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smell in wardrobe

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  • 08-10-2011 1:03pm
    #1
    dee.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,461 ✭✭✭


    Hi everyone, firstly I apologize if this is the wrong section, I wasn't too sure where to put it.

    Basically, I started renting a house at the beginning of this year and a few days after moving in I discovered a weird smell in my wardrobe. its a built in wardrobe and honestly i'd say they have been there since the house was built (its a very old house) The landlord painted over everything prior to us viewing the house so I was wondering if maybe a. the wood had a reaction to the paint, or b. the wood is rotting. I don't know how to describe the smell exactly, its very musky and sticks to all of my clothes.

    The house doesn't have insulation or proper vents and I rarely use heating in the bedrooms (i'd say two or three times a month at the most) I do open the bedroom window for most of the day, and I open all of the doors on the wardrobe but the smell is still there.

    My room is a tiny single room and I can just about fit my bed in there so I wouldn't fit a new wardrobe as well. I have a chest of drawers for holding some of my clothes and am buying a clothes rail today but i'll still have to leave some of my clothes in the closet so i'm wondering if theres anything I can do to get rid of the smell.

    Already tried mentioning it to the (useless) landlord who says he can't get the smell at all. Similar smell in presses in the rest of the house and his "solution" was to drill holes into the bottom of them (the presses still stink)

    thanks in advance for any suggestions


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    #2
    wwwboof
    Registered Users Posts: 88 ✭✭wwwboof


    i would say you have dampness behind your wardrobes very common for blue-mold behind them.try one of them electric radiaters in your wardrobe for a week your so.

    If that doesnt work use suger soap to wash it all down and if you can take the units out and insulate the back of them with sheets of kingspan that will work:D


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    #3
    One shot on kill
    Registered Users Posts: 2,247 ✭✭✭One shot on kill


    alright dee

    sounds like mould to me aswell but you should nearly see it on the inside of the wardrobe aswell its possable your land lord washed it away before you moved it but you should see it stained if it is bad enough heat will dry it out but you need to kill whats behind it

    the wardrobe has to come out unfortunitly


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    #4
    dee.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,461 ✭✭✭dee.


    Thanks all for the replies.

    From what I can make out the corner of the room was just sectioned off and they used wood to make shelves/presses for the wardrobe, the back of it seems like concrete to me. Will have another look in the morning as I'm in bed now and confirm! The doors and shelves are a cheap wood, looks like chipboard to me. All is painted over with a white gloss paint so I can't see any mold. The inside shelves aren't painted but there was no visible mold on them last time I looked (I have since covered the shelves with black bin bags as I didn't want to put my clothes down on top of them)

    Don't think I can take them out as it's just a wooden frame built against a wall I think, and the whole thing would probably fall apart! I will see if I can borrow an electric heater and try that out.

    Pulled out my bed today to Hoover in behind it and noticed all black drips all over the wall, so it's likely the smell is mold due to the house not having vents and such.

    I don't really know what to do because the landlord says there's no smell and
    I know for certain he wouldn't replace the wood. Hopefully the heater will help


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    #5
    One shot on kill
    Registered Users Posts: 2,247 ✭✭✭One shot on kill


    what you should do is take pictures of it and get someone from the landlord committe if there is such a thing im sure there is something

    and have him closed down its not got for your health and well been and you will notice differances in yourself from this

    there is to many places to rent now to make you put up with that


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    #6
    dee.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,461 ✭✭✭dee.


    One shot on kill wrote: »
    what you should do is take pictures of it and get someone from the landlord committe if there is such a thing im sure there is something

    and have him closed down its not got for your health and well been and you will notice differances in yourself from this

    there is to many places to rent now to make you put up with that

    I had the inspector out already and she got the smell in the landing (I completely forgot to tell her about my room) and she noted it in the report and his solution was to make a few holes at the bottom of the wood. Smell is still there though.
    In one of the other bedrooms which has the same type of built in wardrobe, shoes that had only been in it for a few weeks were covered in mold. I haven't seen mold on my clothes yet but really want to sort this before that happens but it's not looking like i have many options :(

    Landlord is a real Scrooge even though he has lots of money he's doing everything to cut corners and save pennys. I'm actually in the process of looking for a new place but have been looking for a few weeks now and have found nothing suitable yet.


