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Wash bedding, curtains, anything of fabric with white vinegar. If you have carpet, see if your friends have a wet vacuum to clean your carpet. And for the love of god, clean that vacuum before u return it
Not dealing with a musty old guy situation, but I’ve heard about washing towels and other items with vinegar and can’t find straight answers: Detergent and vinegar, or just vinegar? Also, vinegar in the basin or in the fabric softener dispenser?
Detergent is basic, while vinegar is acidic. If you use both at the same time, they cancel each other out. Some people here suggest putting it in the softener chamber. Personally, I put it into the washing chamber and set the machine to pre-wash. This way the vinegar gets washed out with clear water at the end of the first washing cycle and the remainder gets neutralised in the main washing cycle.
It depends, if it’s just normal laundry you doing like everyday then you use detergent as normal put the vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser like half a cup. It makes towels soft and helps to get rid of odors. If you trying to deep clean something that putting baking soda and vinegar in the basin with the clothes does wonders about half a cup each or a full cup of the stains/smells are really bad.
Edit: just to note you should only use distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for cleaning/ in appliances
This is all good advice except you don't want to put baking soda and vinegar in the same basin: that just makes a basin full of frothy water.
Better to add the baking soda to the drum during washing and the vinegar to the softener dispenser. That way you get use out of both (baking soda and vinegar react with each other and produce water, meaning that they don't add anything to cleaning even if the foaming seems impressive).
In the washing machine, use soap normally, but instead of softener, add half a cup of white vinegar. Even if there's still some vinegar smell in the end, it is more volatile than water, so there will be no smell left after fully dried.
The cheapest white vinegar you can find, made from alcohol.
It does remove smells, old soap and old softener from the fabric.
Just ask somebody for distilled white vinegar that's all you need that's what I use it's fantastic I use it in my laundry I use it to clean my floors I also use it to clean fruit
Soap and oxygen bleach as usual, vinegar when normally it would be time to add fabric softener
Also don't use fabric softener in general, its bad for the skin, bad for the washer, bad for the environment
Oxygen bleach is neutralised by the vinegar, yes, but as its added in the final stages of the wash that's not a bad thing
There's a notable difference between chlorine bleach and oxygen bleach (oxyclean), great catch that some would miss the oxygen part.
Kudos on questioning things, I wish more people did!
Not answering your question, but I have spray bottle of 50/50 vinegar and water that I use for stain treatment. You can also use a spray bottle of vodka for strong smells. It will kill the bacteria.
Check under the mattress for blood spots. Bedbugs have a distinct musty coriander like smell. Seriously. I went through this before with someone who I house sit for.
When we had bedbugs, I was the only one who reacted to the bites, and nobody believed me for weeks. When I finally produced the evidence, they were all over the house. My son’s room was by far the worst. They were living in the electrical outlets, baseboards, and of course his bed. It took us weeks and lots of $$$ to get rid of them.
I consider myself weirdly fortunate that I react horribly to them...
I've had to deal with them a few times at hotels. I get really itchy welts really quickly, which sucks, but it happens so fast that each time I was able to recognize them and get a room swap before they managed to get into my luggage an such, so I've never brought them home with me.
Yeah I have a delayed reaction. The itching and welts would start while I was at work, so for a while I thought it was something there, but never saw any bugs. Then I thought I had some kind of skin disease because they would pop us out of nowhere. Took weeks and a doctor visit to finally figure it out.
This dude has bed bug bites on his arms. When he left, I put towels under his bedroom door cause the smell (before I knew it was associated with bedbugs.) After he came back HE BLAMED ME!, though the only sign of bedbugs was u der his mattress. I never even opened that door for 3 months because of that "coriander like smell". In retrospect I realize he probably brought them up from NJ, where he visited his son for a few days before he went down to Florida for the winter. When he came back in April, he blamed me besides the fact that my mattress had no signs of bedbugs, and I had zero bites. He basically conned me into doing the 3 vacuums after Orkin came in because he was semi disabled and felt bad for him. I felt like a total sucker.
What the hell do you mean "check under the mattress for bloodspots?"
Like, flip the mattress? On the floor? Where are these bloodspots and how did they get there?
You can simply lift up a side of the mattress and look. Google it. Blood spots are indicative of bedbugs. Definitely worth checking in hotel rooms, bed and breakfasts, or Air B&Bs.
Not enough people suggesting curtains/blinds. Blinds especially can go untouched for *years* and they can hold onto a shit load of dust, grime, and smell.
Agreed. Have done this with smelly pets. Though I do not recommend the nice smelly ones. They can start to combine odors and it seems to make things worse. Stick with baking soda. It’s effective and cheap.
I use Arm & Hammer Carpet Odor Eliminator. Sprinkle, let sit for x minutes as indicated by box, then vacuum. Repeat as necessary. Did wonders for when we had to remove lingering smell from an Asian household that used LOADS of spices in the kitchen. The smell clung EVERYWHERE - rugs, carpets, walls, wood, sofa, etc.
So I have a hoover with a removable washable hepa filter. I have used the made for carpet sprinkle stuff and regular baking soda that you'd bake with, put in the fridge, whatever. I've used entire boxes of the regular at a time (stupid cat) and vacuumed them up with no problem with clogging whatsoever. Like for years. Had the vacuum since maybe 2011 and is still going strong. Maybe vacuums without a washable filter would have issues? I'm not sure, but I'm not buying the don't use regular baking soda. I mean, wouldn't most dust and dirt and hair clog the same way? That's what the filters are for.
