How do you get rid of an old house smell?

I would recommend an ozone machine. Make sure to fully air out the home after using the ozone machine before entering the home with closed windows. I have used it, along with clients which drastically reduced bad odors in the home.

Scott, yes, you usually can. The key is finding the source of the smell rather than covering it with air fresheners. Start with a deep cleaning of carpets, walls, cabinets and fabrics, replace HVAC filters, and ventilate the home well. If the smell is musty, check basements, crawl spaces and bathrooms for moisture or mold. A dehumidifier can also make a big difference in older homes.

Scott, everyone here is right that you have to find the source, so let me skip that and go straight to what the source usually is in a house like yours, because in New England the list is short and specific. In roughly this order of likelihood: The basement or crawlspace. In an older Maine house this is the answer maybe two-thirds of the time. Fieldstone foundation, dirt or partially dirt floor, moisture wicking up through soil, and that damp earthy smell rising into the house through every gap in the framing. Air moves up. You smell the basement in the living room, which is why people scrub the living room and nothing changes. The fix is not deodorizing, it is a sealed vapor barrier across the floor and up the walls, sometimes with a dehumidifier tied to a drain. Encapsulation is the term to search and to ask contractors for. Pet urine, especially cat. This one hides. It soaks through carpet into pad, then into subfloor, and it will smell forever no matter what you put on top. Ordinary cleaners do not work on it because the problem is uric acid salts. You need an enzymatic cleaner, and if it has been there for years you likely need to pull the carpet and pad, treat the subfloor, and then seal it. Which brings me to the step nobody mentions and the one that actually finishes the job: sealing. After you remove and clean the source, a shellac-based primer over the subfloor, the framing, or the affected surfaces locks in whatever residual odor is left in the wood. This is what remediation crews do. Latex primer will not do it. Ask for shellac-based specifically. Old tobacco smoke. Same treatment. Wash walls and ceilings first, then shellac primer, then paint. Skip the primer step and it comes back through, sometimes months later. And the one I want you to check before anything else, because it is not really a smell problem. A buried or abandoned heating oil tank. Older Maine homes very often had one, in the basement or in the yard, and a fuel odor that comes and goes, or is stronger in the basement or near one exterior wall, is worth taking seriously. If there is a tank, you are looking at an environmental and disclosure question, not an air freshener question, and it can affect financing and insurability when you sell. Get an environmental professional to look, not a handyman. I would rather you check and find nothing than skip it. A few things to do regardless: have the ducts cleaned if you have forced air, replace the filter, and pull the trap covers and any long-unused fixtures, because a dried-out plumbing trap lets sewer gas straight into the house and it is a five-minute fix (run water in every drain, including the basement floor drain). On ozone generators, since they came up in the thread: use real caution. Ozone is a lung irritant. At the concentrations that actually affect odor, the space is not safe to occupy, and it does not remove whatever is producing the smell, it just oxidizes what is in the air right now. If you use one, the house has to be empty of people and pets, and thoroughly aired out afterward. It is a finishing tool at best, never a substitute for removing the source. Last thing, and it matters for selling. If a smell was significant enough that you remediated it, that is generally something you disclose. Fixing it properly and being able to say what you did and who did it is a much stronger position than a masked smell a buyer notices on the second visit. I am a real estate professional, not an environmental contractor, and I am not licensed in Maine, so please get the oil tank question looked at by someone local and qualified. My name is Zoltan Peresztegi and I work in Los Angeles, the South Bay and on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Start in the basement, and seal after you clean. Zoltan

Yes, in most cases you can eliminate an old house smell, but the key is to identify and address the source rather than trying to cover it up with air fresheners. Start by: -Deep cleaning the entire home, including carpets, upholstery, curtains, and walls. -Washing or repainting walls and ceilings if they've absorbed years of odors. -Cleaning or replacing HVAC filters and having the ductwork inspected if necessary. -Checking for moisture, mold, mildew, or plumbing leaks, as these are common causes of persistent odors. -Removing old carpeting or padding if it continues to hold odors after professional cleaning. -Improving ventilation by opening windows and using exhaust fans or dehumidifiers if excess humidity is an issue. If the home has been occupied by smokers or pets, additional treatments such as sealing walls with an odor-blocking primer or using professional odor-removal services may be necessary. If you're preparing to sell, eliminating odors is one of the best investments you can make. Buyers notice smells immediately, and unpleasant odors can leave a negative first impression even if the home is otherwise in excellent condition. Juan Picos, Realtor

