Why do my hair and clothes smell musty?

Question

We bought a bungalow a year ago which smelled a bit damp .We cant find any damp anywhere but we can smell it on our clothes and hair when we go out. this is driving me crazy. Can anyone tell me what this smell is.

Answer 1

try washing your clothes and hair once in a while

Answer 2

Is it a new bungalow? New property's have to be pressure sealed as part of new energy regulations to keep heat in/cold out. The problem is, of course, is that the air that's in starts to condense and causes damp. You can have draught-less vents fitted by most builders, (stadium vents).

If it's an older property it could be rising damp, you would need to get this checked by a reputable Damp company. They will most likely charge you for this, but if work needs doing, it would be deducted from the bill.

Answer 3

The musty smell definitely comes from moisture. If it was just your clothes you can purchase containers of silica at almost any hardware store to place in the closets. Since you smell it in your hair as well you probably need to get a whole house dehumidifier. The clothes will need to be washed and dried to get rid of the odor. You may have a mold problem so for health reasons I would have a professional inspector take a good look.  Mold can be very dangerous to your health. Best of luck.

Answer 4

We stayed at friends house right by the river and everything smelt like that and the clothes we had taken with us (and were wearing home) all smelled like that.  The next time we went I did not put anything into the cupboard instead keeping my clothes in the bag and although it wasn't so bad everything still smelt.  This was a stone built house (which was very cold).  They did not appear to ever 'deep clean' their house or to like windows open so my suggestion is wash everything down and open the windows wide.  Perhaps when you get round to repainting everything it will be ok.

Answer 5

You have mold and mildew somewhere, probably in the walls since you say you can't see it.

Clean as well as you can, and put some nice smelling soaps in the area where your clothes are. That will help with the clothing problem, even though it doesn't take away the dampness problem. Have you tried a dehumidifier? Maybe that would help. Check around all of your baseboard moldings. Is it worse in one room than another, or is one side of your house worse than another? I find that our "weather" side of the house will have that odor if we are having a lot of rain. It drives me crazy, and I sure do understand what you are going through. Try washing your hair each day, or using a dry powder to go through your hair with a brush. Open the windows and let in fresh air when that's possible. Good luck to you.