Hello everyone, I’m feeling quite desperate right now and hope someone here can offer advice. We moved into our old apartment building this summer. From the start, I noticed a strange smell and initially thought it was from the previous tenant. Someone also inspected one of the four rooms for mold—everything was below the limit. The building is very old but fully renovated and well maintained. One room has herringbone parquet flooring, the others have plank floors. All rooms except the living room have new plastic windows, on which water also collects at around 0/-1 degrees Celsius (32/30°F).
My problem: the exterior walls have a stony, chalky smell, unpleasant—I can’t describe it better. I was away for a week, unpacked my clothes, and noticed they had fully absorbed this odor. It was really disgusting! I could barely wear them, and it’s driving me crazy. Does anyone have any idea what this could be and how to solve the problem? I feel very uncomfortable wearing any clothes that were on the clothes rack in that room. I’ve moved most of my clothes into wardrobes by now, but that hasn’t solved the problem. When I stand in the room and smell the clothes, I don’t notice the odor, but if I take them out to the balcony and breathe deeply three times, I smell it strongly again. I’ve also placed hygrometers everywhere; the humidity is between 55-60%, mostly around 57%.
What could this be?
Thank you to everyone who responds,
My problem: the exterior walls have a stony, chalky smell, unpleasant—I can’t describe it better. I was away for a week, unpacked my clothes, and noticed they had fully absorbed this odor. It was really disgusting! I could barely wear them, and it’s driving me crazy. Does anyone have any idea what this could be and how to solve the problem? I feel very uncomfortable wearing any clothes that were on the clothes rack in that room. I’ve moved most of my clothes into wardrobes by now, but that hasn’t solved the problem. When I stand in the room and smell the clothes, I don’t notice the odor, but if I take them out to the balcony and breathe deeply three times, I smell it strongly again. I’ve also placed hygrometers everywhere; the humidity is between 55-60%, mostly around 57%.
What could this be?
Thank you to everyone who responds,
I once moved into a renovated old apartment and experienced a similar issue. The smell lingered on my clothes and was very unpleasant. It took about six months, if not longer, for the odor to finally disappear.
The apartment had likely been quite neglected before. Even after renovation, the walls might have released odors they had absorbed over the decades. Combined with the renovation smells—which were actually quite “earthy”—it created an unpleasant mixture. Perhaps this could have been handled better during the renovation.
My advice would be to heat and ventilate the space well and keep an eye on the humidity levels. Alternatively, consider consulting a biologist.
The apartment had likely been quite neglected before. Even after renovation, the walls might have released odors they had absorbed over the decades. Combined with the renovation smells—which were actually quite “earthy”—it created an unpleasant mixture. Perhaps this could have been handled better during the renovation.
My advice would be to heat and ventilate the space well and keep an eye on the humidity levels. Alternatively, consider consulting a biologist.
Nicolino schrieb:
I also considered removing the wallpaper and just painting the bare wall. But then I decided against it when I saw the colorful walls underneath the wallpaper.Wallpaper also retains odors quite well. If I understand you correctly, they are from the previous owner and already quite old?
The previous tenants were a young family with two children. I contacted them again yesterday, and they mentioned that a musty smell was noticeable after extended periods without ventilation, which is fairly normal. They did not notice any odor on their clothes. I would actually suggest that they hadn’t noticed it, because I found their own scent rather unusual during the apartment viewing.
Regarding humidity: the living room still has the old wooden double-sash windows, where the humidity consistently measures around 52%, while at the back near the new windows it is somewhat higher.
The dehumidifier, for example, always shows humidity levels about 5-8% lower than my hygrometers.
Is there any type of masonry that can actually produce such a smell, or is it more likely something “unhealthy”?
In the room where the clothes racks are located, I don’t even detect the smell—only outside and on the clothes. And I find that really disturbing or unpleasant.
In another room, I also notice the smell, but my partner does not. However, I would actually question his sense of smell.
Regarding humidity: the living room still has the old wooden double-sash windows, where the humidity consistently measures around 52%, while at the back near the new windows it is somewhat higher.
The dehumidifier, for example, always shows humidity levels about 5-8% lower than my hygrometers.
Is there any type of masonry that can actually produce such a smell, or is it more likely something “unhealthy”?
In the room where the clothes racks are located, I don’t even detect the smell—only outside and on the clothes. And I find that really disturbing or unpleasant.
In another room, I also notice the smell, but my partner does not. However, I would actually question his sense of smell.
Maybe trying a different detergent would be worth a shot.
I find it illogical that the clothes are supposed to smell of something you don’t notice in the room where they are hanging.
But I’ll repeat myself: In a heated older building, the humidity should not exceed 40% at the current outdoor temperatures, unless laundry is being dried or active humidification measures are in place.
I would also recommend ventilating more often.
The wall itself shouldn’t really have any noticeable smell. There must be either moisture or some strange paint/material involved.
I find it illogical that the clothes are supposed to smell of something you don’t notice in the room where they are hanging.
But I’ll repeat myself: In a heated older building, the humidity should not exceed 40% at the current outdoor temperatures, unless laundry is being dried or active humidification measures are in place.
I would also recommend ventilating more often.
The wall itself shouldn’t really have any noticeable smell. There must be either moisture or some strange paint/material involved.
It can’t be the detergent; I’ve been using it for decades. Recently, I also started using a tumble dryer. When the laundry is in the cupboard, it smells like clean clothes. The laundry that was dried in the mentioned rooms (even before using the dryer) or that hangs on the clothes racks has a chalky/mineral odor. I can also smell this odor when I sniff the walls.
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