Funny smell...

[Scoot]

OK, I realize I'm setting myself up to be the victim of a ton of dump here, but I have a serious question. I live in a house that was built two years ago this Aug (i.e., pretty darn new). Something stinks. There are three bedrooms upstairs that frequently get a funny smell- all three are bedrooms. The smell is pretty strong and is sort of like the smell of rubber. At first we thought it was just the smell of the bedline we used on our two year old's bed, but now we're getting the smell in two other bedrooms.

Any bright ideas?

[iffy]

Scoot: When it starts to smoke you gotta slow down some.

[jgeatz]

What I would check out would be your electrical first. Have you had issues there, if not then you ductwork, do you smell it more in the winter or the summmer?

[student]

Does the smell come out of the ductwork or is it confined to one area? Might be a got idea to send a camera through the duct work and see if there is anything fishy going on.

Who built your house?

[Scoot]

jg, it certainly doesn't seem like anything electrical-related-- what are you thinking?

Student- doesn't seem to be duct-related, but it's really tough to tell for sure. Jordahl Custom Homes built the house.

[sparcebag]

Wild guess here,But could it be the asphalt impregnated felt (roofing felt)? It at times when newer will heat and smell,If so you have attic air entering the upstairs. When you smell it open the attic access and smell MAYBE????

[student]

Did the smell start right away after moving in, or has it just now shown up? I might call Jordahl and ask them if this has happened before. they build something like 180 homes a year. I know a couple of the guys over there, they take pride in happy customers.

[Scoot]

The smell has shown up in the past five or six months. Really showing up now. Yep, I'll call Dawn at Jordahl tonight- she's taken really good care of us thus far. My assumption is that it's something specific to our place and not a common deal with that builder, so I posted the question here. But ya never know. I'll see what they say tonight. Any other thoughts as to what it might be are welcome.

[bigdog]

I doubt this is it but who knows, it happened to me. One of the sewer vent stacks had a crack in a joint. Did not smell all of the time and was not a distinctive 'sewer' smell. Finally discovered it by accident when I poured some fragrant cooking sherry down the sink and then happened into the room with the pipe.

[Enids Hubby]

have you cleaned your carpets with a home Bissel or Hoover type cleaner ? They don't suck up all the soap solution real good and that can start to smell after awhile.

[Scoot]

bigdog, I tried Pinesol in the drain last night, but didn't come up with anything.

Enids, nope, haven't had the carpets cleaned with that type of vacuum yet.

I went up into the attic last night and everything looked to be in order. Keep any other ideas comin'.

[GotOne]

Have you added anything new to the home since the smell started? Any leather furn, new paint, stain, etc? Did the odor start after it started getting colder and the home was closed up. If so, it could have started a little before and just didn't notice.

[Scoot]

Nope- nothing new added. After it was "closed up"- what do you mean?

[fishing tech]

Dead mice??? Did you or a neighbor put out decon or anything like that?

[GotOne]

By "closed-up". I meant when it starts getting colder out, the windows are closed, air conditioning isn't running, no outside- fresh air coming in. So, a foreign odor would start to be noticeable.

[Scoot]

Wallabee, that's what I thought you meant, but I wasn't sure. Yeah, that's roughly when it would have started (give or take a month or so). If I'm following you though, that helps explain why we're smelling something goofy, but doesn't help what it is we're smelling. Or are you thinking something specific?

I'll ask the neighbors about the mice. Never seen on or any signs of them at the house, but ya never know.

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas fellas- I appreciate it.

[GotOne]

I'm not thinking of anything specific. I would start in the room where you first noticed the smell and search "high and low". Start by looking at the carpet cushion under a floor register, is the cushion rubber or does it look like "scraps of foam glued together". Is the same flooring in each room? If so, put a scrap piece in a sealed plastic bag for a few days and do a smell test. Look for other common things in the rooms where the smell is located and try to figure it out. Do you have a "under water camera"? Put the camera down your floor vents, crawl space, attic, etc. and see if you can notice anything that could be the source. I'll keep thinking.

[Dave]

Make sure they took the vent cap off the plumbing pipe outside, up on the roof.

[Hubcat]

Just a idea, A while back I had some string wrap around my vacuum cleaner brush which caused the rubber belt to slip and stink the room up like rubber.

Bob