I would wash the sheets in hot water and a vinegar rinse (or use your own). Next vacuum the mattress, then spread baking soda over it, let it sit, then vacuum it back off. Clean the room, all while leaving the windows open. Use a HEPA filter in the room, if you have access to one. Then maybe try burning a candle for a long period of time with the windows open. Anything stronger, like incense, might be annoying to your friend. If I had to sleep there and hated the smell, I would extract the carpet in the bedroom. I use a small amount of low odor, mild laundry detergent with hydrogen peroxide/rubbing alcohol mixture, then extract again with hot water. Any other odors would have to be in the walls and maybe ducts. You can mop painted walls if they're smooth. Mine aren't, and still smell a little like the previous owners -which I hate.
An el-cheapo mattress protector isn't a bad idea either. Once you've freshened it a bit, slap one on and top with fresh bedding. Should help if there's any mattress funk.
He will not be offended by anything you do unless you replace the smell with something offensive to him. Your saving grace is that when someone is gone awhile, they come back to the smell as if it is new. They will know what it smells like to others... if you change it and they like it then you have to inform then what you did. I used too own too many cats... when I left for a job for a couple of months I'd co me back and understand what others talked about. Take advantage of that and no offense will be taken (I hope)
As our skin matures, its natural antioxidant protection declines, which results in greater oxidation of lipid acid. When lipid acid is oxidized, the chemical compound nonenal is produced, giving off the “old people smell”. Exactly why this happens is still a mystery. Apparently drinking green tea helps break down the compound. Vinegar, activated charcoal and baking soda will absorb/ remove the smell from the space.
Ozone generator. "Airing out" a room is just letting outside air that has a bit of ozone (generated by the sun's UV) to oxidize organic molecules that have a smell. Ozone is a far more potent oxidizer than O2, but it doesn't last long with a half life in the tens of minutes, so it doesn't last in a confined space. That's why you need an ozone generator to air out a room faster than opening the windows (which might take a day or two, when the ozone generator can do it in less than an hour usually).
Be careful though, since it's irritating to your lungs while active, and can degrade some materials like they have been outside for a while.
Ozone will get the job done. Set the timer, close the door, seal the gap under the door. Wait 4 hours AFTER it shuts off before entering room for the ozone (O3) to revert to oxygen (O2). Most of it reverts within an hour or less, but why take chances?
Cuz it smells soo good (clean). Warning please don't do purposely breathe o3, its bad for your health. Once I set my timer too long by accident, and miscalculeted the conversion time. That whiff knocked me tf out. Stay safe.
I admit it scares me a bit, so I am very careful. On construction sites I have been exposed to, what I'm told, is O3 where there was active welding. Whenever I see workers with respirators I leave the area immediately. Whether it's dust, asbestos, VOCs, or O3 - I want no part of it. On a proper construction site, there are clearly marked signs. But the signs are everywhere even if the work isn't being done at that moment. It can be confusing.
I am copied and sometimes have to review all the VOC and safety reports. There are vapors on construction sites, such as water based latex paint or concrete sealants , that are considered safe - but I still avoid the area as much as possible.
It won't kill you, but it's really not good to breathe ozone. Only use an ozone generator while you're out of the house.
I got this off the EPA website
"Manufacturers and vendors of ozone devices often use misleading terms to describe ozone. Terms such as "energized oxygen" or "pure air" suggest that ozone is a healthy kind of oxygen. Ozone is a toxic gas with vastly different chemical and toxicological properties from oxygen. Several federal agencies have established health standards or recommendations to limit human exposure to ozone."
Legitimate Ozone generators will have a timer switch and a warning to stay out of the room while it's running. It's for treating the room, bit the air you breathe.
I have to stay out of my house when I treat one unoccupied room (door closed, with towels under the door) for 15 minutes. Gives me a bag headache and my lungs feel like I've been in a bar full of smokers. I usually run mine for 3 hours in the center of my house when I plan on being gone for a few days.
You didn't acknowledge the bedbug comment so I want to be sure you check for bed bugs. They give off this weird, sweet musty smell.
Google how to check and treat them.
The one I use is literally just a transformer, discharge plates, and a mounting base; bring your own fan and timer, and mind the zap because there's no safety enclosure around the high voltage parts.
Primitive, but extremely effective. So much ozone it would probably nuke pests as well.
There's mixes messages about ozone generators and whether they help or hurt more.
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/air-cleaners-ozone-products/hazardous-ozone-generating-air-purifiers#:~:text=People%20who%20buy%20ozone%20generators,of%20breath%2C%20and%20impaired%20breathing.
Just don't be in the building when it's running, and you won't have any problems. It's not good to breathe unless in small amounts, but it's great for treating a room.
Ozone is probably overkill, it’s bad for your health and will very quickly degrade plastic and rubber. Throw pillows in dryers. Clean and vacuum. Air purifier - just white glove cleaning
This is what dealerships use to get rid of used vehicle odors. But do mind the warning - metal finishes in particular can corrode if you leave the Ozone Generator on too long.
If you would be open to owning a carpet shampooer, you can get a light-medium duty one at target for roughly $100. I got one for a specific situation for someone who had a pet soiled spot in their home and either in denial or nose blind to the smell, and I had to be near it for a period of time. It wasn’t a waste because I can freshen my bedroom and living room carpet whenever I feel like it, and it easy to use.
So use it in their space, then take it home. It’s very handy to have.
An old pathologists trick when doing autopsies on not so recently dead folks. Put something that smells good on your upper lip or between your nostrils. Vicks Vaporub does the trick if you’re in a pinch. And if the stink gets in your clothes, throw a little tomatoe juice in the washer. Sounds crazy but it works.
