Warmer Temps and Musty Smelling Homes

It’s finally starting to feel like summer in CT, and we couldn’t be happier. After a record-breaking winter, the weather is starting to feel more normal in New England, bringing warmer temperatures and the higher humidity levels we typically experience this time of year.

One thing Connecticut homeowners are not excited about, however, is that when temperatures and humidity levels increase, odors often do too.

Humidity intensifies odors because moisture in the air interacts with contaminants trapped throughout the home and activates them, making them more noticeable.

Noticing a dank, musty aroma coming from the basement? What you’re detecting could be the early stages of mold growth.

Humidity makes odors more noticeable because it affects how air carries smells. Moist air tends to feel heavier and holds onto odor compounds differently than dry air. In all likelihood, what you’re smelling from the basement has been there year-round — you’re just noticing it now because warmer temperatures and elevated humidity are bringing it front and center.

In the indoor air quality world, we know that your home environment starts in the basement due to something called the stack effect. Most homeowners think what happens in the basement stays in the basement, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The Stack Effect

Your home functions much like a chimney. During the summer, warm air rises naturally through the structure of the home. This creates negative pressure in the lower levels, which helps draw air from the basement upstairs and eventually out through the attic.

If basement humidity levels are not properly controlled with a whole-home dehumidifier like the SuperDry, dormant mold has everything it needs to grow. Food sources in the form of organic building materials are abundant in most basements. Combine those materials with unchecked humidity and you have the perfect recipe for mold growth and mold spore replication — all of which the stack effect can help bring upstairs.

Once mold begins growing in the basement, the issue rarely stays isolated downstairs. Mold reproduces by releasing microscopic spores into the air. As the stack effect continuously pulls basement air upward, those spores can circulate throughout the home through open stairwells, wall cavities, floor penetrations, and even the HVAC system itself.

This means what starts as excess humidity and musty odors in the basement can eventually impact the air quality in bedrooms, living rooms, and the spaces your family occupies most. As we often say, the nose knows.

Many homeowners notice the effects more during the summer months:

- Persistent musty odors

- Allergy and respiratory irritation

- Stale or “heavy” feeling air

- Increased discomfort throughout the home

Unfortunately, many people attempt to solve the issue by masking odors instead of addressing the root cause. Candles, sprays, and heavily scented cleaning products may temporarily cover up the smell, but they do nothing to remove the excess humidity and airborne contaminants contributing to the problem. In some cases, they can even add additional particulates and irritants into the indoor environment.

PCRS and the Whole Home Solution

At PCRS, we believe the only true approach to improving indoor air quality is the Whole Home Approach.

Creating the cleanest, healthiest, most comfortable homes possible means looking beyond what is visible on the surface. Proper humidity control, soft surface cleaning, air duct cleaning, dryer vent cleaning, air purification, and mold remediation all work together to improve the environment inside your home.

Pairing dehumidification with proper cleaning and air filtration can dramatically reduce odors and airborne contaminants that circulate throughout the home.

As a family-owned and operated company, we understand that your home is more than just a building — it’s where you and your loved ones sleep, relax, and spend time together. That’s why our mission has always been to help families create cleaner, healthier, and more comfortable homes from the basement all the way to the attic.

Because when it comes to indoor air quality, what happens in the basement never truly stays in the basement.