I have a terrible smell in my house and I can't find it! A few days ago we noticed a smell (like a dead animal or sour milk) in our den but could not pinpoint a 'spot'. You just get a trace of it as you move around. It now seems to have moved to more areas downstairs and also upstairs.
It's not the disposal, dishwasher, trash or a rotten potato. It's not coming from the toilets or sinks. It's not the air conditioning vents. We can't find anything under the den furniture or cushions. My kids complain that I'm too clean but even they are complaining about the stench!
We don't have indoor pets and it's not a cat spray type of smell. It seems to be everywhere at different times but we can't find THE SPOT. We have central air, gas heat and hot water, a neighborhood well and sewer. We are the only owners of this home and have been here for 17 years. We have a crawl space but I couldn't get the door open. I plan to have my husband go under there and also check the fireplace when he gets back in town (our chimney cap blew off last week).
Any suggestions? Thanks!
Ann
Sounds to me as if an animal has crawled in and and died somewhere in your home. We had a similar problem years ago with a possum. If all else fails and you cannot find the source, you might want to call a pest control company and see if they can locate where it's coming from. Good luck ! (08/16/2005)
By Maggie
I used rat poison a few times and once it worked too well, The foulest imaginable smell was finally traced to a critter that had chosen the top of my water heater as its RIP place. Definitely check your crawl space -- I had rats in mine. Solved the problem by selling the house. And see if there is an opening into your walls that you didn't know about before. The smell will go away eventually but in the meantime it can be disgusting. (08/16/2005)
By Doug
Chances are it IS a dead animal from what you describe, but check your refrigerator's drain pan. It can create one of the worst possible odors you COULDN'T imagine! (08/16/2005)
By
There is a rod in the hot water tank that attracts minerals, etc. Check to see if it can be replaced. (08/16/2005)
By kelleno
A friend of mine had the same problem years ago. She had spilled milk in the refrigerator and it had drained into the self defrosting pan (which evaporates over time) but the milk soured and smelled in different places in the house . It took us awhile to figure out where the smell was coming from. Check the defrost pan under the refrigerator. Hope this helps. (08/16/2005)
By Pat Wilson
It could be a dead mouse in between the walls. It happens here sometimes in the winter, and the furnace air just blows the horrible smell all through the house! Sorry, but I don't have a remedy for it though! (08/16/2005)
By Jan
We rented a house only to find a rotten rutabaga type odor. I called the health people. They tracked it down to an uncovered sewer drain in the basement. The postal worker was amazed when we no longer smelled it. He said it had been like that for years. The downside was that the house sold once the odor was gone. (08/16/2005)
By siris.
Check your Fire Place for dead squirrels, birds, etc. (08/17/2005)
By Dick
Something could have fallen down into the heat registers if they are located in the floor. This happened to relatives of mine. (08/17/2005)
By Holly
Thanks for all the info! It's a dead squirrel in the fireplace. My husband is working on it as I type. I have such a headache from the smell these last 3 days that I bowed out of the 'rescue'. It's on a ledge and it is taking quite a while. Anyway, what we did learn is this... Our chimney cap blew off last week and we put off climbing up on the high roof to put it back on.
By Ann
Hi Ann,
Sure glad you found it! It's a horrible smell, I know from experience. Have him put some baking soda or borax where the little guy was to help deodorize the chimney. It's probably too hot to start a fire but that would help, too and draw the smell up the chimney. (08/17/2005)
We always had the exact same problem with squirrels getting in threw the chimney cap or the vents in our cottage (what a nice way to start a vacation, esp. since Dad sent us kids up to the attic to find the "culprit"!) My dad finally covered all the caps and vents with metal screening, the heavy duty kind, that way even if the caps came off the little buggers couldn't get it!
Rebekah (08/18/2005)
By Rebekah
Check under your house. We were recently replacing some water pipes and found where a opossum had gotten stuck and died. It took months before we found this odor. (08/20/2005)
By Pam
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