Hi,

My partner bought a property last year that is a bungalow with a garage underneath the front bedroom and back living room (double length, below soil line). This year, we noticed a funny smell in the property getting worse and worse. I thought we'd cracked it when we found a pair of shoes in the cupboard that had been stored in the garage growing mould, and a pair of gloves in the kitchen cubby hole the same. We threw those away and have since washed everything in the wardrobes, some things more than once, we have thrown many things away- we cleared out the garage and threw many things away that stank and were covered with mould.

The problem is, the smell, although better, is not completely gone. We have sprayed things we cannot wash with white vinegar, we have 'shaked and vacced' the carpets- when you walk in the property now it smells nice, but when we leave, I can smell the musty smell on our clothes and in my hair. My Mum can smell it on me too. I'm at a loss as to what is causing it and have no idea how to proceed.

I know that the garage has been painted with bitumen, but it doesn't look like it's on the floor, just the walls and only about a quarter of the way up.

I am concerned that there may be further mould actually in the property somewhere and don't know how best to find out if that's the case without taking out expensive expert tests. When my bf bought the place less than a year ago, he specified to the surveyor make sure there's no damp, the surveyor checked and reported back a-okay, no damp.

However, last winter we had that horrid winter and all the snow, and my bf did not put the heating on enough. He keeps it well ventilated but was trying to save money by not heating it much. The bedroom floor used to feel as if it was damp to me and I remember if I put clothes on the floor, when I picked them up they would feel damp. This is one of the rooms above the garage. I'm not sure what the garage ceiling is made of (I think my bf said plasterboard but not sure if I'm or he's right) or the state of the floorboards under the bedroom carpet. I'm wondering if it's worth replacing the carpet (it's old and worn anyway) and in so doing, checking out the state of the floorboards underneath before putting down anything new, to see if they are damp or mouldy.

I don't know if the garage is tanked either, so am guessing it could help to call in a builder to check that out and do it for us if not.

I used a cheap damp proof meter to check the walls and they were okay.

I guess what I'm wanting advice on is what to do if this smell doesn't go away? I can't be sure at this point whether it's mould growing somewhere such as under the carpet on the floorboards, or a smell caused from when my bf was storing clothes that had been in the garage (he stored a lot in there when we had the property plastered) in his wardrobe, which have proliferated into other fabrics (bedding, mattresses, carpet) though we have sprayed the bedding with white vinegar and it doesn't seem to smell anymore.

That's half the trouble- I am walking round the place sniffing everything and everything seems to smell okay now, but then when I leave the place my clothes and hair stink musty! So it's still coming from somewhere and I don't know what to do to find out where!!! The mattresses in the bedroom are brand new only months old, as is the bedding, so I don't want to throw things away. Next time it's sunny I am planning on taking them out onto the garden and spraying them with white vinegar. Also my bfs leather couch smelled of mustyness so we sprayed that with vinegar and polished it with lavendar leather furniture polish, now that doesn't seem to smell but I wonder if there is still some mould living on it. My bf isn't working at the moment and I'm just starting up a new business so we can't afford to buy new carpets, furniture, bedding and mattresses especially not when the latter were brand new as it is!!

Anyone any ideas on how to help me or a point in the right direction? I am so stressed and upset about this and don't know where to turn.

Laura

I suppose I should add:

1. My bf is good at keeping things ventilated- always has vents open or windows during the day.

2. Over the winter he didn't have the heating on enough, the house never felt 'aired' because it was so cold/chilled.
Plus it was a terrible winter!

3. He checked the garage when the snow was melting and said it didn't flood. Yet everything in there went mouldy. Can't understand it!

4. He does dry clothes indoors but then so my family always has and we never have any damp or mould!

So my question:

Can mould be so strong smelling that even now we've removed the source of the mould, the smell is still getting into our clothes 3 weeks later?

If mould has travelled to other things (e.g. the leather sofa) will it ever die or if we want rid completely, does this mean having to buy new furniture? (We have sprayed it with white vinegar).

5. We had a building survey recently that said no damp. Could damp have been caused since by my bf not having the heating on enough over the winter?

Another question: If I remove the old carpets and check out the floorboards, what is the best thing to do to prevent damp getting in from the garage beneath?

And my final: If I want to call on an expert to check for mould/damp problems if we can't identify a source and the smell is still there... what is the best course of action?

I don't want to call someone out and waste money if the smell has in fact been caused by mould that got into the property when my bf unknowingly bought in mouldy items from the garage. I'm just concerned that the smell is still bad enough to be offensive and smelt by others on my clothes and hair, this makes me worry there is still some 'alive mould' growing somewhere and releasing those nasty mycotoxins. :(

could be in the walls... as in behind the plasterboard..
you dont mention how the wall finish has been done, drylining - dot and dabbing onto a cold surface (no vapour barrier) will allow moisture to penetrate plasterboard and condense on the wall behind...

insufficient heating over a period of time may well allow mould growth in places inaccessible to you, places such as in the void behind kitchen units, behind built in wardrobes both places difficult to ventilate adequately as any airflow will tend to bypass these areas..
A flow of air will help to remove moisture but if the moisture is allowed to accumulate long enough for mould to establish, airflow on its own wont be enough to get rid of it, it'll just starve it of its supply of moisture, once the airflow ceases, the moisture will settle once again and the mould can thrive..

I dare assume your family, whilst drying clothes indoors had the heating on, which would increase the air pressure inside, forcing air outside taking the airborne moisture with it...

best guess anyway?

youve probably answered your own question as to the cause - insufficient heating in a cold and damp climate, the solution i would expect, would be to locate the areas less ventilated as the primary locations of mould and treat accordingly...

_________________
http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

I don't know is why. When he moved the walls were papered with eligliptor, we scraped it all off, then a plasterer came and plastered the walls.

do they sound hollow, as in plasterboard hollow, or are they solid as in sand and cement render solid?
tap em with your knuckles..

to be honest, its probably more than likely to be the areas like behind kitchen cupboards etc but without that as a reason, dot and dabbed boards over a basement wall is the only thing i can think of? unless its timber floor? or quite possibly within the furniture as you mention and cant get at it..
dunno what else to suggest except maybe some sort of endoscope to inspect the interior of the furniture?

_________________
http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

Thanks. If it is the kitchen cupboards, I guess there's no way to find out/get at them/remove it without removing the cupboards themselves...

Hi,

We have had a problem with a smell in our victorian house, and think we have just figured out that it was just a lack of air brick ventilation under the floorboards. See my full post on here at:-

strange-smell-under-stairs-and-in-lounge-damp-t43821.html

Not sure if that could be your problem, but worth a read as its a very easy thing to fix if it is.