Getting rid of old farm smell

[Serenity9]

I know there is a kind of paint that is odor-blocking. That might help.

Then, buy baking soda in bulk and hope for the best?

[MWOS]

A musty smell that strong? My guess is there is mold in the house. Do they have a basement?

[Deleted]

She could try this-
www.kilz.com/primer/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=315214dce5542310VgnVCM100000176310acRCRD&WT.mc_id=max

I think with some scrubbing and heavy cleaning... maybe? Unless the musty smell is mold that is in places.

We had these in our old basement, they were ok-
www.achooallergy.com/basement-odor-eliminator.asp

[emjacobs]

KILZ the walls and any painted surface, pull up any carpet, change all filters, get an HVAC / duct work cleaning done. Get rid of all window treatments. Check the attic for moth balls / critters (same with the basement / crawl space).

Baking soda the floors, sweep it around, vacuum the excess (this will also help any floor squeaks). Wipe everything down with a vinegar solution then clean normally.

[nerdicorn]

My house was built in 1910- furniture has to go if it's upholstered. Same with carpeting. Painting should fix the problem, but remember to paint the ceilings too.

[pixy0stix]

As everyone else has said, the house should be checked thoroughly for mold.

After that, it would be like remediation of someone had smoked in the house for years. Painting every surface that can be painted, getting rid of any soft surface, maybe even replacing drywall and subflooring.

[CloudBee]

Jul 22, 2014 10:13:19 GMT -5 emjacobs said:

KILZ the walls and any painted surface, pull up any carpet, change all filters, get an HVAC / duct work cleaning done. Get rid of all window treatments. Check the attic for moth balls / critters (same with the basement / crawl space).

Baking soda the floors, sweep it around, vacuum the excess (this will also help any floor squeaks). Wipe everything down with a vinegar solution then clean normally.

I agree with all of this.  They can get someone in to clean their ducts.

Baking soda works wonders.  You can dump buckets of it and let the stuff sit for a few days before vacuuming it back up.

[Deleted]

Open up ALL the windows and do a lot of cleaning with vinegar and baking soda.

[CloudBee]

Jul 22, 2014 10:26:55 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

Jul 22, 2014 10:19:31 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

I agree with all of this.  They can get someone in to clean their ducts.

Baking soda works wonders.  You can dump buckets of it and let the stuff sit for a few days before vacuuming it back up.

No carpet (thank god!), but would this work on hard floors?

Yep!

[adhdfashion]

Water damage somewhere . They need to do a serious one over.

[emjacobs]

Jul 22, 2014 10:26:55 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

Jul 22, 2014 10:19:31 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

I agree with all of this.  They can get someone in to clean their ducts.

Baking soda works wonders.  You can dump buckets of it and let the stuff sit for a few days before vacuuming it back up.

No carpet (thank god!), but would this work on hard floors?

Definitely, for hardwoods do baking soda (let it sit for a while), sweep it around to get in all the cracks and crannies, vacuum it up, mop with a vinegar solution, let dry, then clean with a wood products (Murphy's or something similar)

[Bonita]

Is it musty smell or moth ball smell?

H's grandma's house smells like moth balls, and it definitely lingers on your clothes and such. I agree with emjacobs as far as how to get rid of the smell

[nomad100]

I know the basement is scary but that may be the place all the smells are coming from.

Anecdote: Friend lived in old house . Smelled like an old house (musty, funky, just old house-y. Had a dirt floor basement with rock walls. They painted the rock walls with Drylock paint (along with cleaning the upstairs using some of techniques from PPs) and it made a world of difference. Now it just smells like a regular house.

This is the paint they used.

[MWOS]

Jul 22, 2014 12:39:02 GMT -5 Queen Dick, Hibernating Bear said:

Jimmy Hoffa's still missing

who?