I had issue with a very strong mold and mildew smell. I tried venting the apartment by opening the windows and surprisingly it did not help much. Plus, it is located in a very busy area, so the pedestrian traffic was loud and there was no respite from the noise and bugs with the windows opened.
I thought the smell was because of the flooding issues in Venice, but this apartment is on the second floor. Eventually, I found the odor coming from the cabinet holding the cleaning supplies… dirty mop, broom, rag and other things.
The odor was so strong that I had to leave the windows opened the entire time we were there, even at night. Unfortunately, I woke with bug bites on my upper body.
The host offered to have the cleaning person come to the apartment to clean out the closet, but we were not there at the time and didn’t want someone we didn’t know coming inside when we were not there.
When we got back-they couldn’t make it then and she asked me to put the stuff in the hallway. I really didn’t want to open the cabinet, and certainly didn’t want to touch any of it or be responsible for the items. It became awkward.
It is important for hosts to make sure the property is in good order and clean even if they hire someone else to take care of it or be there at check-in. We did not meet the host during our stay.
A good scrubbing of the cabinet and removing the dirty cleaning supplies should solve the issue.
It is a nice little apartment and the location is convenient if you don’t mind the noise. She has a binder with quite a lot of helpful information for guests to use, a nice selection of coffee, tea, biscuits and water in the refrigerator.