Yes! The key is finding the source of the odor rather than just covering it up. Common ways to eliminate an old house smell include: * Deep cleaning carpets, upholstery, and curtains. * Repainting walls after cleaning them, as odors can linger in paint. * Replacing old carpeting or padding if it's holding odors. * Cleaning or servicing the HVAC system and replacing air filters. * Addressing any moisture or mold issues. For sellers, a fresh, clean-smelling home makes a great first impression and can help buyers feel more comfortable the moment they walk through the door.

Scott, to be honest, this depends on identifying the source first. That smell is usually caused by a combination of trapped moisture, dust, poor ventilation, old materials, mildew, or decades of absorbed odors. Once you identify the source, then you can game plan your attack for remediation. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

Yes, but you have to find the source first or you're just masking it. That old house smell is almost always moisture-related, either from a damp basement, a crawl space without a vapor barrier, or decades of humidity slowly absorbed into wood, plaster, and subfloors. Candles and air fresheners don't touch it. Start by checking the basement and crawl space. If the air down there smells worse than the rest of the house, that's your culprit. A dehumidifier running continuously in those areas can make a noticeable difference fairly quickly. If you suspect mold, get an environmental inspector in before you do anything else since mold hidden behind walls won't respond to surface treatments. Once the source is under control, replacing old carpet, repainting with fresh primer, and cleaning or replacing HVAC filters and ductwork helps clear out what's already been absorbed. In stubborn cases an ozone treatment done by a professional can neutralize odors that have soaked deep into the structure. It's not a one-step fix but it is solvable.

Yes, you can get rid of it, but you need to address the source, not just cover it up with air fresheners. Old house smell is usually a combination of musty air from poor ventilation, trapped moisture, decades of cooking and living odors absorbed into carpets, drapes, and walls, and sometimes mildew or mold in hidden areas. Start with the soft surfaces. Carpets are the biggest odor trap in any home. If the carpets are old, replacing them eliminates a huge portion of the smell. If replacement isn't in the budget, professional deep cleaning with an enzyme-based treatment can help significantly. Remove old drapes and curtains. Wash or replace any fabric window treatments. Clean the hard surfaces aggressively. Wash the walls and ceilings with a TSP solution or a mixture of vinegar and water. Paint every wall and ceiling with a stain-blocking primer like Kilz or Zinsser before applying your finish coat. Regular paint sits on top of odors. Primer seals them in. Address the air quality. Change the HVAC filter, have the ducts cleaned, and make sure the system is circulating properly. Run a dehumidifier if the home feels damp, especially in basements and crawl spaces. Moisture feeds musty odors, and controlling humidity is the most effective long-term fix. Check for hidden problems. If the smell is strongest near certain walls, in the basement, or near bathrooms, you might have a mold or mildew issue behind the surfaces. A musty smell that persists after cleaning and painting warrants a closer inspection to rule out moisture intrusion.

Remove the source of moisture and stale air—start with a deep clean and add a moisture absorber like DampRid to pull out lingering odors fast

It does depend on the smell. Charcoal briquettes placed in bowls around the home may absorb the odor. Cut apple slices also - they are used often in cars to get the cigarette smell out, believe it or not! An ozone generator will also help.

In many cases, it is a smell that is caused by moisture, mold or mildew often in a crawl space, so start there and make sure there are no issues there. And cleaning carpets, ductwork and fresh paint often help with many of the smells as well. I would recommend having a local REALTOR look at your home and give you a good direction of the next steps and recommend some good local vendors to help with these issues.

Great question, it will depend on what is causing the smell. Many times the old house smell is either some old flooring, paint, pet odors, or moisture. I would recommend talking with a great realtor in your market that can give you some specific recommendations. Sometimes replacing the flooring and painting can help. Other times there is something else going on that is causing the smell.