The Conservative Cave
Interests => Around the House & In the Garage => Topic started by: BEG on October 04, 2009, 08:20:18 PM
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Our house has an old house smell in only two areas. In the study (which use to be the master bedroom) and the hallway leading out of the study into what use to be the only bathroom. The bathroom kind of has an old house smell too. The bathroom has the original sink, bathtub and the original cabinets (including a built in one in the wall). The study has the original closet with a set of drawers under the closet doors (first time I've seen something like that). Here is a picture of the closet: (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y131/Foam_Kitty/IMG_4529.jpg)
The original wood floors are in the study and the hallway. The cabinets/desk in the study are from the last 8 years or so. The previous owner stored their three tortoises in the closet in the hallway during the winter. They left their tortoises by the way and I refuse to store them in our house. :whatever: One of them is 55 years old. The closet kind of smelled and I don't know if it was old house smell or tortoise smell so I hung some cedar blocks and also this thing called an Earth Care odor remover. I used a few of those odor removers when we had a rat die in our attic last year. Let me tell you that is the worst smell EVER...but I digress.
Anyway, I hung another one of the Earth Care odor removers in the study but the smell is still there. It doesn't always smell and it isn't over powering but I'm use to new houses that have no smell (unless you count the rat smell of last year). Do I have to just live with the smell or does anyone know of a way to eliminate it? I don't want to just cover it up with air freshener, I want to get rid of it. Would an air purifier help? We are planning on painting, would using kilz first help?
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Try burning candles. As a smoker I can attest to the fact that they help kill odors. By the way, what's with the old school desk in the corner?
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You may be able to reduce the smell by having the ducts cleaned and using HEPA filters on the HVAC.
A portable air purifier that has a carbon filter will also help.
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Depending on the age of the former owners, and you said one was quite ill....it could be it's an "old people" smell.
It's something that often occurs in houses that have elderly people living in them. As a realtor....we often see it in houses that are "estate sales" or when someone's parents have gone to an assisted living situation.
Call Serv-Pro, or some industrial cleaning type company, that cleans up after fires or floods.
Before I moved into this house, we had the house completely cleaned by Serv-Pro, after the entire interior was painted and the carpet replaced. The prior owners had a gazillion birds....or so it seemed - they had these huge cages, one had 30 some finches and another had about 20 :o :o :o, 3 dogs and 2 cats!!! The dogs and the cats were only a semi problem, but the birds were a humongous issue for me.
By the time we moved in....there was no smell whatsoever.
I know you've had the carpet cleaned, and you are doing some painting...so ask Serv-Pro or whoever is out there, if they have some heavy duty deodorizer that you can purchase. Not a floral but something else.
Also, make sure you don't have any mold anywhere. Is your house on a slab or a crawl? If it's on a crawl, make sure there is a moisture barrier over the dirt. A pest inspector will check for you....but that was probably checked out in your home inspection.
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By the way, what's with the old school desk in the corner?
It's where she makes me sit when I've been a bad boy.
:naughty:
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Using diluted Murphy's Oil soap to wipe down all the wood work and mop the harwood floors can also help.
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For closets put a couple of boxes of open (tear the top off) baking soda on a shelf or corner of the floor (some place where they won't get knocked over) for a few weeks.
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It's where she makes me sit when I've been a bad boy.
:naughty:
Does she pop you on the knuckles with a ruler like The Penguin?
:rotf:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hlm6_blues-brothers-penguin_fun
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Does she pop you on the knuckles with a ruler like The Penguin?
:rotf:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hlm6_blues-brothers-penguin_fun
Not after she found out I liked it.
:uhsure:
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Try burning candles. As a smoker I can attest to the fact that they help kill odors. By the way, what's with the old school desk in the corner?
It's an old school desk my Mom got out of an old school house that was moved to my grandparents farm many moons ago (before I was born) that has since been torn down. She refinished it and use to have it in a bedroom. She gave it to me about 10 years ago. I didn't know what to do with it so I sat it in the corner. It has to be older than dirt.
Does anyone know what the thing in the picture is? It's in both the original closet in the study and the hall closet.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y131/Foam_Kitty/IMG_4573.jpg)
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Depending on the age of the former owners, and you said one was quite ill....it could be it's an "old people" smell.
It's something that often occurs in houses that have elderly people living in them. As a realtor....we often see it in houses that are "estate sales" or when someone's parents have gone to an assisted living situation.
