Musty smell in kitchen cabinet for years

[adamt11]

I've cleaned the cabinet thoroughly but the musty smell always returns. The countertop above is dry. None of the other kitchen cabinets have this issue.
I've noticed the small hole in the top left-hand corner. I wonder if that could be where the smell is coming from.

Drawer:

 

[just pumps]

Can you remove the kickboard/ plinth and see under it.

 

[chirpychippy]

Take the plinth off and if you have a mobile phone with a camera take a picture of the void behind the units, better still take a video of it,see what that shows....

 

[Koolpc]

Probably mould behind there...

 

[adamt11]

I took the plinth off a few months ago and found some debris on the floor as well as mould on the back wall which I removed. It now looks like this:

I think this reduced the musty smell but there's still a lingering odour inside the cabinet. I'm wondering if it just needs more time to air out or if there's another source for the smell.

 

[adamt11]

Update: the plates and cutlery I had cleaned and put back in the cabinet now have that familiar musty smell. I can't use the cabinet for storage because it make everything inside it smell.
I'm at a loss as to where the musty smell might be coming from. The area behind the plinth was cleaned months ago. Any suggestions?

 

[adamt11]

I've cleaned the cabinet thoroughly multiple times but the musty smell always returns within days. The countertop above it is dry. None of the other kitchen cabinets have this issue.

I took the plinth off a few months ago and found some debris on the floor and a bit of mould on the back wall which I removed.

The smell means I can't use the cabinet to store anything as it make everything inside it smell musty. I'm at a loss as to where the smell might be coming from. What is the solution to this problem?

 

[JohnD]

It's caused by damp

In a kitchen cabinet, most often a plumbing leak.

Stand back and show what's around it, e.g. pipes, sink, washing machine, waste pipe, boiler, fridge

Sometimes it is a broken or leaking gulley or waste pipe adjacent outside, making the wall wet.

 

[adamt11]

It's caused by damp

In a kitchen cabinet, most often a plumbing leak.

Stand back and show what's around it, e.g. pipes, sink, washing machine, waste pipe, boiler, fridge

Sometimes it is a broken or leaking gulley or waste pipe adjacent outside, making the wall wet.

There are no leaks underneath the sink, washing machine, waste pipe, etc. The combi boiler and fridge which are on the other side of the kitchen don't have any leaks either.
It's a first floor, end flat, and the exterior wall is on the other side of the wall where the cabinet is.

 

[JohnD]

Is it the one between the sink and the cooker? The sink and its plumbing are especially suspect

Is your third pic the space with the cooker pulled out?

Can you show us inside the cupboard under the sink? Especially towards the corner?

Is there a dishwasher or washing machine?

Do any of the floorboards feel damp? Especially if you lift the edge of the flooring?

I think the pipe we can see under the cupboard is probably the gas pipe, which rises up behind the cooker. Can you see if that's right? There will be other pipes for the sink.

 

[JohnD]

Ah yes, I can see the washing machine beside the sink.

There will be a shiny flexible plastic (usually blue or grey) water supply pipe to the water pipe under the sink, and a larger, grey, often ribbed rubber, hose for the washer waste. This will attach in some way to the waste pipe. Photograph that, and the route it takes between the washer and the waste. It ought to loop up, right to the underside of the worktop, otherwise stagnant water can collect in it. This is easy.

Is there a plumbing duct in a corner of the kitchen? This will be vertical boxing-in, about 1 ft square, all the way up to the ceiling, very common in modern houses when the bathroom is above the kitchen and the soil pipe runs down in the corner.

Old houses have the soil pipe visible on the outside of the house.

 

[adamt11]

Is it the one between the sink and the cooker? The sink and its plumbing are especially suspect

The one by the cooker yes. There is no musty smell in the cabinet directly underneath the sink.

Is your third pic the space with the cooker pulled out?

Yes.

Can you show us inside the cupboard under the sink? Especially towards the corner?

The third picture below, the arrow points towards the upper corner that's nearest to the musty cabinet.

Is there a dishwasher or washing machine?

Only a washing machine. A section of the waste pipe was recently replaced because it looked suspect, although it never leaked.

Do any of the floorboards feel damp? Especially if you lift the edge of the flooring?

No, all the floorboards feel dry.

 

[JohnD]

There are no leaks underneath the sink, washing machine, waste pipe, etc. The combi boiler and fridge which are on the other side of the kitchen don't have any leaks either.
It's a first floor, end flat, and the exterior wall is on the other side of the wall where the cabinet is.

Thanks for adding that

So the damp is probably not coming from outside, but have a look to make sure.

The gas boiler will also have a condensate drain, which usually attaches to the sink waste, though it might go through the wall.

I still suspect a leak, out of sight. It may be very small, perhaps just a drip.

No dead mice, I suppose?

 

[adamt11]

[duplicate post deleted]

 

[JohnD]

Thanks.

The light green stains on the painted pipes are probably condensation or flux, but any black marks on the wall are mould. Clean them off and see if they come back.

The joints under the sink look OK

There is a bad water mark on the underside of the worktop to the right of the sink. Might have been a spillage or a leak from upstairs. Is it dried out now?

I can't see any pipes going to the right of the sink towards the musty cabinet.

Put your camera underneath and photograph the gap in the corner please

Please stand back and take a wide shot of that end of the kitchen