Persistent Smells in a Property?

Where the smell is usually coming from

After enough call-outs across Derby, we've seen the same handful of culprits again and again. The smell is rarely where you first notice it. Air moves it around the house, and it ends up sitting in soft furnishings, curtains and bedding, which is what you eventually pick up on.

• Kitchen bin and bin cupboard

  Spilled liquid pooling under the bag, or a cracked bin base. We strip it, clean inside the cupboard carcass, and treat any wood that has absorbed liquid.

• Drains and U-bends

  Sink, washing machine, dishwasher and shower traps. Build-up of grease, hair and food in the bend gives off a stale waste-water smell, especially in summer.

• Fridge seals and drip tray

  Black mould inside the rubber gasket and stagnant water in the drip tray under the fridge. Almost always present in homes with a 'fridge smell' even after the food's binned.

• Soft furnishings and curtains

  Cooking oils, cigarette smoke and pet odour all settle into fabric. We can't always launder these, but identifying them is half the battle.

• Carpets, underlay and rugs

  Old spills the previous owner never told you about. Pet accidents that wicked into the underlay. Damp from a long-fixed leak. Hot-water extraction lifts a lot of it.

• Damp behind kitchen and bathroom units

  Slow leaks under sinks that have soaked into MDF carcasses or skirting. We can clean the surface, but if the carcass is sodden it needs replacing — we'll tell you straight.

When cleaning won't fix it

We're upfront about this. If the smell is from rising damp, a leaking pipe inside a wall, a dead animal under floorboards, or carpet underlay that's saturated, cleaning the surface will help for a few days but the smell will return. In those cases you need a builder, plumber, pest controller, or new flooring, not us. We'll tell you on the diagnostic visit so you don't pay for a clean that won't solve the problem.