A kid’s bedroom is no ordinary room in the house. It’s probably the dirtiest and the smelliest. Sweaty socks and other articles of clothing carelessly littered on the floor. Used cups and dishes left out for who knows how long. Also, if your kids are in their teenage years, you’ve reached peak assassination to the senses since teenagers also mysteriously seem to carry a general funk at all times.

Over time, kids will learn the meticulous details that go into keeping up with basic personal hygiene and tidying up their surroundings, but until then, here’s how to deodorize your kids’ rooms.

Does Your Kid’s Room Smell Musty?

Before you start scrubbing the entire room from floor to ceiling, it’s a good idea to narrow down the type of odor that’s emitting from your child’s bedroom first. Depending on the odor, there could be a more dangerous culprit to the smell than something trivial like leftover food or stagnant air.

If you’re experiencing a more musty, wet basement odor, that could be a sign of mildew or, worse, mold growth. Try to locate the source of the smell. Mold and mildew thrive in damp environments like:

Leaks in the wall or floor (caused by plumbing)

Leaks in the roof

HVAC vents

Indoor potted plants

Carpet

Windowsills

Mildew (powdery gray or white patches of fungus) is easy to clean with your typical store-bought cleaners. With mold (fuzzy black or green fungus), however, the growth could be much deeper than what’s immediately visible and should be investigated by a professional. Prolonged exposure to toxic mold left unattended can potentially result in serious health problems.

Once you’ve crossed mold and mildew off the list, you can use the following ten tips to freshen up your kid’s room -- let alone any room with a foul stench.

How to Make My Child’s Room Smell Good