Real Estate Tips - Getting ride of bad odor
A musty odor coming from the basement or any part of the house is extremely unpleasant and will turn off buyers, or result in your house selling for less. No matter how clean your house is, a musty odor is a sign of dampness. Children living in a damp house are more likely to suffer from respiratory symptoms due to exposure to black mold emit toxins.
A damp house with mildews makes a home dirty. The first step is to find the source of dampness creating the musty odor.
1) Condensation
Cold water pipes in a not well-ventilated basement can cause condensation and can create a musty odor in the basement. The best way to prevent and control musty basement odors as a result of water condensation from cold water pipes is to insulate the pipes with an insulated wrap available from any home hardware stores.
2) Humidity
Lack of airflow and ventilation in the basement can cause a musty odor. If the musty odor is not due to some leaks in the basement, try operating a dehumidifier in your basement. Check for condensation from basement water pipes and pipe seams for leaks.
3) Weeping Walls
Weeping basement walls is due to condensation on the concrete basement walls. The dampness and the high humidity around the house can cause a musty odor in the basement or in a home.
4) Cracks
Cracks in concrete is common and can cause water leaks resulting in dampness and a musty odor. Avoid a musty odor in your basement by patching any cracks as soon as they appear.
You may want to try any of the followings to get ride of your house odor due to dampness:
a) Putting baking soda in a pan
b) Placing a bowl of white vinegar in an out of the way place in the room where the odor is strongest
c) Try a product from Homax called Gonzo Odor Eliminators #OEB212. It is a 100% natural volcanic product and it recharges under the sunlight every few months. It is sold in places like Home Depot and Rona.
d) Use a dehumidifier or improve the air-flow through your home heating system and ensure the humidity in your house is somewhere between 20% and 40%.
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James Wong Richmond BC Realtor > Richmond Remax Realtor> Remax Westcoast > Richmond homes for sale, Richmond BC townhouses, Richmond BC condos > Vancouver mortgage broker > Richmond mortgage broker.
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For any realtors or homeowners dealing with the odor problem I have found the miracle solution. I am the property manager to a large apartment community. At the beginning of every month I deal with odor problems from recently vacated apartments. Some are more severe than others. Last month we had a really severe smelling apartment. Even after fresh paint and new carpet we couldn't get cat urine smell out. One of my maintenance guys brought me a product called Room Shocker this product works like no other product have ever tried. It's simple to use and not labor or time intensive. So there's no scrubbing or spring or wiping. It's relatively inexpensive. It's not a masking agent and gets rid of the odor at the source. It not only gets rid of the smell, but it completely Decontaminates and disinfects the whole room. So far I've been able to get rid of severe pet odor, the smell of cat urine, heavy cigarette smoke odor. I had trouble finding the product but I found it on a website called BiocideSystems.com. I guess it's fairly new. I swear by this stuff now and then highly recommend it to realtors and Or apartment managers and owners. The stuff really works!
LS
Thanks Liz for the info. I will pass this on and will try the product on properties that have bad odor problem.