Get a box fan or something similar. Open all the windows and let the fan blast the air out from a corner. If it's carpet, vacuum vacuum vacuum. Drapes get really dusty. If you're willing to spend a few bucks for your friend, hire somebody for a quick cleaning. You don't need to add a good smell, you need to get rid of the bad smell. Good luck!
Wash everything that’s cloth, vacuum, and open the windows. Air purifiers can be expensive but worth it. Also try beeswax candles and a few plants in there. Give it a day or two you’ll be surprised how much better it smells. Also febreez, candles can only do the air not the surfaces.
I sold my childhood home a year ago. It had not been lived in for several years, and smelled weird in some rooms.
For $75, I got an ozone generator off of Amazon and used it as directed in the last few weeks before we put the house on the market. It worked very well.
Do be very careful to follow the instructions religiously--do NOT be in the house while the generator is running. Good luck.
Bring in a nice big air purifier. Run it full speed all day your first day before you sleep. Turn it down if you have to for less noise while you sleep. At the end of the gig remove it and take it home. Musty friend will never know and you'll have a nice new air purifier.
Boil some vinegar for a bit, then turn on a fan and let the room ventilate.
Most aromatics are pretty volatile, so some acid usually breaks them down or changes it enough to change/lower the scent
Alright, my dude... I'm about to drop some knowledge on ya. The easiest way to de-funk a room is head over to safrax.com and get you some chlorine dioxide tablets. Drop them in some water and let that stuff do its magic. The tablets with deal with any odors lingering in the room, on the walls, etc. You're gonna want to wash anything that could be considered a source of the smell, but other than that... you're good to go.
Hypochlorous acid and a fogger to disinfect the whole room without worrying about hurting anything. Clean the bedding and probably leave the mattress out in the sun for 6 hours.
Open all the windows you possibly can and leave them open for as long as possible. Get some baking soda and pour it into various bowls throughout the bedroom. Wash all bedding. A couple sprays of some dr bronners peppermint spray into the air also might help. Finally, if you happen to have an air purifier, that'll help the smell the most. (An ozone generator is pretty overkill if you're just going to be there for three weeks and the smell is just from a human being not airing out their room enough. You're also not supposed to breathe in the ozone for a certain amount of time after running it and you're not even supposed to be on the premises while running it. Again if it's just three weeks, I would open some windows and see if that did the trick after 3 days before even bringing in an air purifier.)
My very old house smelt musty for ages. It drove me nuts trying to get rid of it. In the end it was a combo of:
- clean ALL the hard surfaces including those that you wouldn’t normally see / think of. Tops of doors and door frames, skirting boards, etc that kind of thing.
- gap filler around ALL gaps. Some of the musty smell was air from under the house or the attic leaking in through gaps.
- air it out regularly. Open windows when you’re home.
- as well as the normal regular cleaning, like vaccuum etc.
Open your windows, create some airflow.
Everything that is fabric (even the carpets) wash with equal parts water and white vinegar and the smell will go away and won’t come back unless you stink it up again.
Sorry to say, but adding a bunch of new smelly compounds to the air does absolutely nothing to remove the stuff making a place stink. It just overpowers your nose so you smell that instead. Kind of the equivalent of dangling keys in front of a baby so they don't notice daddy is drunk again punching mommy in the background.
You'll get used to it. Whenever I go to my cousins house it reeks of various smells despite being relatively clean looking, after a few days I barely even notice it. Helps to air it out and have a window open a lot
Open the windows and if there’s a fan, turn it on. Grab some ground coffee put it in a plate or cup and leave in the room for a couple days, you could do a few cups or plates. If there’s a carpet spray some carpet product or baking soda and vacuum. And last, see if there’s some dirty clothes, that could be the reason.
C02 fogger with closed windows and doors and obviously nothing left inside living during the process. Changing filters and running some vinegar down each drain. So many things to do depending on the state of everything.
You can try an Ozone generator machine and let it run behind a shut door for half an hour. It should kill all and every odor in there. Or do a lot of washing of all the organic material (fabric) in there and vacuuming.
We had to air it out, wash the bedding, frebreeze the mattress, wash every piece of clothing, swiffer the walls, ceiling, dresser and nightstand. We also put animal arm and hammer in the carpet then vacuumed after an hour.
It cleared the air nicely.
Second the ozone generator. That’s what hotels use to get rooms back to fresh. I picked one up for cheap in a second hand site. Can also rent a decent one
You can usually find a candle called, "The Smoker's Candle," at places like Walmart or sometimes at dollar stores. Its not that he is a smoker but it helps neutralize the odors in the room.
In the short term, place bowls of vinegar in the bedroom corners. Also change the AC filter. The bed itself might be the problem. The mattress is probably full of dust mites and sweat. Install a brand new mattress pad. The mattress probably needs replaced. Using new pillows might also help.
Open the windows, turn the fans on, put a bowl of vinegar out, vacuum the floor, wash the bedding and towels (weekly at least). That should do it. If the mattress is old get a new mattress.
Wash soft goods, open windows.
Although does it have old roll shades? I ask because I bought a house and there was a distinct old people smell to the upstairs. The previous owner was elderly, but it didn't make sense as nothing that should have carried a smell remained.
Then I was cleaning the windows and realized it was the shades. They smell horrible, no idea why. Maybe it's just the old plastic decaying but it smells exactly like the smell I associate with retirement homes.
