The house we’re renting was built in the 1940s and the linen closet in the hall is all wood shelving and so on. I don’t know how it got that way, but it smells really musty. [I don’t know how it got that way because it was like that when we moved in this summer]. Anyway, my towels go in smelling April fresh from the laundry, and come out smelling like they’ve been stored in Grandma’s attic for a couple of decades.
Bleah.
I just had to vent. Haha, get it? vent? I wish there was a vent in there 
Have you tried painting it? Of course you have to air it throughly afterward to get rid of the paint smell. Or try keeping an open box of baking soda in there.
Firstly: why is the Google ad for a Spanish-language used-Toyota service?
Second: Is there a light outlet in the closet? If so, try putting in a low-to-medium wattage bulb (e.g. 60w) and leave it on all the time. I read that decades ago - I think the theory is that it gives off just enough heat to reduce the growth of mildew, or something.
Do what they would have years ago. Cover all the surfaces with contact shelving paper.
Musty smell can also indicate that you have a moisture problem in the walls or ceiling of the closet. Check carefully for any evidence of a water leak (roof? plumbing?) before you paint or cover it with contact paper.
If you’re sure you don’t have a water problem, then i would recommend sealing the wood with BIN or similar product then a fresh coat of paint.
It may have been a shoe closet of a person with athletes foot.
My linen closet has an odd smell too. It’s not musty – it’s almost a chemical smell. It’d be too hard to paint. It’s tall and narrow, and I wouldn’t be able to get to all the surfaces without removing the shelving.
So I’ll be watching this thread for more suggestions. Baking soda sounds practical.
I’ve seen “cedar balls” somewhere, and cedar strips. Anyone ever try those? Cedar smells good.
My suggestions:
We have sort of the same thing going on in my house. Here’s what I’m going to try. I’m going to remove the shelving and hanger bars in our closets and wash the walls with a white vinegar solution and allow everything to thoroughly air dry. Then I’m going to line the closet walls with cedar OSB paneling and replace the shelving hardware afterwards. I love the smell of cedar, and this stuff is relatively cheap. Prices usually range from $20 - $25 per sheet. It should be a fairly easy project, too – I hope.
For those that are curious about this OSB paneling, here’s a quick rundown of what it is and how you use it. Like ordinary OSB paneling, the cedar OSB paneling is a composite panel made of cedar chips and strands which are formed into a standard 4’ x 8’ x 1/4" paneling sheet. The back side of the sheet is sealed to resist moisture and to offer a surface for adhesives, while the other side is uncoated to allow the cedar smell to permeate the closet. Installation is easy. Cut the paneling to size, apply a small amount of construction adhesive (ex.: Liquid Nails) to the back and attach to the closet walls using nails or screws driven into the wall studs. You should allow a little bit of space between the edges of the paneling sections to allow for expansion due to humidity. You can use flexible caulk between the paneling edges if you like a more finished look.
Some of my closets are oddly shaped, so I’m sure to have some leftover pieces of paneling. I’m thinking of taking the drawers out of our bedroom dressers and installing these leftover chunks of paneling to the inside of the back walls of the dressers.
I loves me some cedar!
If your closet is close to the bathroom, check to make sure the plumbing isn’t leaking. We used to live in a house built in the late 50s and the linen closet there had an access door to get to the plumbing behind the bathtb/shower. When it started to smell odd, it was because the bathtub’s plumbing was leaking. Once that was fixed the smell went away. This is not an uncommon problem in older houses.
Everything stored in the closet will smell like cedar, when you use the paneling. I could never sleep on sheets that smelled like cedar.
Paint in closets can leave a paint that will stick to the items stored on the shelves.
True enough. I have painted closet shelves that don’t stick (they were painted a long time ago, I guess), and I have others that do. That could be worked with with contact paper or newspaper on the shelves, though.
Come to think of it, I’m having a similar problem – maybe you can help – but it’s not in a closet, it’s in a one-year-old free-standing IKEA armoire. My T-shirt shelf has been getting funky-smelling, and the smell returned even after I washed all the T-shirts on the shelf. I don’t seem to have the same problem with other garments in the armoire or its twin. Help!
I don’t use dryer sheets in my laundry, but they do come in handy as closet / drawer fresheners. They smell like clean laundry and last a long time.
I am horribly allergic to several species of mold and mildew, so your linen closet SCARES ME…
but if it was my closet, I would take a two-pronged approach, since what you’re describing is really two problems. First, there’s mold in there, either dead or alive; probably alive. Second, that mold stinks.
To limit the stink, it would be good to make sure the mold is dead – if it’s actively growing, it will keep getting stinky spores all over your stuff no matter what you do. The closet is either damp now or was damp once – do you know which? If it’s still damp, you want to *both *cut off its moisture supply (like **romansperson **says) *and *dry it out.
To dry it out, you could use a small dehumidifier or renewable silica dessicant, or a small, safe heat source like the light bulb Mama Zappa mentioned. If you don’t mind the look, you could take the closet door off its hinges for a month or so and hang a light curtain (maybe an an old sheet) in its place. Or you could prop the door slightly open. Maybe you could aim a fan at the opening for a few days.
Once it’s dry, then move in for the kill. Few things can kill mold completely dead once it’s established in wood fibers, but you can at least kill it on the surface and stop it from growing again. Plain bleach is the cheapest mold killer, but it stinks and has unfortunate… um, bleaching properties. Here are some other useful products – I’ve used the first two and highly recommend them.
Vital-Oxide Mold & Mildew Remover
All Purpose NAS-12 Cleaning Solution
No More Mildew Protective Coating
M-1 Advanced Mildewcide Paint Additive
As for the stink, it should be reduced by dealing with the mold, but if you can’t or don’t want to become a mass mold murderer, all you can do is cover the stink with a better smell. Cedar is an option if you like it. I like citrus smells like these. Wood scents like sandalwood might sort of work *with *the musty smell instead of work against it, if that makes any sense; many essential oils will sink into wood and last quite a while. Solfy’s suggestion of dryer sheets is great if you like your linens to smell like laundry – those things have a lot of scent in them. I put an unwrapped bar of cheap jasmine soap under the seat of my car as an air freshener, and I bet something like that could work in your closet, too.
Good luck!
There is a reason women used to keep lavender sachets in dressers and closets.
I don’t recommend this if you have mold. A fan can spread the mold spores throughout the rest of the house.
True, but unfortunately, if you have mold anywhere in the house (or the neighborhood), spores are already everywhere. However, they will only take root and spread significantly where moisture is available and other controls (effective air filtration, toxic chemicals, etc.) are not present in significant levels.