Call Serv-Pro, or some industrial cleaning type company, that cleans up after fires or floods.
Before I moved into this house, we had the house completely cleaned by Serv-Pro, after the entire interior was painted and the carpet replaced. The prior owners had a gazillion birds....or so it seemed - they had these huge cages, one had 30 some finches and another had about 20 :o :o :o, 3 dogs and 2 cats!!! The dogs and the cats were only a semi problem, but the birds were a humongous issue for me.
By the time we moved in....there was no smell whatsoever.
I know you've had the carpet cleaned, and you are doing some painting...so ask Serv-Pro or whoever is out there, if they have some heavy duty deodorizer that you can purchase. Not a floral but something else.
Also, make sure you don't have any mold anywhere. Is your house on a slab or a crawl? If it's on a crawl, make sure there is a moisture barrier over the dirt. A pest inspector will check for you....but that was probably checked out in your home inspection.
It's not "old people smell" as they were only a few years older than us. We just had the carpet replaced yesterday. We do have a crawl space and I know our inspector went down there but I don't know if he noted there was a moisture barrier or not.
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It's an old school desk my Mom got out of an old school house that was moved to my grandparents farm many moons ago (before I was born) that has since been torn down. She refinished it and use to have it in a bedroom. She gave it to me about 10 years ago. I didn't know what to do with it so I sat it in the corner. It has to be older than dirt.
Does anyone know what the thing in the picture is? It's in both the original closet in the study and the hall closet.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y131/Foam_Kitty/IMG_4573.jpg)
Maybe a place to hang shoes by their heels?
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Those bars alternate in distance from the back wall?
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It's an old school desk my Mom got out of an old school house that was moved to my grandparents farm many moons ago (before I was born) that has since been torn down. She refinished it and use to have it in a bedroom. She gave it to me about 10 years ago. I didn't know what to do with it so I sat it in the corner. It has to be older than dirt.
Does anyone know what the thing in the picture is? It's in both the original closet in the study and the hall closet.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y131/Foam_Kitty/IMG_4573.jpg)
Probably used to hang blankets/quilts.
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Not buy a house with "old house smell". :evillaugh:
I'm sorry, BEG, just teasing.
The idiots we bought our house from had wall to wall urine soaked carpet (From the dogs, not the humans, as far as we know). We ripped everything out, had the hardwood floors (which were underneath the carpet) refinished, re-painted all the walls. Pretty much gutted the entire house.
I don't know what to tell ya'. :(
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Probably used to hang blankets/quilts.
Or linens in general is what I was thinking. The staggered distance from the back wall would lend itself to that function very nicely.
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Those bars alternate in distance from the back wall?
How utterly observant of you. I feel all "OCDed" out by you.
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Or linens in general is what I was thinking. The staggered distance from the back wall would lend itself to that function very nicely.
I was wondering if it was for shoes with heals like ColonialMarine said, I hadn't thought about it being for linens or blankets. Hmmmm.....
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How utterly observant of you. I feel all "OCDed" out by you.
Ask my wife....
I am very very observant most of the time. It rather irritates her on occassion.
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I was wondering if it was for shoes with heals like ColonialMarine said, I hadn't thought about it being for linens or blankets. Hmmmm.....
If those pipes had hot water circulating through them I'd say they look like a towel warmers you'd find in an old house on Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard.
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If those pipes had hot water circulating through them I'd say they look like a towel warmers you'd find in an old house on Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard.
They don't have water circulating through them and I highly doubt they would have them in the hall closet or bedroom closet. I wondered if the one in the hall closet could be to hang gloves and scarves on. Then I noticed the one in the bedroom closet and figured it probably isn't for that. Someone here surely knows what they are for....I tried googling it and haven't come up with an answer. It's hard googling for something you don't know the name of or what it's used for. :p
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They don't have water circulating through them and I highly doubt they would have them in the hall closet or bedroom closet. I wondered if the one in the hall closet could be to hang gloves and scarves on. Then I noticed the one in the bedroom closet and figured it probably isn't for that. Someone here surely knows what they are for....I tried googling it and haven't come up with an answer. It's hard googling for something you don't know the name of or what it's used for. :p
I thought the closets mentioned used to be a part of the original bathrooms. I have comprehension problems.
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Hanging tablecloths.
Good old ones...are usually starched almost to the point of standing on their own. The family ones I have, I send to the cleaners. It's the only way to get the wrinkles out!
Hanging ties?
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What'd you do with the three turtles they left behind?
