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“We had something very similar and our floor collapsed soooo spend the money to fix it.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
Trying to trace a persistent musty odor, a homeowner zeroed in on a sunroom crawlspace, and the image shared online raised another issue.
The replies did not stay limited to smell prevention. Several people on the r/homeowners subreddit said the poster should have a structural engineer take a look.
The original poster wrote on Reddit: “The entire first floor has this earthy, musty smell that even goes upstairs to an extent.”
The photo showed sections of subfloor exposed between insulation boards, with tape starting to peel away. The homeowner said this crawlspace is under the sunroom, while the rest of the home sits over a finished basement, and guessed the area was likely “done in 2003 and left like that.”
The discussion moved in two directions at once, revolving around moisture and structure. Looking at the crawlspace, one commenter asked, “Isn’t there supposed to be a support under the house on that nice big concrete support?”
Not everyone saw the uneven crawlspace floor as a major warning sign. A self-identified home inspector wrote, “Crawlspace floors are not typically leveled, so no concern there.” That same commenter still said the area should have a barrier extending “a foot or two up the sides of the walls and secured with adhesives and foam as well.”
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Other commenters were much more alarmed about what could happen if the issue is ignored. One person wrote, “We had something very similar and our floor collapsed soooo spend the money to fix it,” while another said plainly, “You need to call a structural engineer. Stat.”
The homeowner said the smell isn’t confined to the sunroom area. The finished basement smells “very musty, too,” and the earthy odor reaches much of the first floor and even upstairs.
A concrete footer visible in the crawlspace became another point of debate. Commenters repeatedly questioned why it didn’t appear to support anything. One suggested it was “probably just an old deck support from before the sunroom,” while another wondered if the visible material was “just foam board.”
Some commenters connected the odor to a larger moisture problem rather than a single bad-smelling spot. One said that if the smell is strongest in the sunroom, “that’s probably the culprit,” but also advised checking drainage around the house and comparing humidity “before and after rain.”
The next step most people mentioned was having a professional evaluate the structure. Multiple commenters tied that advice to the exposed subfloor, the peeling tape, and the concrete footer beneath the room.
For the odor itself, the clearest recommendations focused on reducing moisture in the crawlspace. One commenter suggested to “start with a vapor barrier and go from there.”
Some suggestions also focused on conditions outside the crawlspace. One commenter recommended making sure drainage is good “all around the house” and tracking humidity changes before and after rain to see whether water intrusion is causing the smell.
In follow-ups to commenters, the original poster said they were open to a range of options, including hiring an engineer to look at it, sealing off the sunroom, using an odor absorber, encapsulating the sunroom, and taking moisture readings.
When homeowners and renters track down strange smells or uncover hidden problems around the home, the culprit is often a surprise.
• In California, a resident found a 500-pound creature squatting beneath the house after hearing noises.
• A renter traced a strange odor to shoddy plumbing for a gas stove that looked unsafe.
• A homeowner found a strange object in the garage when the smell suddenly stood out.
• In a rental backyard, a foul problem with the artificial lawn left the outdoor space reeking.
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© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.

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