How to Make Your Basement Smell Good (and Not Moldy)

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If you’ve been inside a basement before, you’ve likely smelled the not-so-pleasant, musty odor you can’t escape no matter how many candles you light or the air freshener you spray. In this post, I’ll share how to make your basement smell good (and not moldy or musty).

When my husband and I purchased our home, I thought we wouldn’t have the smell issue because it’s a walkout basement. It has access to windows and doors, so I thought that would make a difference. But I was wrong! Sure, lifting the windows occasionally would help alleviate the smell, but it never eradicated it. Our home was built in 1980, and though it was renovated, we still had this common problem.

It got to the point where I didn’t even want to use our basement. In some ways, this was easy, as most of our living space is upstairs. But our den/hang-out area, my office, and the laundry room are all in the basement, so it was unavoidable.

It wasn’t until about 7 years of just dealing with it that we finally found a solution that tremendously altered the smell and vibe of our basement. To put it plainly, since implementing this one thing, we haven’t experienced any smells since.

Why Does Your Basement Smell Musty? The Real Cause

Before I dive into exactly what we did, I’m going to explain a little about why your basement smells bad in the first place. Basements are notorious for smelling bad, and it’s not just the ones without windows and doors. It’s because of moisture. It doesn’t have to be something as serious as a leak; it could just be that you live in an area with higher humidity levels, but there IS a moisture problem, and that moisture sits in the air and causes mold and musty smells.

What Ultimately Wasn’t the Best Fit for Combating Basement Smells

No one wants a musty smelling home. For years, I was insecure about hosting because our entertainment space was mostly our basement and our backyard. Sure, we can use the backyard, but what happens when someone heads back into the house through the basement? This was frustrating because even if I’d just cleaned or lit candles, you could still smell that faint odor.

I knew there was a humidity issue, but I thought I’d have to spend a fortune for a fancy dehumidifying system. We ended up using a combination of moisture absorbers and odor eliminators. These were the exact ones I used, called Damp Rid. They did help a little, but ultimately, they weren’t as effective as they could’ve been. I would buy these and put them in inconspicuous locations throughout the basement to draw in moisture. And don’t get me wrong, they DO work. After a while, the Damp Rids would be full of water. But this was a tedious and eventually costly method.

This method wasn’t horrible. At the time, it was the only option that I thought was viable. And I want to reiterate: if you are low on money, this method WILL help you to reduce the odor in your basement. They cost between $5-10 bucks for one and usually have around a 4.5 star rating on Amazon.

The #1 Fix That Eliminated My Bad Basement Smell for Good (and What I Recommend)

A couple of months ago, our area was flooded, and I was worried about the humidity. (I was also worried about my basement flooding, but that’s a whole other conversation, haha). I didn’t want the basement to be musty, so I started researching dehumidifiers. Our basement is a little over 1000 sqft, so I needed something that would work for the entire space, be efficient, and, most importantly, be affordable. I only had $200, and I pinched pennies to pull that together. But this was a necessary purchase, and I’m so thankful that I went ahead and did it.

I purchased the Midea 22-pint, 1500 sqft dehumifier. It has over 16,000 reviews and a 4.2-star rating on Amazon (243 reviews and 4.5-star rating on Walmart) and is ideal for basements. I got mine from Walmart because I wanted it immediately, but it’s currently about $30 cheaper on Amazon at $149.98! I purchased the white one and you can get it here. If you’re working with a larger space, they do have bigger sizes to choose from as well.

Why I Love the Midea Dehumidifier to Combat Basement Smells

Besides the obvious of it working, and working well, I love the ease of use, the practicality of, and some of it’s features that I’m sure I couldn’t live without.

• It has wheels! This dehumidifier isn’t tiny. It’s a medium-sized appliance, and if you are someone who would prefer to move this around your space, the wheels are a lifesaver. It rolls smoothly over hardwood, laminate, tile, and even carpet.
• The auto shut-off feature is so helpful. When the dehumidifier is full, it automatically powers down and will periodically beep to remind you to dump the water.
• Dumping the water is so easy. When it’s time to dump the water, all you have to do is slide out the chamber, dump it, and slide it back in. It will automatically power back on at the last setting it was at.
• Multiple settings. This is so helpful because not every space is the same, and thus require different humidity levels. You can set the dehumidifier to stay at a specific range so you never have an issue again.
• The Smart Home app! One of the best parts of this is that I can control, manage, and operate it from my phone. Sometimes, my husband will dump the water out, and I can check on my phone to see what level it’s at if he didn’t let me know he already did it.

The Results: A Basement That Smells Great

This dehumidifier has changed the game for our basement at eliminating any musty smells, and now we spend so much more time in our space. We dump the water about every couple of days, and it is pretty shocking to see how much water was in the air. This actually makes a lot of sense on why the Damp Rid did help with the reduction of the smell and water, but ultimately wasn’t enough because of the amount of water in the air.

3 Bonus Tips to Make Your Basement Smell Amazing (Not Just Not Musty)

Besides the tried and true candles and plug-ins, sometimes you want something a little more long-lasting and hidden. Here are 3 unique methods to boost the smell in your home (and you can still light your favorite candle).

1. Use a carpet refresher on all the rugs and vacuum well! Rugs usually take up a lot of space and hold tons of smells. Sweat, dander, pollen, skin, and dust can linger in the fibers of the rug. Something I love to do to boost a nice scent is to generously sprinkle carpet refresher/deodorizer (or baking soda, honestly), let it sit for 10-15 minutes, and then vacuum well. Here’s a tried and true option, and here’s a more luxury scented one, depending on your vibes. Both have amazing reviews, and the scent options are nice, too.
2. Scented Oils. Scented Oils. SCENTED OILS. I don’t know what it is, but I love a great scented oil. I love adding these when I dust. We have a very notoriously dusty ceiling fan in our living room. After I dust it, I take a paper towel or cloth and sprinkle a few drops of the oil onto the towel, and then I wipe the ceiling fan down. It’s not an overpowering smell at all, but if you plan on turning on the fan, it will constantly push that scent throughout the home! Additionally, you can add oils to anything! I love getting blends that are decadent or fruity!
3. Add scented dryer sheets to the inside of the cushions. If you’re going to be sitting on the couches or chairs that have cushions and throw pillows, unzip them and add a couple of scented dryer sheets to boost a clean, fresh scent.

Final Thoughts

Now you know how to make your basement smell good! While something like an odor absorber or moisture catcher like Damp Rid can certainly help a little to diminish moldy, musty odors, ultimately, the best bet is going for a dehumidifier like Midea! But this post isn’t just about getting rid of bad smells, but also increasing the good smells. Try carper refreshers on rugs and indoor carpets, adding scented oils after dusting, and putting scented dryer sheets inside cushions or throw pillows.

I really hope that this post has been helpful. Let me know if you end up trying any of the tips and tricks I’ve shared. Comment down below and let me know how you combat basement odors and make your basement smell good!

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