| Author |
Message |
    
n/a
Citizen
Username: Judieh
Post Number: 127
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 9:26 am: | 
|
First time home owner here. Yesterday we noticed a smell in the kitchen and assumed it was the garbage, but it wasn't. Now I'm noticing the smell throughout the house in odd places. It's in the downstairs playroom near the washer/dryer but not in the bathroom. It's on the main floor in strange places- like in the dining room and by the front door closet.
I cannot fathom what is is. Should I call a plumber??
Thanks! |
monster
Citizen
Username: Monster
Post Number: 588
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 9:32 am: |
|
maybe the previous owners have some bodies they hid within the walls and floors.... |
Mrs T
Citizen
Username: Netjack
Post Number: 42
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 10:00 am: |
|
Sounds like a dead mouse in the wall, kind of a funky-nasty smell, usually around walls. It goes away after a while. LOL |
las
Citizen
Username: Las
Post Number: 61
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 10:05 am: |
|
n/a:
Do you have a pet? toddler?
Raise the heat to a new high?
Stinky cheese in the fridge?
After you emptied the trash did you scour the can?
Have you had squirrels?
Try to describe the smell if you can. |
Hank Zona
Citizen
Username: Hankzona
Post Number: 2061
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 10:15 am: |
|
sounds like small dead critter to me too. Or if you have a teenager...basketball sneakers. |
n/a
Citizen
Username: Judieh
Post Number: 128
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 10:27 am: |
|
Yes, I do have a toddler- she is 21 months old. No poopie diapers anywhere though!
Have not raised the heat, in fact, we have recently lowered the heat for the past couple of days (Hmm....)
Nothing stinky in the fridge and the trash can doesn't smell at all.
No squirrels that we know of. We may have had mice though, my husband thought we did in the pantry b/c the fig newtons wrappers seemed to be chewed on by little teeth.
I'm having a hard time describing the smell. It just smells bad, like sewage. My husband thinks it smells more like garbage. He doesn't think it smells like a dead animal.
I'm not sure who to call! It's just very strange that it's coming from different areas of the house.
Any other suggestions? Thanks!
|
Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 1009
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 10:48 am: |
|
Steam heat sometimes has a smell. Since it got colder that heat might be on more.
Just make sure that it is not gas smell. |
las
Citizen
Username: Las
Post Number: 62
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 11:26 am: |
|
n/a -
We have a man who deals with odor issues. I burned something once and thought we'd have to repaint the house, but he rented us a little machine that made the house smell like it just rained on a spring morning. I know you have to find the cause - not sure if he can locate it or just get rid of the smell. Let me know if you want his contact details (via P/L or post).
-las |
n/a
Citizen
Username: Judieh
Post Number: 129
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 11:42 am: |
|
Thanks Earlster, but we've actually lowered the heat these past few days. The radiators don't smell.
I was just in the basement, which is furnished and used as a playroom, and the smell is worse there- near the washer/dryer area, which has a lot of pipes. I just called Gateway plumbing and someone should be over here within the next few hours.
Las, thanks for the offer. I'll see what Gateway says. |
n/a
Citizen
Username: Judieh
Post Number: 130
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 12:35 pm: |
|
Well, Gateway Plumbing just came and left. They couldn't find anything but they said it smelled like a sewage problem. One guy thought it may be mold that's starting but he wasn't sure. They suggested we either wait and see or call an exterminator who could possibly pinpoint the odor- if it's a dead animal.
They were very nice and didn't charge me. I guess we're back to the drawing board. |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 5037
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 1:00 pm: |
|
N/A:
Do you have a toilet in the basement? Do you use it often? Sewer gases sometimes come up through infrequently used toilet bowls in basements and create the kind of odor you are describing. Try flushing the basement bathroom toilet a few times (assuming you have one) and see if that helps. |
n/a
Citizen
Username: Judieh
Post Number: 131
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 1:13 pm: |
|
Joan, yes we do have a full bathroom in the basement and you're right, it's very rarely used. The plumbers did go in there and flushed once but the smell isn't in there at all.
