I’m hoping someone here can relate, our house is an oooold cedar log home and lately seems to have more of the “old house smell” than usual. Now I’m not going to lie, house cleaning is extremely low on the priority list, house is tidy and clean in the sense that there is no food or clothes lying around everywhere, but hasn’t had a good deep clean in a while. Already planning on getting the ducts done this fall, what are the best ways to keep the older houses from getting the “old house smell”? Besides the obvious febreeze or air fresheners, and things that don’t take long and are easy will definitely be preferred - don’t you know I have a barn to clean!? Lol 
1 Like
Well, two thoughts here --if you want to clean enough to get rid of the smell, set aside a half day, fill a bucket with soapy Lysol or Pinesol and have at it behind appliances, around toilets, under furniture, along all base boards, and if time permits, clean the 'fridge, oven, and food storage (we have a pantry where sometimes old food dies and hides). Finish by washing all floors. That should do it. RE: duct cleaning, I just push my sweeper hose as far down as it will go and let pull out what’s there. Last, run vinegar through your washer --sometimes that can have a funky smell too. When I am having the fam over for holidays, I also wash as many furniture cushions as are washable --either taking off the covers or taking those that fit (throw pillows) into the laundry-mat and running them trough the big machine there. The zip off covers can be washed in cold water and then allowed to dry by hanging. Zip back on. And of course you can wash down all wooden, hard surface furniture with Murphy’s Oil soap.
If I am pressed for time --I just do the floors and buy fresh flowers. Ma always said no one will remember your house wasn’t clean, but everyone will remember you put out fresh flowers! The Pinesol or Lysol scent implies clean, even if everything isn’t perfect . . .
8 Likes
I live in a log home; it’s not very old…maybe 45 years old? But the beauty of log homes is that everything is typically exposed. (I don’t even have ducts).
Do you have carpets? Animals?
Just trying to think about what might smell - dust on wood isn’t really smelly. But if you have animals, I’d probably say that cleaning all the floors will help.
How old is your home?
1 Like
Our house had an odor when we moved in. Have you dried a dehumidifier? Also the essential oil diffusers work pretty well if the smell is musty.
2 Likes
Our home is a 1904 summer cottage that’s been winterized. For us, the old house smell comes from the basement and the old wood floors and paneling. It’s been so humid this summer that condensation occurs on the stones in the foundation and so much rain that the concrete floor has damp spots. So we’re trying to run a dehumidifier down there round the clock to help. It’ll straighten out when the heat goes back on. I hope
1 Like
This is a good point - my dehumidifier in my (finished) basement has been running on overtime this year with all the rain.
Another unfortunately possibility would be wood rot and/or insect damage.
1 Like
Just chiming in to repeat the “buy a dehumidifier” advice.
In my house, the bathrooms, which have really poor ventilation, are odor sources. Washing the shower curtains regularly and doing a good scrubbing the shower/tub and floor instead of my usual half vast effort helps a lot.
We also, from time to time, have rodent problems. The previous owners apparently believed that as long as mice weren’t running through the house during the day, it was OK. I declared war after I moved in and have almost succeeded but still, once in a while something will die in the crawl space (or in a wall?) and create a funky smell in the house for a while. I’ve kind of resigned myself to living with that because I have done everything two pest control experts have come up with.
1 Like
Don’t know if applies to ducts but when my dryer vent hose needed a clean out, I disconnected it from the machine and took my leaf blower to it.
Eventually I had to disconnect all the piping and take it outdoors to blow it out, but wow, that leaf blower got it out. Shocking how much lint was in there.
So leaf blowers are new tool for bo5h the dryer and under the fridge*
- you have to take precautions with the fridge, so you capture the dust as it exists the other side of the fridge or else you’ll make a mess of dust all over the kitchen.
3 Likes
Cook things that smell delicious. Two birds, one stone. 
4 Likes
What a great idea! I’m going to be doing this with both my washer and fridge
1 Like
I grew up in a log cabin that is now about 130 years old. Get a dehumidifier (you may need a second one,) run it in your basement for a week, and see if you still have a problem.
2 Likes
Well i sure am immune or our 1840s stone farm house, on a working farm…with 5 dogs and a cat only smells like what she’s cooking for dinner when i walk in after a long day’s work. I am surrounded by ‘farm smells’ and animals all day long though, so maybe i just am acclimated to the aroma of animals and dirt?
3 Likes
My grandparent’s farmhouse back in the 1950’s had a unique smell. Every time I encounter that same smell I recall that house.
That smell, to my nose, is replicated in every small used book store I have ever shopped in. And frequently when I open an old book. So to me “old farmhouse smell” is a good thing.
3 Likes
If it’s a bad smell it’s probably either mouse pee or mildew. Or a combo. There’s also the ‘something died awhile ago’ smell.
Old farmhouses don’t smell bad without help.
1 Like
Bats can cause this, too. Any critter making it’s home in the attic. So if you have an attic, check that.
1 Like
Well for the fridge, one video had a woman put a wet towel on the receiving end of the blowout, others moved their fridge to the outdoor door so the dust would be blown out of the house.
IIRC I used the wet towel.
I moved the fridge away from the wall and examined the underside with a flashlight on my hands and knees so I knew where I could blow. I avoided the “fan” part, as I surely would have damaged that with the blower.
All cleaned well except when I examined the fan separately, it was covered in sticky goo which impeded it’s movement. That had nothing to do with the leaf blower, I’m just mentioning it.