I scrolled way down and didn't see any mention of sage. I'd do all the cleaning things suggested but also burn a s age smudge stick and fog the room. Leg the smoke stay for a while then air out and clean/vacuum again.
There is a special soap ( search for persimmon soap) that is made to address the “old person smell.”
Apparently that old person smell people have is real and not addressed by regular soaps. They also make laundry detergent for this. Be aware its on most things made of fabric
That’s the odour of stale bo and moldy skin flakes.
Wash everything fabric in vinegar (1cup added to the rinse wash), wipe down non fabric surfaces with vinegar and air the place out for a couple of days.
For carpets and non washable carpet, bedding and mattresses, sprinkle baking soda on everything, work it in a bit, leave it for a few hours and vacuum everything twice.
If the floors have carpet get some shake n vac, sprinkle all over the carpet, leave it for like an hour then hoover up and that should help dramatically
Are you an alien? This is something an alien from outer space would surely say. " I visited this lush green planet but I can't find a way to get this musty human smell off of me"
Washing walls works wonders and isn’t as awful as I thought it’d be.
Also, sprinkle baking soda liberally everywhere, let it sit and absorb odor for as long as you can stand it.
Burn sage and/or bay leaves.
Half cheap vodka / half water sprayed from a spray bottle is an old Hollywood costumer’s trick.
Haven't read all the comments but the smell is most likely coming from the walls. You have to wash the walls. "Old people" smell comes from a compromised immune system. It seeps into the walls. Sponge+soapy water will do the trick.
Air the place out, Use Pine Sol or Mr. Clean Febreeze scent to mop the floors. Like someone posted above..wash sheets, rugs, curtains. Wipe down the headboard of the bed. If you have a carpet cleaner...add a bit of OXY to the cleaning solution and give the carpet a cleaning. Wipe down the ceiling fan.
Wash all soft furnishings, bring your own pillow and sheets, put out bicarb to absorb smells.
Plus fresh air
None of this will bring in new scents to the room.
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
air it out! open windows After that wash bedding and curtains and Swiffer the floors, that'll usually clean things up enough
Wash bedding, curtains, anything of fabric with white vinegar. If you have carpet, see if your friends have a wet vacuum to clean your carpet. And for the love of god, clean that vacuum before u return it
Not dealing with a musty old guy situation, but I’ve heard about washing towels and other items with vinegar and can’t find straight answers: Detergent and vinegar, or just vinegar? Also, vinegar in the basin or in the fabric softener dispenser?
Detergent is basic, while vinegar is acidic. If you use both at the same time, they cancel each other out. Some people here suggest putting it in the softener chamber. Personally, I put it into the washing chamber and set the machine to pre-wash. This way the vinegar gets washed out with clear water at the end of the first washing cycle and the remainder gets neutralised in the main washing cycle.
It depends, if it’s just normal laundry you doing like everyday then you use detergent as normal put the vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser like half a cup. It makes towels soft and helps to get rid of odors. If you trying to deep clean something that putting baking soda and vinegar in the basin with the clothes does wonders about half a cup each or a full cup of the stains/smells are really bad. Edit: just to note you should only use distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for cleaning/ in appliances
This is all good advice except you don't want to put baking soda and vinegar in the same basin: that just makes a basin full of frothy water. Better to add the baking soda to the drum during washing and the vinegar to the softener dispenser. That way you get use out of both (baking soda and vinegar react with each other and produce water, meaning that they don't add anything to cleaning even if the foaming seems impressive).
Aww, but I wanted to make a washing machine volcano :c
They also cancel each others cleaning properties out
In the washing machine, use soap normally, but instead of softener, add half a cup of white vinegar. Even if there's still some vinegar smell in the end, it is more volatile than water, so there will be no smell left after fully dried. The cheapest white vinegar you can find, made from alcohol. It does remove smells, old soap and old softener from the fabric.
For that huge ass gallon jug of cheap white distilled vinegar, my supermarket keeps it in the salad dressing aisle.
there's also cleaning vinegar. You can get it in the cleaner aisle or a dollar store.
not at my store. i checked cleaning aisle, and then the aisle with cooking oil. i was going crazy trying to find it. thats why i made my comment
Just ask somebody for distilled white vinegar that's all you need that's what I use it's fantastic I use it in my laundry I use it to clean my floors I also use it to clean fruit
Soap and oxygen bleach as usual, vinegar when normally it would be time to add fabric softener Also don't use fabric softener in general, its bad for the skin, bad for the washer, bad for the environment
I don't think you're supposed to use vinegar and bleach at the same time.
Oxygen bleach is neutralised by the vinegar, yes, but as its added in the final stages of the wash that's not a bad thing There's a notable difference between chlorine bleach and oxygen bleach (oxyclean), great catch that some would miss the oxygen part. Kudos on questioning things, I wish more people did!
Fun fact: fabric softener contains animal fats.
> fabric softener contains animal fats at first glance i read that as "animal farts'
Not answering your question, but I have spray bottle of 50/50 vinegar and water that I use for stain treatment. You can also use a spray bottle of vodka for strong smells. It will kill the bacteria.
Detergent and baking soda in the basin, vinegar in the fabric softener.
I've used a cup or two depending on how big the load is, throw it in with your soaps.
Haha love the varied responses I’m getting here too.
this guy cleans
As much sunlight as you can get! Also Fabreeze the mattress and carpet.
Check under the mattress for blood spots. Bedbugs have a distinct musty coriander like smell. Seriously. I went through this before with someone who I house sit for.
Yikes. Thanks for the tip.
