Why does the vile smell of a hoarder's house stick to everything?

I went to visit Imelda's house last week.  I was passing that way and thought I had better pop in for a visit.

While I was there I spotted a huge needlepoint/tapestry thing I had done when I was a teenager.  It was a lovely scene of mountains and snow and I spent ages making it back then.  It measured about 90 x 45 cm and had been framed professionally.  I remember being so very proud of it back then.

I spotted it in amongst the hoard at the back of a pile of boxes and decided I would pull it out to take home to my house where I thought it would look good on the wall in my front room and possibly inspire my kids to get creative.  It took a while to free it but finally I managed it.

Within minutes I had sneezed about fifteen times.  I took it outside to blow off the dust, Not surprisingly there was no duster in sight and everything which looked like a rag to me was of course his Sunday best (or you would have thought it was the way he acted). I found a used carrier bag wedged down the back of another pile and used that to dust the frame.  Imelda said "what are you going to do with that?" meaning the carrier bag.  He took it from me and replaced it in the pile.

He saw my picture "I hope you're not intending to throw that away".
Jeez - it took me about six months to complete I would hardly go to all the bother of digging it out and dusting it (albeit temporarily) to throw it out.  Does he think I am mentally unstable, stupid or what?

I finally managed to let him part with it and I brought it home and damp dusted it.  I hung it on my wall in my living room.  When the kids got home they asked what the funny smell was.  My partner also asked the same.  We realised finally it was the picture.  Even though it had been thoroughly cleaned by me, it stank.  The distinctive smell of that house.  I think the smell had embedded itself in the threads of the fabric, possibly forever.

After a while I kept getting wafts of it when I walked past.  Vile - a mixture of musty, dusty old and I don't even know what.  Vile and each waft brought memories of that house flooding back.

The picture will have to go - whether it is to a charity shop or back to Imelda's (a bit pointless) I don't know.  I could wrap it in a bin bag and store it in the attic in the hope the smell will disappear over time but then I will be hoarding it.

Any suggestions welcome.

:(