I'll take your advice and flush it a few more times. Thanks! |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 157
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 1:57 pm: |
|
Just a possibility:
Check your boiler for water level. If it is out, it may be your furnace burning up. Let it cool before putting water, or it may crack. |
Brett
Citizen
Username: Bmalibashksa
Post Number: 1487
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 2:09 pm: |
|
Do you know anyone with a dog? Bet that dog would try to sniff around and find what ever it is. |
shh
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 2229
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 2:59 pm: |
|
N/a, that's funny, it happened to us a few months ago. I remember the basement smelled like sewage. I wonder if it's in the ground water and seepage is bringing the odor into the house. I do recall your house having a wet basement (several owners ago—we've been here 9 years). Maybe run a dehumidifier in the basement and/or air it out. Good luck! |
Brett Sahler
Citizen
Username: Brettsahler
Post Number: 15
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 25, 2005 - 9:54 pm: |
|
I had this same problem in a previous house and it turned out that one of the elbows below a sink had lost all of the water in it and it was allowing to let sewer gases drift into the house. I solved the problem by adding water to the elbow ever week. Maybe the sink in the basement has a dry elbow/p-trap? Or possibly the washing machine drain doesn't have a p-trap at all?
Good luck. |
Maplewoody
Citizen
Username: Maplewoody
Post Number: 909
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 1:09 pm: |
|
Get a Lampe Berger! We were at a friends home, and they lit one of them, and it eliminated odors fast!
Lampe Berger, used for aromatherapy and beauty, was invented by Maurice Berger (pharmacist) in the early days of the twentieth century.
Lampe Berger lamps were considered a desinfecting home appliance. Through a unique process of high temperature catalytic combustion, Lampe Berger eliminates and destroys the molecules behind unpleasant odors such as cigarette smoke and cooking while pleasantly perfuming the air and destroying bacteria.
We ordered one and it came this week from :
http://www.westparkgalleria.com/
There are ones made of glass, Limoges, and earthenware. There are also 30 or more scents.
 |
eliz
Supporter
Username: Eliz
Post Number: 1002
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 3:24 pm: |
|
Oddly enough - I was just talking about these yesterday - they are now available at Pad Home - a great store in Short Hills (on Millburn Ave on the way to Wine Library) owned by a Maplewood couple. |
n/a
Citizen
Username: Judieh
Post Number: 132
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 26, 2005 - 3:45 pm: |
|
Brett, I assume the guys from Gateway checked to see if we had a p/trap??? I know they looked around the sink and washer/dryer area. They did ask me how often I did laundry (with a toddler and husband, I often do laundry on a daily basis).
The thing is, the smell comes and goes. It's not constant. We haven't smelled it today. So strange!
shh, did your smell go away on its own? We did put on the humidifier so maybe that's why it doesn't smell today.
Thanks Maplewoody for the tip! |
joyce
Citizen
Username: Jkoh
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, February 27, 2005 - 8:22 pm: |
|
Have you looked for old/broken main sewer access plugs? We had the same thing going on for quite a while; the main sewer cleanout plug was all rusted and broken. fixed it with a rubber plug (from home depot). went away for a long while. it came back, and turned out to be from another cleanout that was hidden behind a relatively new wall in the basement (the giveaway was the strange contour of the wall).
a plug on that solved the problem. |
Abn14
Citizen
Username: Abn14
Post Number: 6
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Monday, February 28, 2005 - 11:08 am: |
|
Did the guy from Gateway check the dryer exhaust? I once had a dryer exhaust pop off and was sending damp lint into the room. I had know idea anything was wrong until it started to smell. It had probably been like that for weeks. |
themp
Supporter
Username: Themp
Post Number: 1540
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 1, 2005 - 10:27 am: |
|
"Steam heat sometimes has a smell. Since it got colder that heat might be on more. "
We get a funky, wet smell in our dining room in winter. It is hard to detect, but once you do, you tend to check for it. I've assumed it might be damp or rotting wood (although I can't find any). Maybe it's just the steam escaping? Might new valves reduce it? (our system hisses more than it should).
|
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page