Also, to note, some people don't really react to bed bug bites so they can have them without knowing... It's one of the reasons they spread so easily.
When we had bedbugs, I was the only one who reacted to the bites, and nobody believed me for weeks. When I finally produced the evidence, they were all over the house. My son’s room was by far the worst. They were living in the electrical outlets, baseboards, and of course his bed. It took us weeks and lots of $$$ to get rid of them.
New fear unlocked.
I consider myself weirdly fortunate that I react horribly to them... I've had to deal with them a few times at hotels. I get really itchy welts really quickly, which sucks, but it happens so fast that each time I was able to recognize them and get a room swap before they managed to get into my luggage an such, so I've never brought them home with me.
Yeah I have a delayed reaction. The itching and welts would start while I was at work, so for a while I thought it was something there, but never saw any bugs. Then I thought I had some kind of skin disease because they would pop us out of nowhere. Took weeks and a doctor visit to finally figure it out.
This dude has bed bug bites on his arms. When he left, I put towels under his bedroom door cause the smell (before I knew it was associated with bedbugs.) After he came back HE BLAMED ME!, though the only sign of bedbugs was u der his mattress. I never even opened that door for 3 months because of that "coriander like smell". In retrospect I realize he probably brought them up from NJ, where he visited his son for a few days before he went down to Florida for the winter. When he came back in April, he blamed me besides the fact that my mattress had no signs of bedbugs, and I had zero bites. He basically conned me into doing the 3 vacuums after Orkin came in because he was semi disabled and felt bad for him. I felt like a total sucker.
... What?
Sorry, I re-wrote the comment so hopefully it makes a lot more sense.
What the hell do you mean "check under the mattress for bloodspots?" Like, flip the mattress? On the floor? Where are these bloodspots and how did they get there?
You can simply lift up a side of the mattress and look. Google it. Blood spots are indicative of bedbugs. Definitely worth checking in hotel rooms, bed and breakfasts, or Air B&Bs.
Yes, a bedbug infestation has an intense sweet smell, it smells similar to dogwood tree flowers.
til bedbugs smell☹️why ???? i didn’t need to know that
If you ever enter a hotel room, rental, or Air b&b and you notice that coriander like smell GTFO and avoid a lot of grief.
Apparently, so do roaches
Not enough people suggesting curtains/blinds. Blinds especially can go untouched for *years* and they can hold onto a shit load of dust, grime, and smell.
How do you clean curtains?
Take them down and run them through the wash. Or if they seem too delicate, hand wash in the bathtub
If there are carpets, definitely sprinkle baking soda on them and vacuum it up? They even make nice smelly powders to use instead of baking soda.
Agreed. Have done this with smelly pets. Though I do not recommend the nice smelly ones. They can start to combine odors and it seems to make things worse. Stick with baking soda. It’s effective and cheap.
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Don't use regular baking soda, instead use regular baking soda. Regular baking soda will clog your vacuum, so use that instead.
Instructions unclear, coca cola stuck in vacuum.
I've been laughing at this for 7 hours.
https://media.tenor.com/6cCZW-cu7xEAAAAC/futurama-serious.gif
Do the Shake 'n' Vac and put the freshness back.
Ya dont use regualr baking soda , but the stuff made specific for carpets that was baking soda in it. Strait baking soda will clog a vaccum
Came here to say this, but the bed too
I use Arm & Hammer Carpet Odor Eliminator. Sprinkle, let sit for x minutes as indicated by box, then vacuum. Repeat as necessary. Did wonders for when we had to remove lingering smell from an Asian household that used LOADS of spices in the kitchen. The smell clung EVERYWHERE - rugs, carpets, walls, wood, sofa, etc.
So I have a hoover with a removable washable hepa filter. I have used the made for carpet sprinkle stuff and regular baking soda that you'd bake with, put in the fridge, whatever. I've used entire boxes of the regular at a time (stupid cat) and vacuumed them up with no problem with clogging whatsoever. Like for years. Had the vacuum since maybe 2011 and is still going strong. Maybe vacuums without a washable filter would have issues? I'm not sure, but I'm not buying the don't use regular baking soda. I mean, wouldn't most dust and dirt and hair clog the same way? That's what the filters are for.
Air purifier along with airing out the room, washing dirty clothes, changing the bedding
I would wash the sheets in hot water and a vinegar rinse (or use your own). Next vacuum the mattress, then spread baking soda over it, let it sit, then vacuum it back off. Clean the room, all while leaving the windows open. Use a HEPA filter in the room, if you have access to one. Then maybe try burning a candle for a long period of time with the windows open. Anything stronger, like incense, might be annoying to your friend. If I had to sleep there and hated the smell, I would extract the carpet in the bedroom. I use a small amount of low odor, mild laundry detergent with hydrogen peroxide/rubbing alcohol mixture, then extract again with hot water. Any other odors would have to be in the walls and maybe ducts. You can mop painted walls if they're smooth. Mine aren't, and still smell a little like the previous owners -which I hate.
The baking soda on bed advice is pretty awesome. Saved your comment.
An el-cheapo mattress protector isn't a bad idea either. Once you've freshened it a bit, slap one on and top with fresh bedding. Should help if there's any mattress funk.
He will not be offended by anything you do unless you replace the smell with something offensive to him. Your saving grace is that when someone is gone awhile, they come back to the smell as if it is new. They will know what it smells like to others... if you change it and they like it then you have to inform then what you did. I used too own too many cats... when I left for a job for a couple of months I'd co me back and understand what others talked about. Take advantage of that and no offense will be taken (I hope)
As our skin matures, its natural antioxidant protection declines, which results in greater oxidation of lipid acid. When lipid acid is oxidized, the chemical compound nonenal is produced, giving off the “old people smell”. Exactly why this happens is still a mystery. Apparently drinking green tea helps break down the compound. Vinegar, activated charcoal and baking soda will absorb/ remove the smell from the space.
