Bharat SainiLast Updated on April 27, 2014 by Bharat Saini
Many basements are damp, dark and cool, which creates nasty smells. This is one of the reasons that people tend to avoid hanging out in the basement. Basements can be converted into a bedroom, office, family room, etc. However, because they smell bad most of the time people simply avoid being there.
What you can do to eliminate bad odour is to find what causes is and to take measures.
Finding out what causes bad smells in your basement
Most of the time it is dampness that causes mould and mildew and they cause stale air and a bad smell. To figure out what causes dampness you need to check the place for inadequate grading, structural cracks, inadequate gutters and other problems.
The most common causes for bad odour in the basement, according to domestic cleaners London area, could be:
• Insufficient grading
• Improper installation of window wells (some simply direct water inwardly instead of doing it away from the foundation of the house)
• Inadequate gutters (if you don’t have gutters around the house, you’ll need to place ones or replace the old ones)
Once you determine what causes excess dampness you need to take further measures. You may have to undergo repairs. Then after you eliminate what causes dampness in the room, you can proceed to freshening the air. Note that if there is mould or mildew you need to remove them in the first place.
Also, be sure to run a fan in the room. Or if you can, just open the windows to let fresh air. This will reduce bad smell.
Ways to remove bad smells from your basement
• Coffee grounds: Prepare paper bags filled with unused coffee grounds. The coffee should cover about two inches of the bag. Be sure to use a few bags and place them in the basement. Let them sit in the premises for about two days or so. Don’t keep them there for too long, however. This could attract pests.
Coffee will absorb the odours and freshen the air. When the time is up you should remove the paper bags and dispose of them. If you want, you can place new paper bags filled with coffee grounds.
• Onion: Another helpful plant that can absorb bad odours is onion. What you have to do is cut an onion in half and place it on a plate. Then take the plate to the basement and place it on the floor in the middle of the room. The onion will help eliminate the bad odour by absorbing it. In the meantime, make sure you air the room. Either open a window or run a fan. The air needs to be circulating.
• Vinegar: One or two cups can work a miracle in your basement. Simply fill a bowl with vinegar and place it somewhere in the room where it will be out of the way. Make sure you keep the bowl into the room for as long as it needs to be there.
At this point it is important to note that you should make sure your children or pets do not have access to the room as they may accidentally spill the liquid. Also, you may find that the vinegar smells a bit strong at first but after a couple of days you won’t even be able to smell it.
The best thing about the methods mentioned above is that they are simple, inexpensive and they are not time-consuming. You can rest easy knowing that your basement smells great and all the stale air is gone. Note that buying expensive products does not always ensure excellent results. Not to mention, most of them are chemical-laden; so they are both toxic and inefficient. There is no need to spend a fortune on such products when you can use natural ingredients that are easy to find in every household.
