It does depend on the smell. Charcoal briquettes placed in bowls around the home may absorb the odor. Cut apple slices also - they are used often in cars to get the cigarette smell out, believe it or not! An ozone generator will also help.
Yes, you can get rid of it, but you need to address the source, not just cover it up with air fresheners.
Old house smell is usually a combination of musty air from poor ventilation, trapped moisture, decades of cooking and living odors absorbed into carpets, drapes, and walls, and sometimes mildew or mold in hidden areas.
Start with the soft surfaces. Carpets are the biggest odor trap in any home. If the carpets are old, replacing them eliminates a huge portion of the smell. If replacement isn't in the budget, professional deep cleaning with an enzyme-based treatment can help significantly. Remove old drapes and curtains. Wash or replace any fabric window treatments.
Clean the hard surfaces aggressively. Wash the walls and ceilings with a TSP solution or a mixture of vinegar and water. Paint every wall and ceiling with a stain-blocking primer like Kilz or Zinsser before applying your finish coat. Regular paint sits on top of odors. Primer seals them in.
Address the air quality. Change the HVAC filter, have the ducts cleaned, and make sure the system is circulating properly. Run a dehumidifier if the home feels damp, especially in basements and crawl spaces. Moisture feeds musty odors, and controlling humidity is the most effective long-term fix.
Check for hidden problems. If the smell is strongest near certain walls, in the basement, or near bathrooms, you might have a mold or mildew issue behind the surfaces. A musty smell that persists after cleaning and painting warrants a closer inspection to rule out moisture intrusion.
Great question, it will depend on what is causing the smell. Many times the old house smell is either some old flooring, paint, pet odors, or moisture. I would recommend talking with a great realtor in your market that can give you some specific recommendations. Sometimes replacing the flooring and painting can help. Other times there is something else going on that is causing the smell.
In many cases, it is a smell that is caused by moisture, mold or mildew often in a crawl space, so start there and make sure there are no issues there. And cleaning carpets, ductwork and fresh paint often help with many of the smells as well. I would recommend having a local REALTOR look at your home and give you a good direction of the next steps and recommend some good local vendors to help with these issues.
Yes, but you have to find the source first or you're just masking it. That old house smell is almost always moisture-related, either from a damp basement, a crawl space without a vapor barrier, or decades of humidity slowly absorbed into wood, plaster, and subfloors. Candles and air fresheners don't touch it.
Start by checking the basement and crawl space. If the air down there smells worse than the rest of the house, that's your culprit. A dehumidifier running continuously in those areas can make a noticeable difference fairly quickly. If you suspect mold, get an environmental inspector in before you do anything else since mold hidden behind walls won't respond to surface treatments.
Once the source is under control, replacing old carpet, repainting with fresh primer, and cleaning or replacing HVAC filters and ductwork helps clear out what's already been absorbed. In stubborn cases an ozone treatment done by a professional can neutralize odors that have soaked deep into the structure. It's not a one-step fix but it is solvable.