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What'd you do with the three turtles they left behind?
Soup?
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What'd you do with the three turtles they left behind?
We still have them, the girls feed them every morning. They have an area behind the shed in the back yard. (http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y131/Foam_Kitty/IMG_4572.jpg)
There is a gate on either side of the shed and their "home" is behind there. They are actually registered and I have no idea how to care for them. I just did what the previous owner told me to do as far as feeding them. She told me that they don't have to be stored in the house in the winter (they hibernate like bears for the winter). She said we can either store them in the garage or leave them outside because it doesn't get that cold here. Her husband was the one who always wanted to bring them in the house. The previous owners moved down the street and told us if we want to get rid of them to tell them first because they will take them but they thought the girls would really like them. They are pretty cool to watch. The one that is 55 years old is HUGE.
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Hanging tablecloths.
Good old ones...are usually starched almost to the point of standing on their own. The family ones I have, I send to the cleaners. It's the only way to get the wrinkles out!
Hanging ties?
I hadn't thought about tablecloths but had thought about ties. I am determined to find out.
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I notice that there is a pool. How close are those recesses with the rods? They do look like drying racks for towels. Are they situated with air flow around them?
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I notice that there is a pool. How close are those recesses with the rods? They do look like drying racks for towels. Are they situated with air flow around them?
The pool was built after 2000 and house was built in 1949. The things are original to the house and in the closet so they wouldn't get much in the way of air flow. Besides, they are in the hall closet and original master bedroom closet. I don't think you would hang a wet town in a closet.
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What'd you do with the three turtles they left behind?
The one that is 55 years old is HUGE.
Turtle rides?
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Call Serv-Pro, or some industrial cleaning type company, that cleans up after fires or floods.
Good idea.
You could also try an ozone generator/ozonator. That is what the pros use.
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I have these and they work awesome for funky odors. As a matter of fact one is out on the hood of my car rejuvenating itself (you have to read the directions to understand) right now.
http://www.achooallergy.com/basement-odor-eliminator.asp
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http://www.howtogetridofstuff.com/odor-removal/how-to-get-rid-of-musty-smell/
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Depending on the age of the former owners, and you said one was quite ill....it could be it's an "old people" smell.
It's something that often occurs in houses that have elderly people living in them. As a realtor....we often see it in houses that are "estate sales" or when someone's parents have gone to an assisted living situation.
Call Serv-Pro, or some industrial cleaning type company, that cleans up after fires or floods.
Before I moved into this house, we had the house completely cleaned by Serv-Pro, after the entire interior was painted and the carpet replaced. The prior owners had a gazillion birds....or so it seemed - they had these huge cages, one had 30 some finches and another had about 20 :o :o :o, 3 dogs and 2 cats!!! The dogs and the cats were only a semi problem, but the birds were a humongous issue for me.
By the time we moved in....there was no smell whatsoever.
I know you've had the carpet cleaned, and you are doing some painting...so ask Serv-Pro or whoever is out there, if they have some heavy duty deodorizer that you can purchase. Not a floral but something else.
Also, make sure you don't have any mold anywhere. Is your house on a slab or a crawl? If it's on a crawl, make sure there is a moisture barrier over the dirt. A pest inspector will check for you....but that was probably checked out in your home inspection.
Ok...Im getting up there.Ive been worryed about wrinkles and gray hair and all that stuff...now you tell me Im going to smell??? What age will that be starting at...yoiks!
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Ok...Im getting up there.Ive been worryed about wrinkles and gray hair and all that stuff...now you tell me Im going to smell??? What age will that be starting at...yoiks!
Some elderly people have a tendency to not bathe as often....not because they don't want to...but because they are afraid of falling getting in and out of the bathtub.
It's weird....sometimes when you walk into a house (I'm a Realtor)...you can just tell that an elderly person lived there. It's not the same as walking into a teenage boy's room - which can be just gross! But like a teenage boy's room, it's a distinctive smell.
Same with someone who is Asian or Middle Eastern. In those homes...it's how they cook their food. Very distinct smell of curry and a variety of other "exotic" (certainly to an E TN native) smells. Some also burn incense quite often, especially if there is some type of religious altar somewhere in the house. The smells permeate the walls and carpet. The house is most often immaculate....but because of the smell that hits the buyer in the face when first walking in the door....the house can be very difficult to sell.
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I have a friend whose house has the drawers under the closet. Always thought it was a cool idea.
Dig the study.