install several fans and use them to achieve the desired effect.

How to get rid of dampness in an apartment after a flood

Unfortunately, after a large-scale flood, only major repairs will help, as well as complete drying of the walls, ceiling and floor within a few days. It is recommended to use an antibacterial primer on the walls and ceiling - it will prevent the growth of mold.

In case of non-critical flooding of housing, the following will help:

heaters, dehumidifiers - normalize the level of humidity in the room;
odor absorbers - do an excellent job of removing musty odors;
drying things;
cleaning carpets with a product containing antiseptic additives;
frequent regular ventilation.

If mold has formed in the corners, cleaning products containing bleach can deal with it at home.

Mold and mildew are a consequence of increased dampness

Often, excess dampness and humidity, lack of air circulation lead to the appearance of fungus or mold. Black and gray spots, greenish or black coating spoil the aesthetics of the room and negatively affect the health of people and pets. The fungus leads to the development of allergies, respiratory diseases and skin problems.

Even if you regularly wipe the tiles or other finishes in the bathroom dry, moisture remains in the seams, under the ceiling and in other hidden places. Pay attention to the moisture that accumulates in the cup for storing toothbrushes, in the soap dish and other similar items. They are among the dirtiest things and places in the apartment.

To prevent the formation of mold and mildew, ventilate the room regularly. Wipe off moisture from shelves, floors and ceilings. Wipe down cups, soap dishes and other small items. It is important that moisture does not accumulate anywhere. If you are renovating a bathroom, do not forget to treat the walls, ceilings and floors with antiseptic compounds before laying tiles. If fungus does appear in the room, we offer several methods to combat mold.

How to eliminate the smell of dampness in the cellar

To get rid of mold and odor in a country house or residential building, you will need to put in a lot of effort, because wooden buildings perfectly absorb aromas and are easily destroyed by fungus:

Replace all leaking pipes - they are the most common cause of unpleasant odors from the underground. If a large amount of water has accumulated on the floor, then it is worth replacing it too. In addition, it is recommended to lay earthen floors.
Strengthen the waterproofing of the ceiling and walls - you can cope with this task either yourself or by hiring specialists.

Folk remedies

If you are looking for methods to remove the smell of dampness in your home using folk remedies, here are some tips:

Periodically wipe the surfaces in the house with diluted ammonia (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water) or a mixture of water and vinegar in a ratio of 5:1.
Another solution for wiping surfaces is a combination of bleach and water in a ratio of 1:10.
Make orange flavoring: rinse the fruit with water and pierce it in any place with the sharp end of a clove.

This natural flavoring can be safely used for three days - replacement will be required as soon as the fruit begins to deteriorate.

Dry odor fog is the best solution to the problem

Don't know how to remove the smell of dampness from your apartment? Don't waste your time on traditional recipes, cheap drugs and other nonsense!
There is one good solution - Harvard dry fog, a unique technology used to eliminate unpleasant odors. Its advantages include:

Complete safety;
High efficiency;
Quite affordable prices.

The microstructure of the fog is for the most part similar to ordinary smoke, which allows the product to easily penetrate into cracks. Harvard dry fog can quickly destroy the damp smell in almost any place, be it a house or apartment, furniture, belongings or transport. At the same time, you don’t have to remove the closet somewhere or disassemble the interior!

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The operation of dry fog is ensured by a solvent based on aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromas based on perfumes. The number of the latter often amounts to hundreds, which does not give the unpleasant odor a single chance! What is also important is that each component used in the production of dry fog undergoes preliminary individual testing by specialists from the Harvard Chemical analytical laboratory.

Now you know how to eliminate the smell of dampness in an apartment using not only the most effective, but also the only possible remedy, and therefore you can easily solve this problem.

How to freshen the air in an apartment

To keep the indoor air always fresh, try the following tips:

Ventilate the room daily, including in winter, for at least 15 minutes.
If mustiness appears, treat the floors and walls and dry the apartment.
You can get rid of the first signs of mold - black spots - with ordinary hydrogen peroxide. Dilute peroxide in half with water and thoroughly treat all affected surfaces with the resulting solution, then rinse thoroughly.

Anyone can experience the smell of mold or dampness in their own apartment on the first floor or in the house. That's why you should know simple ways to get rid of this problem.