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Why Does My House Smell Like Wood? (Explained)

We often leave our house locked for a week when we travel somewhere else. Especially if we have a vacation, we want to enjoy it by visiting a new place. When you get back to the house, we need to clean everything.

Everything gets stinky if you leave the house for more than a week. The mold and damp clothes will create a foul smell in the living room by that time. If you leave something in your kitchen, it will also smell unpleasant.

Why does my house smell like wood?

Your house smells like wood because of the mold, and other stinky components. Besides, buying new wood-made furniture will also create a wood smell in your house. Sometimes, improper ventilation might make the wood smell in your closed house. You should follow some tips to avoid the odor.

If you leave your house for a week by closing all the doors and windows, it will not let the air flow through the house.

As a result, the closed air will chemically react with the house furniture and other components. That would be the most significant reason why my house smells like wood.

Unfortunately, that’s not the only reason behind it. You can count hundreds of reasons why your house smells like wood. We will explain a few of them that seem crucial and will be significantly helped. You will get the solutions accordingly.

Closed Doors:

As we said before, the closed doors and the windows might create a wood smell.

If you leave your house for a long time and keep the window and door closed for that time, you will come back and experience the faulty smell in the closed house.

You can skip such an experience if you keep your one safe window open for that time. It will keep the air fresh, and you will love it. To enjoy such an experience, you must use a net window to maintain safety.

Wood-Furniture:

If you buy the newly wood-made furniture, it will, of course, make your house smell like wood. It’s a widespread reason why your house smells like wood.

You can avoid such a thing if you spray the house freshener and keep the air blowing through the entire house.

Improper Ventilation:

If your house doesn’t get enough air in the ventilation system and remains poor, your house will smell like wood.

You should ensure that the house air flows and doesn’t get stuck. It would be better if your windows were spacious and the air can freely come inside the house.

Otherwise, your house will smell like wood, and you won’t enjoy it anymore. It will give you a stinky smell. So, keep your windows open and let the air come inside the house without any distraction.

What can cause these smells in the house?

Since wood smells vary, you must know why you smell them. Let’s see what can cause these smells in your house.

Smell like wood chips:

New paint, furniture, or carpet may off-gas harmful chemicals. Let new carpets and pressed-wood furniture air out at least an hour, preferably overnight. Remove packaging if not.

Smell like wood smoke:

If your oven is broken or vented too closely to a part of the house made of wood, the odor of wood smoke could permeate the rest of your home.

Another potential explanation is that you forgot to remove the wooden spoon from the oven. There is a problem with an appliance vent (furnace, wood stove, etc.) located too close to a member of the homemade wood.

Smell like wood-burning:

The aromas most commonly associated with wood burning are those produced by oil combustion.

This odor may, in some instances, be drawn upward into the air ducts, which would then cause the odor to permeate the entire residence.

It is also possible for this to occur if combustible materials such as wood, plastic, or metal are placed too close proximity to the stove and become hot enough to produce an odor without actually igniting.

Smell like old wood:

When it comes to older homes, the vast majority have the same issues, resulting in an odor of old wood.

Mold, which tends to be the source of that disagreeable odor similar to old wood, can flourish when certain conditions are met, including a lack of ventilation, darkness, and excessive humidity.

This odor is brought on by a chemical called VOCs, which stands for mold volatile organic compounds. mVOCs are a part of the mold life cycle and are potent enough to give off an offensive odor.

Smell like wet wood:

If you haven’t cleaned your ducts in a while, they may be dirty, covered with dust, and emit an unpleasant odor similar to that of damp wood.

In addition to your ductwork, the heating and air-conditioning system itself can contribute to the musty smell in your home.

Even infrequently, smoking inside a home leaves a problematic mark to remove. Wallboard and other soft surfaces, such as carpeting, are particularly susceptible to absorbing the smell of smoke and nicotine.

If the carpet padding and even the subfloor of a room is not thoroughly cleaned after an accident involving a pet or a drink, the liquid will penetrate deep into the padding.

Do bed bugs smell like wood?

Bed bugs do not smell like wood, but in general, bedbugs release pheromones that have a musty odor. Whenever a gathering of bed bugs gets upset, you might get a whiff of that smell, as the lousy smell bugs radiate.

Some people can say the smell is good when a few bed bugs exist where they smell like coriander leaves. But it is the worst practice to measure their bad smell. So it is safe to say that the presence of bed bugs does not smell like wood, but it does smell quite annoying.

How to get rid of wood like smell in the house?

There are various reasons why our house may smell like wood which makes us uncomfortable living in our house.

Light and ventilated:

The use of wooden furniture and wood in closed rooms usually results in a foul odor. For this, it is essential to open the windows and doors of the house.

If there is light and air in the house, the smell is reduced. In addition, the sun’s heat destroys the germs accumulated in the house. Moreover, bedsheets, pad covers, and so forth should be changed consistently.

Use naturally scented air freshener:

Many do not think that is the solution to eliminate the wood smell? Then, many people spray perfume without realizing it.

It combines the aroma and aroma of wood in the house to create a strong odor. Therefore, when using perfume in this case, the natural fragrance should be saved so that it can destroy the smell of wood.

Keep away from moisture:

Occasionally, the furniture can produce a wood odor during the rainy season because wooden furniture tends to draw moisture from the house’s walls. In the case of wood, it is more.

So keep furniture at least six inches away from the walls. When the rain stops, keep all the windows open. This will allow light and air to enter the house and keep the house free from moisture.

Use of naphthalene:

Camphor or naphthalene works very well to absorb moisture so that the wood does not smell inside the house. They also keep clothes excellent and protect wooden wardrobes or cupboards from insects and other pests.

If you desire to utilize something more regular, you can utilize neem leaves or cardamom. Using these can easily keep the house free from the pungent odor of wood.

Use baking soda:

This will help remove the annoying wood odor effectively. Often, the odor comes from furniture-covered varnish and home-used wood. Therefore, place soda plates across the room where the furniture is located, and it absorbs odors quickly.

Use coffee instead of air freshener:

Coffee is an excellent air freshener to keep the house free from wood odor.

The smell of wood can be easily removed by pouring a few cups of coffee into a plastic cup or other small containers inside the house. To prevent this, you can place the coffee bag in the chests of cabinets and drawers.

Use lemon or citric acid:

Squeeze the lemon juice and sprinkle it inside the house with running water; then, the wood odor inside the house will be removed entirely.

You can also wipe the house with lemon juice mixed with water to get a natural smell inside the house.

Final thoughts

Your house smells like wood because of the closed doors, windows, and mold. You can count more reasons in the list. But the solutions are simple. You have to ensure the proper ventilation and use the air freshener to remove this odor or stinky air from the house.