Getting rid of this smell in one room of my house?

Question

I'm renting a house.... its an older house and was vacant for some time... so it smelled kind of funny from the beginning. I've cleaned the carpets and used fabreeze, candles, and that smelly carpet powder...

But there is one room that still smells funny. It's not necessarily a BAD smell (like mold or anything), but it just smells funny. Actually, it reminds me of old people (I know, it sounds wierd)... what else can I try to get rid of that smell in that room? Its the one room that is separated from the rest of the house (its the front den and is separated by the kitchen from the rest of the rooms in the house)

Any ideas?

Answer 1

that's funny, because I had the same problem this spring when we moved. The smell you describe is well known to me. I ended up sprinkling baking soda on the rug, and putting out a bowl of vinegar. I let that sit for about a week, and then vacuumed really well. The smell went right away

Answer 2

The only way to get the smell out is to replace the carpet (sometimes you can get by with cleaning it depending on the thickness of the pad but renting a machine wont work you have to get a professional that uses the industrial strength machines), the pad, and scrub the walls. If it needs paint also make sure you use kills and wipe it down or the discoloration will come through the paint. Cigarette smoke has the same effect as smoke caused by fire in a home. This is the only way you can completely get rid of the smell.

Answer 3

sounds like its time to bring out the pine sol.I would start scrubbing the walls and all the baseboards with it.Old person smell is a hard one to get rid off.Make sure your cleaning the window frames to.As for the carpet,the smell has probably reached down to the underfloor or do to the fact it is an old house it may have older hard wood floors underneath.It may do you some good if it bothers you that bad to rip the carpet up and see what you have in order to clean the floors below it.

Answer 4

Try filling a plastic container with white vinegar place in the room shut the door if possible. Leave there for a week and see if the odor diminishes. I have tried this and it worked for me.
Also sprinkle the carpet with Baking Soda and let sit for a few hours then vacuum.

Answer 5

Spook's got a good point.

Now, one thing that might help is to leave a small bowl of vinegar in the room, and to use vinegar to clean the windows: I've found it's good for removing smells as well as cleaning glass.

Answer 6

You will have to try to find the source of the smell, it may be in the attic, or from beneath the house?

Answer 7

you might have an old person buried in the walls.