{My apologies for the dark pictures, taken on a dark rainy day…}
I think we all know by now that if one thing drives me insane it's the thought that somewhere, somehow, a molecule of mustiness has gotten past me.
Not that this makes me a stellar housekeeper, as we shall see. It drives me crazy, that's all.
I can live with all sorts of smells. Only recently (well, I mean in the past decade) has it dawned on me that you can light a candle and make the room's atmosphere better. I have that oh-she-grew-up-bra-less-in-the-70s disdain for stuff like bathroom deodorizer, which I am now trying to overcome.
I'm okay with the trash, the dog, curry, red onion breath, dead mice in the walls, and the diesel fumes from the tractors in the orchard. My thought is, this too shall pass.
But I just can't stand mustiness. Maybe because it doesn't pass. It is there until you do something about it.
Every time I went near this dresser in my bedroom, it was sniff, sniff…
…sniff, sniff….
It wasn't the clothes. (Sometimes you find out that there is one thing, one measly thing in a big pile of things that is the issue. Not here. No such luck.)
It was not the quilt folded on top, not the basket with the old hydrangeas a bit askew up there, not the chair, not the covering on the chair, not the bathrobes hanging on hooks nearby, not the rug (yes, that was me on my hands and knees, sniffing the rug), not the bedding, not the curtains…
Yesterday, after, I regret to report, a year of being sent into a tizzy, mentally, by this phenomenon, but not ready to face up to the necessary steps to remedy it, the iron entered my soul.
{Oh yes. You can feel my drive, I know it. All the stars — as well as the weather, in the form of a rainy day from which there is no escape — have to be properly aspected for me to take steps, even to save my sanity, such as it is.}
I decided that the mustiness was coming from the dust IN the dresser. I keep our off-season things in here, as well as extra sweaters all year round. So out everything came, and the whole thing got wiped down with my trusty weapons:
A gallon of warm water, a splash of Mr. Clean, about a 1/4 cup of bleach
A rag
Febreeze (I didn't like the way the first kind smelled, but I do like this new kind).
Using the rag, well wrung out, I carefully wiped every surface, rinsing and wringing for each drawer. Then I sprayed with Febreeze and let the whole thing air out until it was completely dry.
I re-organized our clothes, tossing some really old things, making a giveaway pile, and generally getting my act together.
Then I dusted the whole room, vacuumed, and called it a day.
So far, no mustiness. Phew.
And now the sun is out and I can go back to not deep cleaning things.
~Missy~ says
Oh, I hate when that happens!! That is a whole day's worth of work right there!! I'm on the hunt right now for an undercurrent of odor that keeps bothering me…haven't figured out where it is comming from yet (argh!!!)..btw, I adore your home and bragged about you over on my blog today ;~)
Decadent Housewife says
I think it just lives in the wood. Or especially if the furniture is positioned on an outside wall – insulated or not. I'm doing the same right now. And yes, I got down and sniffed too. (70's braless! – you're a hoot!)
The Kampers says
oh you remind me of my mother! Only she wouldn't know what a blog was! I tackled our room this week with the same hope of getting rid of the "something" that was bothering me. And unfortunately, we don't have such a nice day out today!Liz
Pippajo says
Wow. Just…wow.Okay, NOT just wow, but also this: must seems to be a smell I tolerate reasonably well, but that may be because I don't usually smell it much in our house (not bragging, just got lucky musty-house-wise). What I cannot abide, however, is the smell of the DOG! She seems to have acquired a delightful new aroma lately and we are mystified as to its source. It's not the usual suspects: skunk, poo, something dead, or your run-of-the-mill dog smell. It smells like FEET. Like our car used to smell when my dad left his fishing shoes in the back for a few days. Like Redheaded Snippet's hockey bag. It drives me CRAZY! Unfortunately, I can't wipe the dog out with bleach and hang her on the clothesline (as much as I'd like to)…Got any sure-fire remedies for smelly dogs?
Anonymous says
Great job! Now I want to go and clean out a cupboard. Thanks for the inspiration.:) Linda
Sue says
I'm still chuckling over Pippajo's comment… "wipe the dog out with bleach and hang her on the clothesline"… LOL!Don't you feel great having that done. I love that feeling. Let us know how things are smelling in a couple of weeks!
Leila says
DD, you fill my soul with dread. Let it not be the wood…Pippajo, you are so funny. Sue, I do feel great doing that…unless…it's the wood…
Christine says
So that's what is smelling.OK, here goes nothing…Bleach, pail and energy.I'm emptying my chest of drawers.
Alice says
Mrs. Lawler, do you only have white towels, to preserve them from all your bleaching? Or do you have magical non-bleaching color towels? And why do I live so far away when I have so many questions about setting up my home and starting a Catholic family? Silly Canadian border.
Leila says
Dear Alice, I'm not happy about that border either, or the thousands of miles in between…but I'm excited that you are preparing for your wedding!White towels can be fine if you don't have iron in your water, in which case they will become off color and permanently so.Good quality towels are bleach resistant even if colored because the manufacturers know there is bleach in most people's water, and they are also aware that there is bleach in pools, so they know their towels can't run or you won't buy any more!…you can read about what I say about towels on the sidebar under "Two loads a day…", here: <a href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd332vks_47hgdxpsqwhttp://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd332vks_47hgdxpsqw… />The relevant section:Bleach. A small amount of bleach added (using the bleach dispenser) to a load of towels will prevent them from becoming sour or musty. A quarter cup will do the trick. Use warm or hot water.Cheryl Mendelson recommends buying only white towels so that they can be bleached without fear. This works if you don’t have iron in your water! I think you have to balance the benefit of this idea with another factor: if you color code your towels to people, you will know which towels have been used and when they need to be washed. You just can’t rely on small children to put a towel in a certain place: you have to know, positively, whose towel it is!If all the towels are the same color, people tend to grab a new one when they don’t really need to, creating more wash. A towel can be washed once a week under normal conditions (the weather isn't very muggy, the person isn't doing construction work) if it is hung up in an airy place to dry immediately after use.If you have a system where the person takes the towel to a hook or rack in his room, white towels might work. But if they are hung up in the bathroom, they get mixed up. Towels must be able to be hung up to dry out, or they will indeed be hamper-worthy very quickly. We went to mostly white towels for hand towels by the sink with no problem. You can certainly tell more quickly when they are dirty, which isn't a bad thing!The color in good towels will not be affected by a small amount of bleach in the wash.
Mrs Bossy says
Dogs… check the ears and pads of the feet. A drop of tea tree oil diluted in 1/4 cup H2O for an ear wash, &/or a few drops in the dogs shampoo & rinse water. Kills infections and keeps critters off. I once rubbed a small sample of men's cologne (Chrome) into Sparkey's collar. This had a miraculous effect on my 'not a morning person' daughter. She appeared cheerful, – even singing(?!!) at breakfast. Little did I know that 'Chrome' was the favored cologne of her new boyfriend (my present son in law). All was revealed several days later when my daughter exclaimed, "Mom, it must be love, I haven't seen him for 3 days …… and I can STILL smell him!"
Kari says
Lol!! I love that!