So, Your House Is Stinky. Here’s How to Fix It.

Your bath linens are begging for a deep clean

The most likely culprit behind mildewy smells in a bathroom are bath towels, robes, mats, and other linens that develop mildew before they can fully dry. Mildew odor is particularly stubborn, but in my experience, a high-quality detergent and a scoop of Borax in a hot laundry cycle work wonders on towels.

To prevent mildew from developing in the first place, make sure your towels and bath linens have plenty of airflow on all sides (I hang towels over the shower curtain rod instead of on a hook), and wash them immediately when you notice a musty smell.

The washing machine is overdue for a sanitizing cycle and a scrub

It might seem counterintuitive that a machine constantly filled with soap and water would get dirty, but since it’s removing all the dirt from your laundry, grime can build up quicker than you may think. And if you’ve ever left your washing machine door closed for a period of time, you know just how stinky it can get.

A hot sanitizing cycle and a washing machine cleaning tablet should do the bulk of the work, but don’t forget to wipe down the entirety of the machine (gaskets, soap dispensers, the exterior, and the drum) as well.

You may have excess humidity in your home

“If you’ve ever used the words musty, muggy, dank, fuggy, wet, mildewy, or the dreaded moist to describe the air in your home,” writes Tim Heffernan in our guide to the best dehumidifiers, “you may get relief from a dehumidifier.”

That said, we recommend that you try to address the humidity issue with other methods, such as improving the airtightness of your home, adding a window air conditioner, or investing in a central HVAC system before you resort to a dehumidifier, because the results are usually more reliable than what you can get from these prone-to-mechanical-failure appliances.

Your antique collection is contributing a certain je ne sais quoi

Avid thrifters, estate-sale frequenters, and antiquers know: Old stuff has a tendency to smell. These musty, back-of-a-barn smells are most pervasive with items such as books, wood furniture, fabrics, and upholstery, which are made from porous materials that retain odors. For any items that you can toss in the dishwasher or washing machine with an enzymatic detergent, do so, as that will tackle most odors.

For things that you can’t submerge in water, you’re left with less in-depth but often still helpful methods. The covers and pages of books can be dusted with a microfiber cloth, and tightly bound pages close to the spine can be brushed free of debris with a soft brush. To address mold or mildew smells, you can seal the book in an airtight bag and leave it in the freezer for 72 hours; once you remove it from the freezer, leave it sealed in the bag for another 24 hours to prevent condensation from forming.

Wood items with musty smells are tricky to tackle, and often the best solution is to sand and reseal the piece, which can eliminate a top layer of odor and trap deeper ones beneath a protective layer. If you’re not game for a refinishing project, you can also try leaving a bowl of baking soda in or around the piece for a few days to absorb odor (similar to how you might leave a box of baking soda in the fridge), and some people even swear by using kitty litter the same way.

Stubborn body odors may be lingering on fabrics

Human body odor is influenced by a number of factors, such as genetics, diseases, drinking, and smoking, but nonenal odor is a type of body odor that has a distinct greasy, grassy, or musty profile, which can increase as you age.

This odor-causing compound (specifically 2-nonenal) can linger on clothing and upholstery. The best way to combat these smells in your home is to regularly wash fabrics with an enzymatic laundry detergent, which targets and effectively removes these organic odor compounds, or to utilize a portable upholstery cleaner for things you can’t toss in the wash.