Source of a bad smell?

[delcecchi]

A bat can go in through a really small hole, or so I am told.

[Tom7227]

I am going to vote for some dirty trick by the previous owner. Never know what some doofus will do in a foreclosure.(assuming it was a foreclosure) Limburger cheese smeared on the outside of the widow frame where you can't see it or something like that.

[CANOPY SAM]

No offense, but smearing cheese around the outside of a second story window? Probably not.

The earlier theory actually sounds probable. The one where it took 5 visits from the gas company to locate the gas leak.

fraz, in an earlier post you stated both you and the gas guy thought the smell was reminiscent of propane or gas.

I'd wager the whole pot on exhaust from the furnace vent on the roof, or a small leak somewhere in a line, either at your place, or the neighbor's. A really small leak could be really, really hard to find.

[Tom7227]

A gas leak will kill plants for some reason. If you see a lot of dead vegetation that would be a solid clue.

[frazwood]

No offense, but smearing cheese around the outside of a second story window? Probably not.

The earlier theory actually sounds probable. The one where it took 5 visits from the gas company to locate the gas leak.

fraz, in an earlier post you stated both you and the gas guy thought the smell was reminiscent of propane or gas.

I'd wager the whole pot on exhaust from the furnace vent on the roof, or a small leak somewhere in a line, either at your place, or the neighbor's. A really small leak could be really, really hard to find.

I don't think that the previous owner sabotaged anything, although it's possible. We've seen no signs of intentional damage anywhere else in the house (15 years of neglect? Oh yes).

I'll definitely keep an open mind on the gas, especially if you think that the leak could be coming from a neighbor's house.

To give more detail, we replaced the furnace in early November -- it now exhausts out the side of the house (opposite of this bedroom). We had the installers disconnect a gas line that went to a garage heater (the garage heater was taken by the previous owner and I don't plan on buying one myself) -- we thought that line could have been leaking. At that time, we also turned off the valve to our gas fireplace, which is located reasonably close to this bedroom but on the first floor. The installers also checked carefully for leaks, although only with our gas lines (i.e., not the neighbor's house).

We'll do more investigating this weekend. I popped my head into the attic (the access panel was still sealed) and it looked absolutely pristine. I'd imagine that bats in the attic would leave a big mess. I couldn't get closer than 30-40 feet from the corner of the house with that bedroom, so I certainly could have missed something.

[Tom7227]

Update? What was it?

[frazwood]

No update. I still have not been able to track down anything.

[frazwood]

A bit of an update, but just a bit.

We have not identified the source of the smell yet.

We have discovered, however, that the smells is noticeable if the windows are open in either of the two adjacent bedrooms (with the "stinky" room's window closed). It does not smell in either of the adjacent bedrooms.

So, my best guess is that something is stuck in our ducts. We're getting them cleaning tomorrow.

I'll post another update then.

[ozzie]

interesting...keep us posted and hope the cleaning takes care of the smell

[frazwood]

Semi-update: We had the ducts cleaned on Tuesday. We opened the windows on Thursday and it started stinking again.

My wife's latest theory is that it's a dead critter somewhere. The smell doesn't seem to be as bad this year as last.

[nofishfisherman]

The duct work theory never made sense to me so I'm not really surprised that it didn't solve the problem.

If it smells like a gas leak thats still where I'd put my money. Even if one wasn't found that doesn't mean there isn't one somewhere.

[MinnesotaMike]

Watched an episode of Holms on Homes the other day, they found most of the vent pipes in a house were not vented outside but ended ( not capped )inside walls and the attic. Maybe when you open the windows it creates a draft enough to get the gases going. Just saying.

Good Luck

Mike

[Eric Wettschreck]

I ran into a similar situation at work the other day. A broken vent pipe behind a wall was making things a bit smelly in that area from time to time.

[PurpleFloyd]

This is probably not the cause but when this story popped up on FB this thread immediately came to mind.

Quote:

Had to share...this is cute!!!

