Hull & East Yorkshire
Even after the water is gone, a property can smell for weeks. That smell is trapped moisture and what it leaves behind. We dry it out and clear the odour at the source.
A damp smell after a leak or flood usually means moisture is still in the floors, walls or cavities, even when the surface feels dry. As long as that moisture is there the smell stays, so the fix is proper drying followed by deodorising.
Deodorising a property that is still damp is a waste of time. We dry it to a confirmed standard first, which is usually when most of the smell goes anyway.
On Hull's low ground a damp smell often lingers in suspended timber floors and cavities that drained slowly. We dry them out to clear it.
Because moisture is still trapped in the structure. The smell clears once the floors, walls and cavities are properly dried.
We dry the source first, which removes most of the smell, then deodorise. Masking it without drying does not last.
It can. A damp smell often means mould is starting, which is another reason to dry it out and treat the source.
A real person picks up, day or night.