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    #7
    wwwboof
    Registered Users Posts: 88 ✭✭wwwboof


    drilling holes in the bottom of the wood wont make much difference its seems the hole house has dampness.

    i lived in a house like that before the dampness was that bad i was in hosptail for a week because i couldnt breath.

    best thing to do would be hand in your notice and tell him you want it fixed or your leaving there is alot of better places than that nowadays


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    #8
    One shot on kill
    Registered Users Posts: 2,247 ✭✭✭One shot on kill


    to be honest just move on

    he is in his hole gonna spend money to fix the place up it would cost 10,000 plus if its that bad and he will loose the rent for the couple of months

    take pictures move on and report him again

    and i would report the inspector he/she should of close the landlord down or put a serious fine on him straight away


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    #9
    kadman
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 5,057 Mod ✭✭✭✭kadman


    One shot on kill wrote: »
    to be honest just move on

    he is in his hole gonna spend money to fix the place up it would cost 10,000 plus if its that bad and he will loose the rent for the couple of months

    take pictures move on and report him again

    and i would report the inspector he/she should of close the landlord down or put a serious fine on him straight away

    I have to agree with this.

    The damp mould growth can be a serious health hazard , if its severe. Move on if you can.

    The cheap aldi/lidl plastic collapsible wardrobes would at least protect your clothes form mould and smell, until you get sorted to move on.

    Sounds like the early tenements in the 1900,s.
    Good luck


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    #10
    slowburner
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 5,218 Mod ✭✭✭✭slowburner


    It is appalling to think that landlords are behaving like this, in this day and age.
    It would do no harm to have a look in the Accommodation & Property Forum for further advice on your rights and what to do next.


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    #11
    dee.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,461 ✭✭✭dee.


    Thanks everyone for the replies! Well I have had a look and the back is indeed concrete, only the frame/shleves/doors are wood. Its hard to know if they are rotting/damp/etc as they were freshly painted when we moved in. The smell is only coming from there, and considering every other press in the house (all wardrobes, landing presses, kitchen units, living room presses) all smell too, it has to be the wood. I took a few pictures so maybe someone can advise me if theres anything I can do to get rid of the smell

    http://i.imgur.com/cmHbK.jpg
    ^ Wall at the back and right side is concrete, the left side and above is wood.

    http://i.imgur.com/5UCgI.jpg
    ^The bottom of the wardrobe above..i'm not sure but this looks like rotting or something to me?

    http://i.imgur.com/iOiK4.jpg
    ^ Above the pictures above is a press with two sections, the shelves are made from chipboard and I have black bin liners on top of them so my clothes won't be directly on them, but I lifted them up and I couldn't see any mold on the chipwood. Its possible this chipboard was replaced before we moved in, its the only part not painted and doesn't seem to be in awful/very used condition.

    can anyone advise me what to do? The smell is awful. Bought a portable rail for some of my clothes but can't fit all of them on it. I don't know anyone with an electric heater but if I thought it would get rid of the smell I would buy one.....

    Oh and heres the LL's solution to the problem in the rest of the house.. http://i.imgur.com/HiwBh.jpg & http://i.imgur.com/UkSb6.jpg ...just two of about 10. I know he'll do the same in my room if I mention it.


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    #12
    dee.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,461 ✭✭✭dee.


    kadman wrote: »
    I have to agree with this.

    The damp mould growth can be a serious health hazard , if its severe. Move on if you can.

    The cheap aldi/lidl plastic collapsible wardrobes would at least protect your clothes form mould and smell, until you get sorted to move on.

    Sounds like the early tenements in the 1900,s.
    Good luck

    We are trying to but its not easy to find a house within budget in the area we want to move to. Hopefully something will show up soon, dreading the thought of being stuck here all winter, its only October and I have to go around the house with about 10 layers on! Have bought a clothes rail which holds some of my clothes but my room is tiny (single room) and I wouldn't fit a second one, so had to leave some of the clothes in the wardrobe :( hopefully there will be a solution to get rid of the smell
    One shot on kill wrote: »
    to be honest just move on

    he is in his hole gonna spend money to fix the place up it would cost 10,000 plus if its that bad and he will loose the rent for the couple of months

    take pictures move on and report him again

    and i would report the inspector he/she should of close the landlord down or put a serious fine on him straight away

    They have to inspect it again soon because he "did the work" (aka had a few local lads patch bits up and cheap and easy as possible) but according to the agencies, theres nothing we can do if he agreed to fix th e problems. I dont think the presses are considered a health hazard as they never put that on the list so he doesnt have to fix them :rolleyes:
    wwwboof wrote: »
    drilling holes in the bottom of the wood wont make much difference its seems the hole house has dampness.

    i lived in a house like that before the dampness was that bad i was in hosptail for a week because i couldnt breath.

    best thing to do would be hand in your notice and tell him you want it fixed or your leaving there is alot of better places than that nowadays

    We're trying to leave and he knows that (trying to find a new place) but even if we were staying he wouldnt change it anyways unless hes required by law and the inspector didnt add that to the list so he got away with changing any of the rotting wood!
    slowburner wrote: »
    It is appalling to think that landlords are behaving like this, in this day and age.
    It would do no harm to have a look in the Accommodation & Property Forum for further advice on your rights and what to do next.

