Moisture in lower level stinks something awful on long weekends
Who would have thought that it would only take a few days of inactivity for our whole house to accumulate a wide range of stinking smells. I know it’s an older place, but there are some deep rooted odors contained in those walls, and I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to remove them entirely. The top floor smells like mothballs every few weeks. The kitchen has lingering smells of onions and spicy curries. But the worst is the living room on the lowest level of the house, which wreaks of mold and mildew every time we’re gone for a few days. It only takes about 3 days of absence for the entire lower level of our house to be stinking something terrible. The indoor air becomes damp and thick with the stench of blossoming mold. It’s as though the smell emerges from every wall, as if the indoor air pollutants are actually sealed right into the drywall. I certainly understand that in-ground spaces tend to be cool and damp year round, and this easily leads to mold and mildew growth over time. I also understand that running the AC and a dehumidifier will greatly reduce the amount of airborne mold contamination and surface growth; however, it makes no sense for us to power the entire central cooling system when we leave for a long weekend trip. That’s why we’re currently working on installing a small AC unit for the downstairs area, complete with a separate dehumidifying unit. We are putting the systems on a remote switch, so it’s possible to turn the new air quality handling equipment from anywhere, including wherever we go on quick trips out of town.