How long have you lived in the house? Is the odor stronger near the fireplace?

Where in the fireplace is he suggesting the moisture is coming from? Is it seeping in through the bricks? Is there an issue with the roof flashing that is letting it come in?

I can understand your wanting to be sure about this before proceeding. Maybe you could temporarily seal off the fireplace from the front and see if the odor dissipates.

We have only lived in the house for 6 months. We can’t tell where the smell is coming from because you cant smell it when your inside the house. We even brought other people in since we assumed we were just “nose blind”, but they couldn’t track down the smell either. The room with the fireplace does smell smokey even if we don’t burn so we know we have a down draft issue. The inspector is saying the moisture is coming in from cracking in the bricks and mortar, so you can imagine how much its going to cost to fix the whole chimney. I just can’t find anything saying that a fireplace can cause that musty smell throughout the whole house. It’s a two story house and our clothes which definitely smell are kept in the bedroom on the opposite side of the house.

So this isn’t a new house? How old is it? Maybe you should hire another inspector and get a second opinion. I’m not understanding how all your clothes smell. Is it a smoke smell or musty smell like you said in your intro?

Have you taken a close look in your attic, for any type of mildew or mold, or is it possible, that you have mold behind the shower walls, or somewhere in the kitchen or bathroom. Sounds a bit more possible, than your fireplace. Mold or mildew will have a musty smell. Also, do you have a crawl space or a basement? If a basement, check down there, for something causing the musty smell, and if a crawl space, make sure you have plastic covering all the dirt floor, etc, and check your floor joists for mold or mildew. Another thing is your roof, make sure that is all good, and nothing is leaking down a wall, leaving a musty smell in your house. It could be leaking in between the exterior and interior walls, and may not show in the house.

House is not new and the smell is definitely musty. I agree, we are so confused why all our fabrics would smell so bad when we can’t trace down a smell. The inspector took a close look at everything, including basement and attic. He took a moisture reader to various spots and found nothing. We keep a dehumidifier running in the basement for good measure, but we have brought several professionals down there (inspector, hvac, fireplace) and they all agree, one of the driest basements they’ve seen. The attic is also in good shape. We had 3 roofers up there thinking it was the roof, they have all told us its in good shape. the rooms that are gutted, we have inspected joists and floor boards, everything is very solid. You can see why we are going nuts, we have called every professional imaginable and no one can tell us anything. With a smell as bad as it is, I prepared myself for the worst when we gutted the rooms, and am just so puzzled why everything looks great.

Have you cleaned your washing machine lately? Do you have a front loader? They can develop a very sour/musty aroma. Are you throughly drying clothes before putting them away?

It can’t be the laundry because our bags and hair and furniture also smell. We have also had people stay at our house for a couple nights, never use the laundry, and also report that their clothes smell.

Have you checked inside the drawers in your dressers?

Stacy, if you have a front loader washer, they can and do smell, and have to be cleaned, and the smell from them, will be absorbed from your clothing, and most everything else in your house.

Wow, this is a weird situation you’ve got, Stacy. I’ve done a bit of research on the web and this article mentions using a blacklight if you can’t readily see the problem. I’ll link it here: https://www.homemadesimple.com/in-the-home/what-is-that-musty-smell-plus-how-to-get-rid-of-it/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoPWyu7Ka7wIVRR-tBh24UQNiEAMYASAAEgJFV_D_BwE

"No one can tell us anything" contradicts your earlier statement that the one inspector announced that it was the chimney. Somebody has come up with a cause for the problem - have you been proceeding as though this had not occurred because you are afraid of the possible cost of acting on their determination?

I know the exact smell you’re talking about. My in-laws used to own a home in a beach community with the same problem. Whenever we stayed there all of our belongings/hair smelled musty. They never discovered the culprit and have since sold the house. Sorry I’m not a bigger help, but just wanted to say they did not have a fireplace so that obviously wasn’t the issue in their home.

Thanks everyone for the comments! We are getting a second opinion on the fireplace, hoping we will feel better about fixing it up. It’s not that we are ignoring that information, it’s just that some people are telling us the fireplace wouldn’t cause the smell in the whole home. Just trying to see if someone else personally experienced this before. Unfortunately the only people who have seem to report back like Party of Six - the answer is never found and people have to end up selling :/

I hope you find your answer. My in-laws did not sell their house for this reason though. In fact they were pretty nose blind to it. I hope you report back to us once you find out, I’ll be curious to know what it is. Good luck :)

What type of flooring is in the house? If there is new carpeting you may want to check underneath for prior damage done by pet urine (especially cats). This happened to our neighbors. She made us some bread and even that tasted musty! They put down new carpet and repainted the entire interior prior to selling, but it only covered up the smell temporarily.

You could try a fireplace balloon and see if the musty smell stops. We have a fireplace in our gameroom we never use and it would give off a charred smell and the balloon solved the problem.

Gerdyp, the entire house is hardwood floors. Im wondering if a black light like previously suggested would help though as the floors are original/restored but starting to show some age to them. The fireplace balloon could be a good tester before completely reno’ing the fireplace.

With the floors being original there may be a possibility there has been damage to the sub-flooring. Another area that would cause that type of musty smell is if there was a mouse infestation in the walls. Their urine causes mold you can't see.

What was involved in fixing the fireplace?