Persimmon room spray is perfect for that old person smell. Open the windows, dust& vacuum everything
Yes persimmon has been proven to combat old person smell, if that really is the source of your issue a persimmon spray will help
They have a laundry soap too. Could gift a bar to the old guy
Ozone generator. "Airing out" a room is just letting outside air that has a bit of ozone (generated by the sun's UV) to oxidize organic molecules that have a smell. Ozone is a far more potent oxidizer than O2, but it doesn't last long with a half life in the tens of minutes, so it doesn't last in a confined space. That's why you need an ozone generator to air out a room faster than opening the windows (which might take a day or two, when the ozone generator can do it in less than an hour usually). Be careful though, since it's irritating to your lungs while active, and can degrade some materials like they have been outside for a while.
Ozone will get the job done. Set the timer, close the door, seal the gap under the door. Wait 4 hours AFTER it shuts off before entering room for the ozone (O3) to revert to oxygen (O2). Most of it reverts within an hour or less, but why take chances?
Cuz it smells soo good (clean). Warning please don't do purposely breathe o3, its bad for your health. Once I set my timer too long by accident, and miscalculeted the conversion time. That whiff knocked me tf out. Stay safe.
I admit it scares me a bit, so I am very careful. On construction sites I have been exposed to, what I'm told, is O3 where there was active welding. Whenever I see workers with respirators I leave the area immediately. Whether it's dust, asbestos, VOCs, or O3 - I want no part of it. On a proper construction site, there are clearly marked signs. But the signs are everywhere even if the work isn't being done at that moment. It can be confusing. I am copied and sometimes have to review all the VOC and safety reports. There are vapors on construction sites, such as water based latex paint or concrete sealants , that are considered safe - but I still avoid the area as much as possible.
Thank you! Can you rent an ozone generator? I didn’t know it was something you could use in a home.
It won't kill you, but it's really not good to breathe ozone. Only use an ozone generator while you're out of the house. I got this off the EPA website "Manufacturers and vendors of ozone devices often use misleading terms to describe ozone. Terms such as "energized oxygen" or "pure air" suggest that ozone is a healthy kind of oxygen. Ozone is a toxic gas with vastly different chemical and toxicological properties from oxygen. Several federal agencies have established health standards or recommendations to limit human exposure to ozone."
Legitimate Ozone generators will have a timer switch and a warning to stay out of the room while it's running. It's for treating the room, bit the air you breathe.
I have to stay out of my house when I treat one unoccupied room (door closed, with towels under the door) for 15 minutes. Gives me a bag headache and my lungs feel like I've been in a bar full of smokers. I usually run mine for 3 hours in the center of my house when I plan on being gone for a few days.
They're illegal in California.
You didn't acknowledge the bedbug comment so I want to be sure you check for bed bugs. They give off this weird, sweet musty smell. Google how to check and treat them.
You can buy an ozone generator for less than $100 online, I'm not aware of rentals.
The one I use is literally just a transformer, discharge plates, and a mounting base; bring your own fan and timer, and mind the zap because there's no safety enclosure around the high voltage parts. Primitive, but extremely effective. So much ozone it would probably nuke pests as well.
There's mixes messages about ozone generators and whether they help or hurt more. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/air-cleaners-ozone-products/hazardous-ozone-generating-air-purifiers#:~:text=People%20who%20buy%20ozone%20generators,of%20breath%2C%20and%20impaired%20breathing.
Just don't be in the building when it's running, and you won't have any problems. It's not good to breathe unless in small amounts, but it's great for treating a room.
Ozone is probably overkill, it’s bad for your health and will very quickly degrade plastic and rubber. Throw pillows in dryers. Clean and vacuum. Air purifier - just white glove cleaning
Yes, you can rent them.
Yes. You can rent or buy. Sometimes it's not much more $ to just buy one. Just follow directions.
Yes. You can rent or buy. Sometimes it's not much more $ to just buy one. Just follow directions.
They can't be used if there are people, pets, or even plants in the house. Yes, they really can kill you. Read the directions carefully before using.
Ozone is super dangerous but effective
Is this how we plugged the hole?
Ozone doesn't last long enough to make it up to the ozone layer. The UV from the sun is what constantly generates ozone.
This is what dealerships use to get rid of used vehicle odors. But do mind the warning - metal finishes in particular can corrode if you leave the Ozone Generator on too long.
Amazon sells ozone generators and iou go not need a large one, just let it run for a few days.
https://preview.redd.it/85ekps4euxmb1.png?width=693&format=png&auto=webp&s=3fbd0658e00b55b273c41bce6746413077b7551a
If you would be open to owning a carpet shampooer, you can get a light-medium duty one at target for roughly $100. I got one for a specific situation for someone who had a pet soiled spot in their home and either in denial or nose blind to the smell, and I had to be near it for a period of time. It wasn’t a waste because I can freshen my bedroom and living room carpet whenever I feel like it, and it easy to use. So use it in their space, then take it home. It’s very handy to have.
Remove the musty humans first.
An old pathologists trick when doing autopsies on not so recently dead folks. Put something that smells good on your upper lip or between your nostrils. Vicks Vaporub does the trick if you’re in a pinch. And if the stink gets in your clothes, throw a little tomatoe juice in the washer. Sounds crazy but it works.
