13 Common and Uncommon Reasons Causing Odors In Your Home

We all have walked into a house, whether it's your home, a friend's or relative's and said to ourselves what's that smell.  Unfortunately, put yourself in a buyer's shoes and the first thing they remember about your home is the odor that they smelled when walking in your home.  Here are some common causes of home odors and remedies that help you to control them......

1.  Front-Loading Washing Machine

The musty-smelling mold that may irritate your nose, eyes, skin, and throat often grow in front-loading washing machines.  This mold may also lead to asthma attacks and allergic reactions.  You can keep this from happening by just leaving your washer door open between wash loads.  Drying and cleaning the rubber gasket routinely will also aid in preventing mold from forming.

2.  Smelly Dishwasher

Check your dishwasher filter for trapped food particles.  Once a week, remove the filter and gently scrub it under running water.  Dishwasher cleaner will get your dishwasher super-clean as will placing a bowl with white vinegar in an empty dishwasher on the bottom rack and running a cycle.

3.  Pets

Poop and pee are all part of having a cat, dog, bird, hamster, or any other pet living with you in your home that causes odors and perhaps more.  Prompt clean-up after accidents, everyday scooping kitty litter, and washing your hands after clean-up will help.  Hookworm and roundworm can spread to humans as dog urine and dog and cat poop are not sterile or germ-free. 

4.  Garbage Disposal

Once a week, put 6 ice cubes, 1 teaspoon bleach, 3 thinly sliced lemon slices, and 1 tablespoon baking soda in your garbage disposal.  Then add 6 more ice cubes and run the garbage disposal.  After the grinding stops, run cold water for 30 seconds.  The lemon slices help with odor, the bleach kills the bacteria, and the ice removes loose food particles.

5.  Dirty Carpet

Your carpeting catches pet dander, dirt, dust, pee and also traps mold spores; all of which will leave your home smelling musty.  Vacuuming your carpet with a HEPA filter frequently (at least 2-3 times a week) will ward off odors.  Using a dry stream machine once a year will deep clean your carpets helping keep them fresh and long-lasting.

6.  Funky Fridge

Spoilage bacteria can grow at low temperatures making food smell and taste funny.  Wiping up spills using hot, soapy water right away keeps your fridge fresh and clean.  Don't use any cleaning products as they will make your food taste like chemicals.  Check weekly for expired dates on food and toss it.  Open a box of baking soda and place it in the fridge to help eliminate odors.

7.  New Furniture

VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are gases (toluene and formaldehyde) that may be released into the air by new pieces of furniture such as sofas or cabinets.  They can irritate your throat and nose and cause dizziness and headaches.  Look for low-VOC products to limit your exposure and open windows to get air flowing if you can.  Some VOCs have been linked to cancer.

8.  Wet Towels

Washing your towels once a week (more if you live in a hot and humid climate) will stop breeding bacteria that make your towels smell like dirty, stinky gym socks.  Moraxella Osloensis is a type of bacteria that is the main cause of stinky laundry.  If you don't have a clothes dryer, spread your towels out of a towel rack instead of handing them on a hook.

9.  Stale Sheets

While you sleep, you shed dead skin cells every night.  Odor-causing bacteria and dust mites love dead skin cells.  Wash your sheets at least every 2 weeks or even more if you sweat at night or the weather is hot and humid. 

10.  Hidden Mold

If you smell mold but are unable to see it, it may be growing in places such as behind wood paneling or sheetrock or in walls near pipes.  It can also be inside air ducts, under carpeting, or in ceiling tiles.  If there is moisture, mold will grow, like under a sink with a leaking pipe or in a bathroom that is poorly ventilated.  Call a professional if you think you have a problem.  Attempting to fix it yourself could release mold spores that could make you sick.

11.  Hot Water Heater

Sulfur bacteria is most likely the cause if your water smells like rotten eggs.  On its own, it is not harmful, but it can make hydrogen sulfite gas that irritates your throat, eyes, and nose at high levels.  It may also cause headaches and nausea.  Your hot water heater is most likely the cause if you smell this odor when you're running hot water not cold.  Replacing parts and turning up the hot water to kill bacteria can be done by a plumber.

12.  Dead Animal

Faint odors that slowly get stronger and remain for days and weeks are probably a sign that a wild animal has died inside a wall, your attic, your crawl space, or under your deck.  It's also possible they are still alive and you are smelling the odor of their poop and pee.

13.  Sewer Smell in the Basement

A dried-out P-trap in a drain pipe is usually the cause of this odor.  A section of pipe, a P-trap normally stays filled with water blocking sewer gas (hydrogen sulfide) from leaking into your home.  Breathing sewer gas can irritate your throat and eyes, lead to fatigue, headaches, and dizziness, and cause shortness of breath.  Pouring water into your floor drain may solve the problem, but, definitely, call a plumber if the problem persists.