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Property/DIY

Weird smell in only one room

16 replies

ivytable · 25/06/2017 21:05

Could anyone please help with identifying where this smell comes from? It's a weird smell like one that comes from dirty nappy bins. It is only in our DCs room, nowhere else in the house. We have cleaned and turned the room upside down trying to find the source of this smell. No luck. The room is next to kitchen and gas boiler cupboard. It's a top floor flat in an old tenement building. The smell was there last year between April and September, usually on warm, windy days after it had rained. The smell has returned in the last few weeks, again mostly on warm, windy days after it has rained. The minute we close the windows the smell returns, but it comes and goes. It's almost like it's coming from the walls or maybe the window, but we can't find the exact source. Someone from our housing association inspected the attic last year, they didn't find anything. Gas boiler was serviced last week, all good. We redecorated the room i.e. repainted it about 1.5 years ago. It still has carpets from previous owners. We don't have any animals. Any ideas? We don't know where to start if we were to call someone out or how to make sure the smell is there when they come out....

OP posts:
Malfoyy · 25/06/2017 21:08

Is it a bit fishy?
If so it's the electrics I think.

monsieurpoirot · 25/06/2017 21:10

We sometimes get a 'wet' smell in some rooms after it's been raining a lot. I thought we had damp or a leak but full investigations prove it's just a temporary thing after heavy rain. I am reassured nothing is wrong so not bothered by it any more

GooodMythicalMorning · 25/06/2017 21:12

Dead mouse under floorboards?

monsieurpoirot · 25/06/2017 21:16

Apparently insulation can smell a bit like urine when damp if that is a possibility?

MrsBadger · 25/06/2017 21:16

Dd's room had a funny smell - wet dog not nappy bins - after blowy rain from the west.
We traced it to a tiny gap between her windowsill and the windowframe; think it was rain getting behind the brickwork somehow. DH sealed the gap with, well, sealant, while we save up to have the render chiselled off and investigated.
No more smell but I suspect the cause remains.

Racmactac · 25/06/2017 21:19

My ds room has smelt awful for last couple weeks. Went through his bedroom today and found something that use to resemble food. Envy

Have you checked all bags? Dead animals under floor boards?

ivytable · 25/06/2017 21:34

Re electrics we didn't use lights or sockets in the room for over 24h hours, smell still kept coming and going
Re dead animals when I phoned pest control they said if it was a dead animal the smell wouldn't come and go it would be persistent
Re insulation and windows that's something to investigate

This is our third summer in this flat and the smell wasn't there during the first summer when my DH and I used the room. After that summer we swapped rooms with our kids, redecorated and the next summer the smell appeared. So weird and annoying.

OP posts:
8misskitty8 · 25/06/2017 23:33

If the smell started after you painted and swapped rooms then it could be the paint. Paint can go off in the tin and sometimes not noticeable until used on the walls.

thatdearoctopus · 25/06/2017 23:50

We had a fishy smell in one of our rooms, years ago. Turned out to be that the light bulb was too powerful for the main socket and was slightly burning the plastic surround.

Heratnumber7 · 26/06/2017 00:15

How old are DCs?

We had a weird smell upstairs for ages.

I found a glass of what used to be milk under DDs bed. It was green and furry and I swear I saw it move

SofaToad · 26/06/2017 03:34

It could be the paint, maybe the carpet, especially if you have cleaned it and made it a bit too wet, the underlay can start to stink if that happens.

Regarding paint smelling, I have found this www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/23rz47/smelly_paint/

GoneDownhill · 26/06/2017 04:41

might it be a sewage'y smell from a sewage vent stack? Where are the bathrooms in relation to the room? Is there a vent pipe outside the room running up to the roof?

FrogFairy · 26/06/2017 08:17

Did you use Crown paint when you decorated?

If so, google wall odour phenomenon.

ivytable · 26/06/2017 11:40

Starting to think it could be the paint, it's just so strange that the smell isn't there all the time. It wasn't there during the night. It's back once the sun is out.
Looks like we may have to redecorate again, change carpets etc...or put up with the smell till September!!

OP posts:
ivytable · 26/06/2017 16:39

Re bathroom it's on the other side of the kitchen so not close to DCs room

OP posts:
SofaToad · 26/06/2017 17:54

We have an 'old dirt' smell in one room and on the top floor stairs which are the hottest parts of the house. It was OK until I shampoo'd the carpet in the room, but the stairs, I think, are something else. If I sniff the floor it is OK but if I sniff the walls they smell. Not sure what paint was used as there are several in the garage that were left behind when we moved in.

I was going to get some Zinnser undercoat and eventually remove the carpet and repaint. If you find a solution please post and let us know.

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