Older Home Smells Musty :( HELP!

[ceahorse]

Just purchase a 1974 mobile home 3 wks ago, seem to be in very nice condition. No smells when I looked at it!
Weather was hot and dry at the time and now raining daily!

Shorty after moving in I started having dizzy spells/headaches, doctor feels it may be due to air quality. Sinus went haywire

The house smells musty!
Hope someone can help me!

First question is about the duct work, which I will have clean.
There seem to be 2 sets, one is sending air out the other set seem to be intake?
I took pictures of the inside of the nonworking and working vents and you can see insulation/floor beams and even electric wires in the nonworking vents.
Do I need them? Can I cover them? And with what?

Called a mobile home expert guy but he may not be able to come for a weeks.
He mention I may not have a vapor barrier under the home, so maybe damp musty air from the outside is entering through those nonfunctional vents?

Finally I have a extension on the living room and it is leaking. The former owner said it never leak for her and I didn't see any stains when I bought the home but it's leaking now
there's one new stain about 4"X4" and a few smaller ones.
Could mold be in the ceiling or will it dry out once I get the roof fix?
By the way it's metal.

Sorry so many questions!

So the air duct vents-vapor barriers and roof
And maybe my problem will be fixed!

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. Air quality problems can be difficult to solve, but here are a few things to look at & try.

Duct work. Most mobile home systems use only one set of ducts that carry warm air only. They usually use a vented door to the furnace closet to supply "Cold air". Any furnace repair company can take one look and confirm if this is the style you have.

Moisture under your home could cause a musty odor. Do you have vents in your skirting? The general rule is a minimum 1 sq.ft. of vent per 100sq.ft. of floor space. If your skirting is sealed up tight that could be a source.

The one obvious problem that I see is the staining of the ceiling. That may or may not be a major problem. Many times you can seal the roof up and it's not a problem. Was the ceiling it that area just painted when you bought the home? If so that be have been done to "Hide the evidence", that area of the roof needs to be checked, but keep in mind if it is near the outside wall, the water may be entering in from a split seam where the outside wall & roof meet.

Mark, the owner of this site has written a book that should be "Required reading" for all mobile home owners. It covers about every type of repair & problem you may have as well as upgrades. Even if you do not do the repairs yourself there is lots of basic information every homeowner should know about their home. It's in the "Books & Parts" section of the site. Greg

[Dave1]

My experience with strong musty odors is many are caused by mold and mildew in the carpet/pad, walls, floor, or ceiling. My sinuses react immediately to such strong odors in a confined space. Mold and mildew frequently occurs where rain water has leaked into the home, where a water line or fixture or water heater has leaked, etc. but can occur in areas with high moisture levels such as the bathroom. Leaks soak the wood frame, insulation, dry wall, carpet and pad, etc. and cause rot, decay, mold, mildew, etc.

Some mobile home sellers attempt to cover up and/or hide water damage, will paint over stains, spray deodorizers to disguize or neutralize odors of mold and mildew, etc. in order to get the home sold "As Is". It is up to the buyer to check all before the purchase. It is very disappointing to discover serious issues such as those after you have made a purchase.

Have the home checked by an experienced mobile home tech and see what you have to deal with.

Good luck.

Dave

[Brenda (OH)]

is water getting under the home when it rains and staying there?

sources can be bad grading (land slopes towards the home) or gutters or drip channels dumping the water too near the home and the water runs back under the home...

a ditch may be needed lol. I will be doing one within the month to try and dry out under a home I have to replumb..... I don 't want to crawl in the mud...

Brenda (OH)

[ceahorse]

Thank you all for your wonderful answers! Until the home is inspected I won't know exactly what's going on.
Guess with all home purchases there will be issues to work out even in a new home.

So far we are loving our new life style! The home is in a 55+ community and we are 2 doors down from the lake! First time in our life we have own a home and it feels good.

We have not check under the home to see if there is standing water, one would think it would drain to the lake?
My husband back is just to bad to undertake the task.

I cover the nonworking vents with plastic wrap and the smell has greatly improved. The only carpet is in the bedrooms and either has a oder. Just the living room with laminate flooring. Floor under the hot water heater had rotten out and it was replaced last week.
But there was no oder there.

So glad I have found this group!!!

[Groo]

don't take this the wrong way, but seeing that you mentioned a 55+ comunity; the sense of smell is generally the first sense to go as we age. could be the smell was always there and just became more pronounced when the humidity got high.

any depression can hold water in the form of a puddle if the soil doesn't drain well. under a home it wont be quick to evaporate either.

if you actually have an unused set of ducting, I'd have it removed, or at least completely sealed.

[DCDiva]

Welcome to the group and MH ownership--you have got some wonderful advice--we are in the end staged of a total gutting of a 1973 MH for our dd--we had to deal with many bad smells--lol--the mh had been empty for a long time but a tom cat moved in--bad smell does not discribe--I found an answer to our problem--Odor-X--it--do a search on the web--the best $35 I ever spent in my life--I never recommend something unless I used it---I used it on the couch and love seat, the male cat sprayed--smell disappeared in minutes---we use it daily-the bottle make many gallons---another smell might be windows--all of our windows leaked--they were new but installed by a weatherization program--they did not repair the damage the old ones caused and just quickly installed them--we replaced with real house double pane windows--the water went into the walls and the floor from the leaking windows--so it is something to check
Melissa DCDiva