How and why do non-ventilated rooms start to have that typical stale smell after a while?
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For the most part it’s the smell of the occupants breath, odors from their skin, passed gas, and so on. Other components are volatile organic compounds produced by microorganisms such as mold and bacteria, which may be present (bathrooms often have this, since bacteria and fungus love the damp in drains and traps). If your room has a “musty” smell that might be from fungal species for example, whereas if it has a more pungent and “musky” smell that’s probably from humans and the things that live on us, like certain bacterial species. To put it bluntly, our breath also smells (not always bad, but it does smell) and in a poorly ventilated room we’ll start to notice those odors.
It’s good to notice this, because while you aren’t smelling the CO2 building up, stale odors are often an indication that CO2 levels are rising. It’s a good idea to open a window, turn on a fan, or otherwise get air moving in these circumstances.
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