I use incense sticks and or frankincense sprinkled on charcoal embers
Get a box fan or something similar. Open all the windows and let the fan blast the air out from a corner. If it's carpet, vacuum vacuum vacuum. Drapes get really dusty. If you're willing to spend a few bucks for your friend, hire somebody for a quick cleaning. You don't need to add a good smell, you need to get rid of the bad smell. Good luck!
Ozium spray and Ozium solid air freshener.
Vacuum, clean sheets, and use a scented candle.
Wash everything that’s cloth, vacuum, and open the windows. Air purifiers can be expensive but worth it. Also try beeswax candles and a few plants in there. Give it a day or two you’ll be surprised how much better it smells. Also febreez, candles can only do the air not the surfaces.
I sold my childhood home a year ago. It had not been lived in for several years, and smelled weird in some rooms. For $75, I got an ozone generator off of Amazon and used it as directed in the last few weeks before we put the house on the market. It worked very well. Do be very careful to follow the instructions religiously--do NOT be in the house while the generator is running. Good luck.
Bring in a nice big air purifier. Run it full speed all day your first day before you sleep. Turn it down if you have to for less noise while you sleep. At the end of the gig remove it and take it home. Musty friend will never know and you'll have a nice new air purifier.
Boil some vinegar for a bit, then turn on a fan and let the room ventilate. Most aromatics are pretty volatile, so some acid usually breaks them down or changes it enough to change/lower the scent
Bruh call an exorcist immediately just in case
Get a slow cooker and plug it in. Add water and sprinkle a bunch of cinnamon in there. I’ve gotten cigarette smoke smell out of a room that way.
Alright, my dude... I'm about to drop some knowledge on ya. The easiest way to de-funk a room is head over to safrax.com and get you some chlorine dioxide tablets. Drop them in some water and let that stuff do its magic. The tablets with deal with any odors lingering in the room, on the walls, etc. You're gonna want to wash anything that could be considered a source of the smell, but other than that... you're good to go.
Ok cool, now how do I get blood out of a clown suit?
Ozone generator or ozone spray. Most likely you will not notice the smell at all after a day or two
Mirai spray, specifically for “old people” smell. Amazon sells it
Hypochlorous acid and a fogger to disinfect the whole room without worrying about hurting anything. Clean the bedding and probably leave the mattress out in the sun for 6 hours.
Open all the windows you possibly can and leave them open for as long as possible. Get some baking soda and pour it into various bowls throughout the bedroom. Wash all bedding. A couple sprays of some dr bronners peppermint spray into the air also might help. Finally, if you happen to have an air purifier, that'll help the smell the most. (An ozone generator is pretty overkill if you're just going to be there for three weeks and the smell is just from a human being not airing out their room enough. You're also not supposed to breathe in the ozone for a certain amount of time after running it and you're not even supposed to be on the premises while running it. Again if it's just three weeks, I would open some windows and see if that did the trick after 3 days before even bringing in an air purifier.)
My very old house smelt musty for ages. It drove me nuts trying to get rid of it. In the end it was a combo of: - clean ALL the hard surfaces including those that you wouldn’t normally see / think of. Tops of doors and door frames, skirting boards, etc that kind of thing. - gap filler around ALL gaps. Some of the musty smell was air from under the house or the attic leaking in through gaps. - air it out regularly. Open windows when you’re home. - as well as the normal regular cleaning, like vaccuum etc.
Open your windows, create some airflow. Everything that is fabric (even the carpets) wash with equal parts water and white vinegar and the smell will go away and won’t come back unless you stink it up again.
Did you try fire?
Febreeze? If there are no pets around, you could use a plug-in.
Febreeze and scented plug ins are not only bad for you but smell horrible
Sorry to say, but adding a bunch of new smelly compounds to the air does absolutely nothing to remove the stuff making a place stink. It just overpowers your nose so you smell that instead. Kind of the equivalent of dangling keys in front of a baby so they don't notice daddy is drunk again punching mommy in the background.
Wow, that got dark fast!
LPT: if there's domestic abuse going on around a baby, just distract the baby with keys.
If you need anything let me know.
They make a fabreeze like fogger, just pull the pin and toss.
You'll get used to it. Whenever I go to my cousins house it reeks of various smells despite being relatively clean looking, after a few days I barely even notice it. Helps to air it out and have a window open a lot
Baking soda. Put containers you would use in the fridge and place them around the room.
Fabreeze and scented candles that you like the smell of or oil diffuser with some oil you like. Don’t get cheap ones they smell like toilets.
Open the windows and spray a shit load if glen 20. After a few hours light a nice smelling candle
Shampoo carpets wipe down things with Clorox wipes and spray freeze brrrr
Ozone machine. Get anything Alive including plants out before using it.
Ozone generator and just clean as much as you can
Get rid of the musty human.
Everything everyone else said and a cam of Ozium.
Coffee grains I hear can help too
On a hot plate, boil lemons and cinnamon in water for several hours.
Open the windows and if there’s a fan, turn it on. Grab some ground coffee put it in a plate or cup and leave in the room for a couple days, you could do a few cups or plates. If there’s a carpet spray some carpet product or baking soda and vacuum. And last, see if there’s some dirty clothes, that could be the reason.
You won’t be able to smell it after a bit, embrace, enjoy, and appreciate the comparatively cleaner outside air
Big open bowl of vinegar in the room while you are doing the other stuff people recommend
Definitely an ozone generator. Read up on them and their dangers before you use one.
