Had an issue with the connector to the washer is the basement. Unfinished/cement floors. What is the best way to remove that musty odor? We are working on clearing up all the water and removing stuff that got wet.

Thanks

Run a a couple of fans to circulate the air. Overflow valve on the furnace got stuck last week. Fan fixed the problem in 3 days.

Start with a large dehumidifier after all the water is cleaned up.
Hopefully you have a drain or sink drain you can use the hose (not bucket option) so you don't have to frequently empty the bucket.
As long as this isn't a longstanding problem with mold issues already started, you can mostly get the issue solved this way. The musty smell may be there for a while unless you can have some fresh air circulation to help. Based on the time of year and location, that looks unlikely.

quote:

How do you get a musty odor out of basement

Tell him he has to start paying rent.

First get rid of any moisture. We inherited a buffet, but it was in my aunts basement and was musty smelling. My wife put used coffee grounds inside and after a while the smell was gone. Would this work for a large space I don't know? It does smell good though.

Once you've resolved the moisture issue using fans and dehumidifiers, large amounts of coffee grounds or baking soda will absorb any lingering odor.

quote:

Originally posted by p08:
My wife put used coffee grounds inside and after a while the smell was gone. Would this work for a large space I don't know?

It will. My first apartment back when I was in college was a dump, but it was super cheap and just off campus. The apartment had a serious funk in it when I moved in, even after the place was cleaned and the carpet was shampooed an deodorized. I bought a big 10# bag of the cheapest roasted coffee beans I could find, ground them up, and left plates of coffee grounds all around the apartment for about a week. It worked to absorb the rest of the funky smell, plus the coffee scent helped mask the odor initially.

Ozone generator, the three oxygen atoms give up one to help destroy the offending smell atoms..effectively oxiding the bad smells. You have to control what’s creating the smell first. And just like other stuff ozone can hame humans when breathed in. So you wouldn’t be able to stay in the room and after a time period you would need to change the air by forcing new air in like a box fan in the windows.

I had a cat spray in my truck once. Using the ozone got rid of the smell after one day. I initially wet vacuumed the piss up and tried everything it the smell remained.

After cleaning the place and removing the mildew spores, you'll need to effectively dry it, gotta get rid of the spores; cement holds spores. Depending on the size and space, that could take a week or, so of running fans, heaters, dehumidifiers and placing moisture/smell absorbent materials around the area.

I agree with Mike, an ozone generator. We have an Alpine Air that works absolute wonders!!

The guy we hired used baking soda.

It was a lot of baking soda. A large amount --- like several large bags. but that worked.

for musty odor, mildew or mold there are things it needs. Darkness, stale air, and humidity.

If you want to get rid of those issues, then there are three things you need to do.

Ad LIGHT, simple as that, Something in the daylight range, if not daylight.

As airmovement or circulation. I bought a couple of small scroll fans for our 130 year old house in CT.

Get a couple of Dehumidifiers that can drain via water pipes/hose and have them set at auto. I drained mine into the basement's sump pump.

It was less than 5 days before the mildew smell was gone. I spent over a decade in fire and water damage restoration.

Floor fan + dehumidifier followed by ozone generator.

I have a fairly modern, dry basement, but still like some extra airflow. I don’t have any windows, but do have a walk-out ‘Bilco’ door out the back.

As weather allows, when I’m home, I activate a barn fan at floor level aimed out the Bilco.

As a related issue, I have an ongoing short & longer term radon reading detector. My levels aren’t to crazy, 4-ish. With the fan out the Bilco, those numbers go down too.

Stop storing dead bodies in the basement.

Humidity reduction. Normally by dehumidifying dramatically. If you have stuff stored there you need to get it managed as well.
Don't pay any attention to the humidity target numbers for long term, you already have the problem, get to like 35% humidity and keep it there for awhile.

Once it is dry, paint the old concrete floors with sealer. That works very well.

a pan of charcoal briquets will absorb odors.

Once you get all the water up (a wet/dry shop vac with a water vacuuming head works great for that) and get the wet stuff out: Run a fan directed at the damp area and a dehumidifier.

Thanks so much for your suggestions. Things seem to be going well. Appreciate your input