Musty smell in old bathroom

[anniegirl]

We just moved into an old house and the bathroom has an odd smell that I can't get rid of. It's very clean, I've cleaned it twice and there's no sign of mold anywhere. Unfortunately the window is sealed shut : , I'm dying to get some fresh in there. I bought an air neutralizer at the hardware store today, it says it's non-toxic...it just looks like a bag of rocks, but it does seem to be helping.

Any suggestions for getting rid of the smell? There's no visible mold or anything but I'm wondering if there might be something lurking underneath it all, kwim? Some goofball put up contac paper (remember that plasticky stuff?) on the walls instead of actual wallpaper. I'm hoping that might be the source of the smell. As soon as we get settled in my next project is to peel it off and paint the bathroom.

What can I do? It's making me bonkers, I hate going to the bathroom now! :

[abac]

A couple of suggestions. If there is a shower or bath in the room, be sure the caulking is not cracked or you could have water seeping behind the walls. If it is cracked, don't caulk over top of it; remove it first, then recaulk. Also if there's a window in the shower, check that too. It's common for water to seep into the walls around improperly sealed windows. Check around the base of the toilet. If there's any moisture, it's very easy to take up the toilet and replace the ring underneath. If there's no fan, get one installed. Set up a dehumidifier for a couple of days and see if it helps.

Just because there is no visible mold doesn't mean there is no mold. It's most often hidden behind walls or under floors. If you can smell it, it's there. You should try to find the source to avoid further problems (like your walls or floors rotting out...ewww.)

[Rebecca]

I'm really hoping you don't one day pull up the linoleum and find rotten floor boards from leaky fixtures, even if it doesn't look like anything has leaked. If the vinyl is newer, it may have been put down to cover up a bigger problem. It could easily be mold or mildew hidden somewhere.

Do you have access to the ceiling under the bathroom from the basement? Or from the removable panel that allows you to access the tub plumbing?

[PapayaVagina]

Aren't there specialists that you can hire to come in and check air quality to see if they can pick up mold spores in the air? I thought I saw that on TV once. I'm going to need to figure that out soon, because we're thinking about buying a house and I have SEVERE mold allergies and would get horribly sick if we bought a house and later found out there was a mold problem.

My husband always talks about ozone machines that they used to use when they were doing restoration after floods in houses. I don't know much about them (if anyone knows bad things about them please let me know!! because we might have to use one when we buy a new house if there were any animals or smokers in there!!) but he says that they work very well but leave behind a "funny" (says he cannot describe it) smell.

[anniegirl]

nak...

thanks for the ideas. i think i found where it's coming from. the bathroom faucet leaks pretty badly and it looks to me like the cabinet the sink is set in is rotten and moldy at the bottom. : we're renting, so it's not ultimately our responsibility. but we'll probably be here a while and if they won't replace the sink stand i might do it myself. the repairman is here right now so we'll see.

i thought about the ozone thing too. but i think it's only okay to do it before you've moved in. it's pretty dangerous isn't it?

[partymoo]

.

[MeghansDad]

[QUOTE=anniegirl]
we're renting, so it's not ultimately our responsibility. but we'll probably be here a while and if they won't replace the sink stand i might do it myself. the repairman is here right now so we'll see.
[QUOTE]

As a landlord myself, i can say that any plumbing or issues created from leaking plumbing are the responsibility of the landlord (well any decent one)not the tenant, unless it is damage that was caused by your misuse.

Just inform the landlord, that there is a terrible mold oder in the bathroom that seems to becoming from mold caused by a leaky pipe on the bathroom. You dont want to start trouble but dont let him/her do a quick fix and not address the root of the problem. The repair shouldnt come out of your pocket.