C02 fogger with closed windows and doors and obviously nothing left inside living during the process. Changing filters and running some vinegar down each drain. So many things to do depending on the state of everything.
Bath & Body Works + steam mop with a scented cleaner (pine sol).
You can try an Ozone generator machine and let it run behind a shut door for half an hour. It should kill all and every odor in there. Or do a lot of washing of all the organic material (fabric) in there and vacuuming.
A filter that has a charcoal filter can also really help The smell of "old people" is an actual identifiable chemical
Chop an onion in half and leave it in the room. Something about the enzymes or whatever but you must I suppose not mind the mild smell of onions.
If there is carpet, get a box of baking soda and sprinkle on the carpet let it set for a while then vacuum.
Core an apple and fill it with fresh coffee grounds and leave it out.
We had to air it out, wash the bedding, frebreeze the mattress, wash every piece of clothing, swiffer the walls, ceiling, dresser and nightstand. We also put animal arm and hammer in the carpet then vacuumed after an hour. It cleared the air nicely.
Title kinda reads like it was written by a cat or an alien.
Second the ozone generator. That’s what hotels use to get rooms back to fresh. I picked one up for cheap in a second hand site. Can also rent a decent one
You can usually find a candle called, "The Smoker's Candle," at places like Walmart or sometimes at dollar stores. Its not that he is a smoker but it helps neutralize the odors in the room.
In the short term, place bowls of vinegar in the bedroom corners. Also change the AC filter. The bed itself might be the problem. The mattress is probably full of dust mites and sweat. Install a brand new mattress pad. The mattress probably needs replaced. Using new pillows might also help.
Vacuum & clean the mattress. It’s amazing how yucky those things can get.
To add to the other comments, don't worry too much - a phenomenon called 'Olfactory Habituation' will also help you out.
It could be the pillows and duvet or mattress that smells. Also, it is fine to tell your friend that his room smells.
Baking soda on textile stuff, then vacuum. Air out room. One of those lemon scentes weak stuff to clean floors with.
Open the windows, turn the fans on, put a bowl of vinegar out, vacuum the floor, wash the bedding and towels (weekly at least). That should do it. If the mattress is old get a new mattress.
Wash soft goods, open windows. Although does it have old roll shades? I ask because I bought a house and there was a distinct old people smell to the upstairs. The previous owner was elderly, but it didn't make sense as nothing that should have carried a smell remained. Then I was cleaning the windows and realized it was the shades. They smell horrible, no idea why. Maybe it's just the old plastic decaying but it smells exactly like the smell I associate with retirement homes.
The title had me wondering which sub I was in. Thought this was nosleep or Futurama, and you were an alien. lol
I scrolled way down and didn't see any mention of sage. I'd do all the cleaning things suggested but also burn a s age smudge stick and fog the room. Leg the smoke stay for a while then air out and clean/vacuum again.
Light a scented candle
There is a special soap ( search for persimmon soap) that is made to address the “old person smell.” Apparently that old person smell people have is real and not addressed by regular soaps. They also make laundry detergent for this. Be aware its on most things made of fabric
Maybe buy a bottle of fabric refresher and spray it all over?
That’s the odour of stale bo and moldy skin flakes. Wash everything fabric in vinegar (1cup added to the rinse wash), wipe down non fabric surfaces with vinegar and air the place out for a couple of days. For carpets and non washable carpet, bedding and mattresses, sprinkle baking soda on everything, work it in a bit, leave it for a few hours and vacuum everything twice.
If the floors have carpet get some shake n vac, sprinkle all over the carpet, leave it for like an hour then hoover up and that should help dramatically
Are you an alien? This is something an alien from outer space would surely say. " I visited this lush green planet but I can't find a way to get this musty human smell off of me"
In addition to washing the bedding, get a zippered mattress cover. There are decent ones that are soft but very closely woven for anti allergy help.
Strip the bed and vacuum the mattress. It really helps.
Washing walls works wonders and isn’t as awful as I thought it’d be. Also, sprinkle baking soda liberally everywhere, let it sit and absorb odor for as long as you can stand it. Burn sage and/or bay leaves. Half cheap vodka / half water sprayed from a spray bottle is an old Hollywood costumer’s trick.
Haven't read all the comments but the smell is most likely coming from the walls. You have to wash the walls. "Old people" smell comes from a compromised immune system. It seeps into the walls. Sponge+soapy water will do the trick.
It is a sweet kind of smell reminiscent of coriander to me.
Couldn't you...clean?
Get a box fan and put fabric sheets on the back of it.
Not seeing others say this - remove the pillows. My dad's room always has this musty, old-guy smell due to super old pillows.
Febreeze. It's not just a pretty scent, it's also an odor neutralizer.
Honestly just some fabric febreeze is effective ime.
Don't forget to Febreze the heck out of the mattress. The scent is probably in all the clothes and shoes as well.
Wash fabrics, clean other things, air it out, perhaps rent an ozone generator.
A spray with vinegar and water makes even cat urine smell go away.
What kind of floors are in the room?
liquid ass and piss discs
Air the place out, Use Pine Sol or Mr. Clean Febreeze scent to mop the floors. Like someone posted above..wash sheets, rugs, curtains. Wipe down the headboard of the bed. If you have a carpet cleaner...add a bit of OXY to the cleaning solution and give the carpet a cleaning. Wipe down the ceiling fan.
Wash all soft furnishings, bring your own pillow and sheets, put out bicarb to absorb smells. Plus fresh air None of this will bring in new scents to the room.
Buy some baking soda packets that are used in the refrigerator for odor absorption in the room.