What is wrong with my house?

[DownHome]

The last several day have been very VERY humid and sticky. I have notice a wet dog smell throughout the living room and stairs area. It is nasty. I'm not a neat freak, but my house is not filthy either.

What is going on with my house and is there anything I can do to get rid of this smell?

When it first started we steamed cleaned the carpets thinking that might be the problem and went over everything pretty well thinking that would nip it in the bud. No such luck.

oh yeah and we don't have any pets in the house.

[Maura]

Something in the ventilation/heating system?

[pro2nd]

Have you tried a dehumidifier?

[PinkBat]

We had the same problem every summer until we ripped the carpet out. It's nasty under and around the edges of carpet. I also steam cleaned the carpet and threw baking soda onto it before vacuuming, nothing helped.

[almostthere]

That was what we smelled when we found mice.

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by PinkBat

We had the same problem every summer until we ripped the carpet out. It's nasty under and around the edges of carpet. I also steam cleaned the carpet and threw baking soda onto it before vacuuming, nothing helped.

Bingo, that wet dog smell is damp carpet smell. You have to either remove the dampness (AC or dehumidifer) or remove the carpet....simple.

[Jim S.]

You might also check to see that your foundation vents are open or your basement is getting ventilation. It's easy to forget to open vents when it warms up.

Also, a little more detailed, if you have a crawlspace, ALL of the dirt there should be covered with black plastic. Helps a lot.

What that does is prevent the situation where your carpet is the moisture barrier between house and foundation -- colder on one side than th eother and thus subject to condensation. It also prevents moisture from rising through the floor from the dirt.

Living in the South, I am highly attuned to all this stuff. We are gradually eliminating ALL carpet in our house.

[canfossi]

Try the dehumidifier and put on the woodstove if you have one. You can also try to air out the house? Chris

[Alice In TX/MO]

Having the carpets cleaned in humid weather is a mistake. They don't dry; they just mildew.

Rip them out. Carpet is nasty anyway.

[zukgod]

do you have a leak in the roof that you don't know about? Maybe going inside a wall, it sounds like you have a moisture problem.

[cheapskate]

I'm in Kansas too. It is VERY humid, even rainy the last few days. Every spring,our old house goes through a smelly period. It is an old 2 story farmhouse that we have extensively remodeled.

I think the smell is quite simply the old wood in the wall studs,floor joists and ceiling beams. The smell is more intense in the stairwell where we have not replaced the plaster with drywall.

For those suggesting a dehumidifier, we need a gigantic, humongous, industrial sized one to keep up with the Kansas humidity in the spring and summer.

[DownHome]

ty all for your help.

Cheapskate: Your house sounds exactly like ours, so I'm wondering if it does it every year and I just didn't notice it last year.

The carpets are dry and I've seen no evidence of mice THANK GOODNESS!

I hope it goes away soon, we are having everyone out in a couple of weeks.

And the humidity is crazy right now, but it sure give the skin some relief from all the winter dryness.

[okiemom]

WE are with you too. Our is an old farmhouae. This week has been so bad I kicked on the AC for a while. It did the trick.

[hoofinitnorth]

There is a difference between a mildew smell from a roof leak and a wet dog smell from wet carpets (did prior owners have pets?).