# Weird Smell??



## JeremyB (Sep 3, 2011)

First off sorry if this is the wrong section guys.

But yesterday I noticed a weird musty kind of gross smell in my Side bedroom, and I thought I could smell it downstairs. I cant describe the smell, almost like something died in the walls. The wife says it smells like "@ss", really classy huh,lol

But I could really smell it around the window trim for some reason. I dont know if its just the heat and humidity we have had the last couple days making for a stale air smell. Its weird because I can smell it on one side of the window but not 3 feet over? I am really baffled on this. I checked out the attic also and nothing. Also its not a constant smell, sometimes you can smell it and then it goes away. At first I thought it was my air conditioners putting off the smell

Any help on this weird problem would be great


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## oldognewtrick (Sep 3, 2011)

Is there a plumbing vent pipe near by?


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## JeremyB (Sep 4, 2011)

no there isn't, Just woke up now and came to the room ( where the PC is ) and it not too bad right now. I still cant locate the source of the smell in one area. Im sure its not anything like Natural Gas because I have smelled that and I know its not that.


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## oldognewtrick (Sep 4, 2011)

Have you heard squirrels running around in the attic? Seen birds flying in or out of the roof vents?


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## Speedbump (Sep 4, 2011)

Our back room which has a fireplace in it to cook on, as well as being used for a hugh dog house for our Mutts started smelling like something dead a couple days ago.  I pulled all the furniture out, looked under them pulled out the fridge, nothing.  Never thought about the fireplace which has wooden doors.  The Wife thought of it and asked me to open the doors, as she wasn't going to.  Sure enough, a dead squirrel.  He must have fell down the chimney and couldn't climb out.


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## JeremyB (Sep 4, 2011)

no I haven't see anything. We just had a new critter proof cap put on the furnace vent in the winter. Its just in the one room.


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## JeremyB (Sep 4, 2011)

well Im baffled, we could smell that smell in the other bedroom down the hall also. It all started the other day when the humidity went way up close to 105f. Would there be a odor coming from the hardwood floor? or the underlaying from it? Like I said there is no odor from the attic.

Im stumped

Would basement humidity rising up cause this at all?


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## inspectorD (Sep 5, 2011)

I hate to do this... but does it smell like a dead carcass you drive by on the road, or does it smell like a musty moldy odor kind of like a bathroom.

If it has that bathroomy, musty smell, it could be mold. If you have a leak on the outside somewhere and the humidity levels go up, it gives it a reason to grow.

Shine a flashlight down the wall while you hold it against it. You will see all the ripples in the walls from your sheetrockers job, and if you see anything fuzzy, you have a problem with mold. 

Otherwise, I'm guessin dead mouse, happens all the time.


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## JeremyB (Sep 5, 2011)

Hi Guys

Back with a update.

The smell is completely gone..... Soon as the colder weather came today and we aired out the house the smell left. I had to go out this afternoon and closed all the windows and when I arrived I could smell nothing. Weird huh.


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## mrrobinson (Sep 5, 2011)

that is very weird. obviously something about the humidity makes the smell come in. hope you figure that out


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## Womandoingmansjob (Sep 14, 2011)

There are a lot of smells that come and go with humidity and being aired out.  Hopefully you figure out what it is, so it does not smell every time the house gets humid.  When in doubt, open up the windows!


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## MikeStan (Oct 8, 2011)

In my experience, weird musty odors that show up in humid conditions but go away with a good airing out are caused by (ugh) mold. 

Before you freak out, there's lots of different kinds of mold, 99.99% are not toxic (merely irritating), all houses have a little of one sort or another, and most of it can't be seen easily.

If it comes back, try to isolate the specific area that the odor is emanating from. Mold likes porous surfaces like wallpaper or wood or carpeting best, but can hide anywhere.  Try spraying the area with some enzymes, they will seep in and kill the spores dead so they don't re-bloom. 

The absolute best enzyme spray, in my opinion, is this stuff they sell for pet odors and skunk odor removal called "Nature's Miracle". A lot of pet stores carry it, and if you can't find it locally you can get it cheap from Amazon.

Mike


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## SnellExperts (Oct 9, 2011)

I was just about to ask if it was mold. I could see humidity affecting the odor because the additional moisture in the air would probably cause the mold growth to explode temporarily. You can get a mold inspection for usually pretty cheap, and they can do scans to find out for sure. Have you had any recent water damage?


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