It started with a whiff...

...a sort of rubbery smell in our cloakroom (which I, not unreasonably, put down to having just purchased three pairs of school gym shoes).

The whiff persisted long after the 'offending' plimsolls had gone to school.  In fact it turned into a 'wet dog' sort of smell.

In the cupboard-under-the-stairs (where other people keep their vacuum cleaner and cleaning products) is housed my stationery, filing, fax machine and other bits and bobs.  I realised there was a problem when I fished out an envelope and it was rather soggy.  The box containing 1,000 DL envelopes was damp and mildewed.  My knees were wet.  The carpet was sodden.

The cause was our ancient shower, or more specifically, the grout and sealant in the shower cubicle which was letting in water which was in turn wending its way along the hallway causing water damage along the way.

It's not a big problem.  It's DIY-able (well, we're not perfectionists, which helps).

I've cleaned the carpets and sprinkled them with essential oil.  I haven't put the carpets back in place yet though as the floorboards are still damp so, for the zillionth time in my life, I turn to bicarbonate of soda to absorb some dampness and neutralise the odour.  It's amazing stuff and now you can buy it in sensible quantities at my Wikaniko shop.