    Yeah it really is, I went to school with his daughter, we used to be friends, and I always wonder how he doesnt sit down and think "well I wouldn't let my daughter live there"...some people are just so stingy and its not like he hasn't got the money, he'd just rather cut corners wherever possible.

    thanks everyone


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    #13
    kadman
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 5,057 Mod ✭✭✭✭kadman


    If he knows you are thinking of moving, I doubt he is going to do anything thats going to cost him money to fix it.

    The bottom of the wardrobe looks as if there is a damp problem causing decay to the chip board. But it could quite easily be a problem due to lack of air circulation within the wardrobe.

    His solution of boring holes in the base of the wardrobe, and then in the shelves will do nothing to improve the situation, unless he also bores holes in the top of the doors, and then fits vent caps. This would at least allow the air to circulate from the ward robe into the room. Improved air movement would reduce the musty smell of bad air circulation.

    Of course there is always the possibilty of a dead mouse somewhere, and that will cause a rank fishy smell for a couple of weeks, but will eventually go away.

    In the short term you will have to combat the bad smell with an over powering good one. Best solution is to palace a few pot pouris of cedar wood shavings from a woodturning workshop. The smell from cedar is very aromatic, and will last a fairly long time. I dont believe that I have any, but I will have a look tomorrow.

    So lads, for a quick fix, has anyone cedar shavings for offer.

    griswald..


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    #14
    dee.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,461 ✭✭✭dee.


    kadman wrote: »
    If he knows you are thinking of moving, I doubt he is going to do anything thats going to cost him money to fix it.

    The bottom of the wardrobe looks as if there is a damp problem causing decay to the chip board. But it could quite easily be a problem due to lack of air circulation within the wardrobe.

    His solution of boring holes in the base of the wardrobe, and then in the shelves will do nothing to improve the situation, unless he also bores holes in the top of the doors, and then fits vent caps. This would at least allow the air to circulate from the ward robe into the room. Improved air movement would reduce the musty smell of bad air circulation.

    Of course there is always the possibilty of a dead mouse somewhere, and that will cause a rank fishy smell for a couple of weeks, but will eventually go away.

    In the short term you will have to combat the bad smell with an over powering good one. Best solution is to palace a few pot pouris of cedar wood shavings from a woodturning workshop. The smell from cedar is very aromatic, and will last a fairly long time. I dont believe that I have any, but I will have a look tomorrow.

    So lads, for a quick fix, has anyone cedar shavings for offer.

    griswald..

    Thanks for the reply. Although he knows we want to move, he said he has someone else lined up to take the house if we do. He replaced windows a few weeks ago and instead of getting ones with proper vents..he did the hole solution in those aswell and put a little plastic cover over the top so you cant see the row of holes.

    I have a few "air fresheners" in the wardrobe already, the musky scent is still there though. I don't think it would be a dead mouse as every press in the house has the same musky smell, some worse than others. We stopped using a few of them because it was so strong but my bedroom is so small that I have no choice but to use the wardrobe :(

    I open my window for the most of the day to ensure theres plenty of fresh air in the room, and I open a few of the doors on my wardrobe (theres 6 doors, I usually open 3) and leave them open so fresh air can get in.that said, the bottom was decayed like that when we moved in.

    do you think a heater would solve the problem with the smell?


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    #15
    slowburner
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 5,218 Mod ✭✭✭✭slowburner


    Just a thought. Chipboard, if it is stored in a damp place, absorbs any musty smell and keeps it for absolutely ages. Could it be that the LL used chipboard that was kept in a damp place?
    I know this because I foolishly used some old chipboard in a cabinet I made about a year ago and I can still smell must from it.
    I hope this is the cause of the smell because this would be easily fixed, but the fact that you have to go around with extra layers of clothing to stay warm, really indicates that there is excessive moisture in the atmosphere.
    It's a horrible situation and my heart goes out to you. I'm sure you will find a better place.


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    #16
    kadman
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 5,057 Mod ✭✭✭✭kadman


    Is it on the ground floor of the house, and is it a wooden floor in the rooms with the problems.

    It could be a blocked airbrick outside the building, that is preventing air circulation below the wooden floor. If this is where the smell originates from, then its an expensive fix for the landlord, that he wont be doing.

    But , as I said in the short term, a small pot of cedar shavings in each wardrobe will give off a very aromatic smell, that is very refreshing, that you may find hard to believe. I used to sell a lot of them many years ago, and I know some of the lads here turn cedar, so maybe they could pm you, and give them a try.

