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You know the smell I’m talking about if you’ve ever stepped over the threshold of a hundred-year-old house or even one in the sixty-year range: musty, dusty, broken in, so to speak. Before you buy that old farmhouse of your dreams, though, best to find out where all that “character” is coming from.

Old House Web explains five potential causes that may or may not require professional assistance to ensure safety, so read on before buying solely for the divine original woodwork or high ceilings.

Water and pipes

The most common source of that old house smell is mold and mildew. Over the years, water eventually gets into a house, no matter how well-built it might be. Pipes leak. Roofs get damaged. Water gets splashed onto floors. It creeps into the soil underneath the house. Overall, it combines to create a musty smell…

What’s in the walls?

Another common reason is right in front of you: the walls themselves. Over time, the walls absorb the odors that they are subject to on a regular basis. If anyone ever smoked in the house, the walls might be holding that smoky odor. Does your kitchen smell like old cooking oil? That’s probably just what it is, right there in the walls…

Full story at Old House Web.

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