How to Keep the Mold Smell Away

Black mold on a wood ceiling
  • 1-3 hours
  • Beginner
  • 0-75
What You'll Need
Water
Bleach
Mop
Coffee cans
Charcoal
Cat litter
Ionizer
Dehumidifier
Baking soda
What You'll Need
Water
Bleach
Mop
Coffee cans
Charcoal
Cat litter
Ionizer
Dehumidifier
Baking soda

A mold smell in the house can be a sign of an unsafe living environment. As soon as you detect the mold smell you need to eliminate it before you develop a very serious mold problem. Keeping the mold smell away takes some work, but it’s worthwhile to maintain a home that is both safe and pleasant.

Step 1 - Clean

The first step to keeping the mold smell away is cleaning. Locate the area which has the mold smell. Throw away all the old newspapers, papers, and cardboard there, as they’re breeding grounds for mold. If there’s any old fabric there, either throw it out or wash it.

Move everything out of the area and clean the floors and walls with a bleach and water solution. This will take away the mold spores and the mold smell in the area. Open any windows in the area to help ventilate it as you work and leave them open during the drying period. Good ventilation will help to take away the mold smell. Keep the area ventilated regularly. This will stop dampness building up again.

Step 2 - Eliminate Odors

cleaning mold

Apart from cleaning there are several ways to keep the mold smell at bay. Odor elimination is big business and there are all kinds of devices and items you can buy that promise to do the job.

There’s no need to spend money on these things. There are plenty of very cheap things that will work every bit as well. Take a few charcoal briquettes and place them in coffee cans in the areas troubled by the mold smell. The will absorb the odor (charcoal is well known for this property) and also the moisture that helps cause the mold. You’ll need to replace the briquettes every month for them to remain effective. Cat litter is also excellent for absorbing the mold smell. Put a tray of litter down and it will take away the bad smell quickly. Be aware you’ll need to replace it every couple of weeks as it will start to lose its effectiveness.

Step 3 - Use Baking Soda

The best-known odor absorber, however, has to be baking soda. That’s why so many people keep it in their refrigerators. Open a pack of baking soda and keep it in the areas plagued by the mold smell and you’ll notice the stink vanishes. Replace the baking soda every couple of months to keep the area smelling fresh.

Step 4 - Get a Dehumidifier

fan in a basement

To keep the mold smell at bay you need to keep the moisture out of the air. A dehumidifier will dry the air while cutting out the mold smell. Set one up where there has been a problem with mold. When used with increased ventilation a dehumidifier should take care of the mold problem and the mold smell altogether. It doesn’t need to be run all the time, just enough to keep the area dry.