    You can also get , hanger dehumidifiers, used in motor campers. They are cheap, and will take the damp out of the air in the wardrobes, if damp is the issue here. They are reuseable, as the filter is dried in a microwave, and then refitted.

    kadman


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    #17
    dee.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,461 ✭✭✭dee.


    slowburner wrote: »
    Just a thought. Chipboard, if it is stored in a damp place, absorbs any musty smell and keeps it for absolutely ages. Could it be that the LL used chipboard that was kept in a damp place?
    I know this because I foolishly used some old chipboard in a cabinet I made about a year ago and I can still smell must from it.
    I hope this is the cause of the smell because this would be easily fixed, but the fact that you have to go around with extra layers of clothing to stay warm, really indicates that there is excessive moisture in the atmosphere.
    It's a horrible situation and my heart goes out to you. I'm sure you will find a better place.


    Thats very possible. As I said, he tries to cut corners and refuses to buy anything new (he had to replace our lightswitches and used ones from another house...those light switches are only a euro or two new :rolleyes:) so he could of had the chipboard sitting around and decided to use it. Would it be a big deal to take the chipboard out? I tried to pull on it but its not budging. It is a horrible situation to be in alright. My old house had a few problems but we always had warmt when we needed it and didnt have to worry about everything getting covered in mold! Shoes from a wardrobe in another bedroom have been covered in mold so that will probably happen my stuff too in time :(


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    #18
    dee.
    Registered Users Posts: 1,461 ✭✭✭dee.


    kadman wrote: »
    Is it on the ground floor of the house, and is it a wooden floor in the rooms with the problems.

    It could be a blocked airbrick outside the building, that is preventing air circulation below the wooden floor. If this is where the smell originates from, then its an expensive fix for the landlord, that he wont be doing.

    But , as I said in the short term, a small pot of cedar shavings in each wardrobe will give off a very aromatic smell, that is very refreshing, that you may find hard to believe. I used to sell a lot of them many years ago, and I know some of the lads here turn cedar, so maybe they could pm you, and give them a try.

    You can also get , hanger dehumidifiers, used in motor campers. They are cheap, and will take the damp out of the air in the wardrobes, if damp is the issue here. They are reuseable, as the filter is dried in a microwave, and then refitted.

    kadman

    Hey, yeah the room is on the ground floor and I had laminate flooring installed when I moved in. Before that it was just lino (no underlay or anything over it) Im not sure what is under the base of the wardrobe, the "bottom" of the wardrobe is actually a couple of inches above the ground, I took a few pictures to show what I mean..

    http://i.imgur.com/Zp62C.jpg
    ^ with the doors closed (excuse the grey dust..its to kill the massive amounts unwanted bugs we get:rolleyes:)

    http://i.imgur.com/pXT7p.jpg
    ^thats how it looks with the doors opened

    The presses in the landing have the same smell but theres no wooden floor there so I don't think thats the problem. Do you know where I could get cedar shavings if nobody on here has any? Sorry if thats a silly question. will also look for somewhere to buy those hangers, thank you so so much!


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    #19
    slowburner
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 5,218 Mod ✭✭✭✭slowburner


    dee. wrote: »
    Hey, yeah the room is on the ground floor and I had laminate flooring installed when I moved in. Before that it was just lino (no underlay or anything over it) Im not sure what is under the base of the wardrobe, the "bottom" of the wardrobe is actually a couple of inches above the ground, I took a few pictures to show what I mean..

    http://i.imgur.com/Zp62C.jpg
    ^ with the doors closed (excuse the grey dust..its to kill the massive amounts unwanted bugs we get:rolleyes:)

    http://i.imgur.com/pXT7p.jpg
    ^thats how it looks with the doors opened

    The presses in the landing have the same smell but theres no wooden floor there so I don't think thats the problem. Do you know where I could get cedar shavings if nobody on here has any? Sorry if thats a silly question. will also look for somewhere to buy those hangers, thank you so so much!
    Dee,
    PM me your address and I will send you some cedar shavings, if you want.
    SB


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    #20
    marknine
    Registered Users Posts: 142 ✭✭marknine


    Here is a cheap solution that I used a number of years ago, when I lived in a rented house with a load of lads. I got an old, clean sock and filled it with baking soda which I then hung up in the wardrobe. Within a week, the smell was gone and I put the sock in the corner of the wardrobe and just left it there. You may need to use two or three socks or even make a few cloth bags (if you can sow). I still do the same thing with my wardrobes as the cloths don’t always get aired. Hope this is of some help.


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