After 37 years of marriage. Jake dumped his wife for his young secretary. His new girlfriend demanded that they live in Jake and Edith's multi-million dollar home and since the man's lawyers were a little better he prevailed. He gave Edith his now ex-wife just 3 days to move out. She spent the 1st day packing her belongings into boxes crates and suitcases. On the 2nd day she had to movers come and collect her things. On the 3rd day she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight put on some soft background music and feasted on a pound of shrimp a jar of caviar and a bottle of Chardonnay. When she had finished she went into each and every room and stuffed half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of all of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the husband returned with his new girlfriend all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly the house began to smell. They tried everything cleaning mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even replaced the expensive wool carpeting. NOTHING WORKED. People stopped coming over to visit. Repairman refused to work in the house. The Maid quit. Finally they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move. A month later even through they had cut their price in half they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls. Finally they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back. Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was he agreed on a price that was about 1/10th of what the house ha been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork. A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home. INCLUDING THE CURTAIN RODS.

[frazwood]

Watched an episode of Holms on Homes the other day, they found most of the vent pipes in a house were not vented outside but ended ( not capped )inside walls and the attic. Maybe when you open the windows it creates a draft enough to get the gases going. Just saying.

Good Luck

Mike

This sounds like a good thing to check... vent gas is consistent with the smell.

Also, I just checked outside. There is only one vent pipe through the roof and it is right above the stinky area. So, it definitely fits.

I still haven't climbed into the attic because I don't have the right sized ladder and I've been busy (we just don't open the windows). Hopefully, I'll get to it this weekend.

[RebelSS]

Can't wait to hear the outcome on this one.....

[Justfishing]

I would not have gone with the air duct cleaning to solve this problem though cleaning ducts can be a good thing. If it was a duct issue you would see it when the system was running. It may come and go with the heating or cooling season. AC's can get a dirty sock syndrome but shouldnt be confined to 1 room. If there was actual mold in the duct work that is the sign of a bigger water problem from somewhere else. Inside ducts should be dry and will not surpport mold growth but will contain mold spores in the dust along with many allergens.

I would see if you can smell it in the attic. You had a new furnace put in and it sounds like a condensing furnace with its own PVC vent. How was the old system capped. I would look at the water heater venting. I would also look at the plumbing vent stacks and confirm they are not a problem. These are down my list.

At this point I am thinking you have something going on in the walls or attic. Possible water intrusion, mice, animals or bug infestation.

I might go so far as getting an energy auditor out. Why an energy auditor? He has a thermal camera to look into walls. Water leaks, animals and even bug infestations can be seen by an experienced thermographer. Also an auditor will have a blower door. A blower door is able to depressurize a home and find air leaks but few know that it can also pressurize a home. That is it can push air in out the air leak, that might help in understanding air flow. You may need to suggest that both pressurization and depressurization

Thermography can be a great tool but it takes a skilled tech to know what the picture is showing. I would make sure the thermographer has the taken several courses. This is a list of possible courses. One of interest to you are Level 2 and Home Inspection.

[frazwood]

We didn't clean the ducts to solve this problem. We cleaned the ducts because they haven't been cleaned in 15 years.

We haven't had time to track down this problem, so we've simply had the AC running all summer.

I have opened the windows the last two days and the smell is now barely noticeable (it was noxious last fall).

So, my best guess is that we have a dead animal somewhere in the attic or in the walls... I'm keeping an open mind, though.

[mwal]

I would check your venting of drains etc for leaks as others have mentioned. It the smell gets worse when you change the air pressure in the house. Sewer gas backup does happen can be from floor drains improperly vented wash machines washtubs. Old vent has cracked or fallen apart in wall or was never done properly. Nothing to play around with. If it is sewer gas in a confined space and you get a spark from faulty wiring in a wall attic etc an explosion however remote is possible due to methane buildup. Although your family maybe dead from the methane if it built up to that level just as dangerous as carbon monoxide. Get it checked out!!!!

Mwal