My neighbours really smell…heeelp

[sjxoxo]

I can see the ridiculousness of my issue BUT the smell is becoming unbearable for me to live with. We are attached on their side so our houses are joined.
The houses are very old- ours is having some renovations done, theirs was done several years ago so they’re not doing any work or anything like that. There is this horrendous stench from their house and I can’t for the life of me understand what it is. They are in their 30s and just had a baby like us, we are friendly. I can tell when their back door is open because I can smell the smell.. I have racked my brains as to the source but I just can’t think what it could be- it is quite a specific type of smell, kind of musty but sweet. Its constant, so not occasionally there- I can smell it any time their doors are open. I don’t think it’s a ‘rotting’ smell but it does make me feel a bit queasy; it’s thick, heavy and smells very very stale. Sort of sweet but not in a nice way. I wondered if they could be cooking with a certain type of oil or a fryer. I’ve never had one so can’t compare. I’ve been into their house before several times and it’s overpowering to me inside - it’s quite dirty (I don’t mean that as in insult) and their kitchen is on our side of the house; I can smell very strongly when she is cooking with her oven and the smell then is like an oven that’s full of grease and never been cleaned. You know when people have ‘their’ smell in their homes - obviously we all do and they are just that - it’s like theirs is really really intense and something is off with it. I don’t know if the smell is related to the oven; i have mentioned to her before that I can smell her oven and she did try and improve that but I just am at my wits end with it & don’t know what to do! I have these horrible thoughts we’ll all be on a Netflix doc in 20 years talking about something very sinister!!!! Heeeelp. Anyone have any similar stories or manky smells? Should I say something? What would you do?

Sounds like the smell of spilled/sicked up baby formula to me. When I was younger, I always associated that smell with homes with new babies.

They could have started up a weed habit to deal with the stress of a newborn though.

Mmm I don't know. I don't think your described weed. Just dirty grimey house . Musty er!

i really could NOT cope with this - I am so sensitive to smells it would make me sick but I don't know what to suggest :(

My relative smokes weed for medical reasons so it could be that?

That’s interesting because that description is not how weed smells to me at all! I suppose we all perceive smells a bit differently.

OP, the smell you describe does sound like it could possibly be weed, but I also think joss sticks and incense cones smell musty/earthy and sweet in a way I find a bit unpleasant.

A steady job and a love of homemade jam is not incompatible with weed-smoking and I think quite a few weed smokers are teetotal because basically they’re smoking weed to relax instead. My next-door neighbours are middle-class parents, suburban semi, two kids, Labrador etc; she’s a project manager and I can’t remember exactly what he does but I have a feeling he’s in graphic design. Would definitely make jam. Weed smoke drifts over from their garden on a daily basis! Admittedly they’re clearly not doing it in the house though.

Definitely weed.
Lots of people smoke it who you think wouldn't 🤷‍♀️

@cheekychatta

Sickly sweet from my experience.
Sort of like food-waste after it's been left somewhere warm for a few days (I guess that's what it is, in a sense).
Weed smells a bit like an IPA to me. Some of the brewdog flavours (if that's what you call types of beer) smell like they've been brewed with weed to me.

People are not always what they seem.........

They sound just like weed smoker profile.
No alcohol , and there are lots of people in professional jobs who smoke weed.

It tends to ''Hang heavily'' in the air, there used to be a specific place a couple of miles away that always reeked, they must be growing it there.

Hopefully it won't be bodies under the floorboards.

Weed to me smells like a foxy, cat pissy smell, Stinking Hellebores also smell very similar. A ''Meaty'' slightly sweet smell, like sweat, but penetrating.

Hops and cannabis are related.
Maybe that is where the similar smell comes from?

They are in their 30s and just had a baby like us, we are friendly. I can tell when their back door is open because I can smell the smell.. I have racked my brains as to the source but I just can’t think what it could be- it is quite a specific type of smell, kind of musty but sweet. Its constant, so not occasionally there- I can smell it any time their doors are open. I don’t think it’s a ‘rotting’ smell but it does make me feel a bit queasy

If it's having this effect on you and you can smell the stench seeping out when they open their doors/windows, then imagine what it must be like for that poor baby who has to be cooped up inside with whatever is causing the smell😟

Has she ever admitted that she can smell it?...could you invite her round for coffee then when she goes back to hers and opens the door ask her if she can smell the odour and ask if she has any ideas where it's coming from (obviously do it in a more tactful way)...because that can't be healthy for the baby to be breathing in if you can't open your windows without the stench seeping in..

My father in laws house smells the same!! Musty and sweet but making you want to gag. Definitely not weed in their case, the smell just permeates and lingers on them. It took about 3-4 weeks for the smell to dissipate after SIL came to visit for 2 weeks. They’re both massively obese and my SIL still smells after coming out of the shower and having freshly laundered clothes so I do wonder if there’s something medically wrong which causes that smell… so I’m not sure if there’s anything you neighbour can do about it if that’s their natural smell!

Another vote for weed 🙋

If she smokes cigarettes, its not a huge jump from there to smoking weed.
The fact that they don't drink alcohol is irrelevant. They're very different drugs with different effects on the body so perfectly understandable that someone would smoke weed but not drink alcohol and vice versa.

If they're young, I think that's relevant too - alcohol doesn't have the same draw [lol, get it?!] for young people these days. Young folks are much more likely to take drugs than drink alcohol.

I really hope you're not planning to eat the jam if its come from their filthy house 😬

Another vote for cannabis. Where I used to work we had a cupboard that was directly under someone flat and every time you opened the cupboard, it stank out the shop. Guy up there was a heavy smoker of weed and I guess it seeped through the floorboards. You could practically get stoned looking for the flash sale signs.

Can you not get an invitation indoors and do a bit of investigating

Everyone who I know that makes jam also smokes weed.

I am seeing a few people in quite a different light now!

It you don't know what weed smells like then get someone you know who does know the smell round to have a sniff - they will know straight away.

Do some people seriously not know what weed smells like to be able to identify it? I've never smoked it but I'm amazed and jealous if people have managed to get through life without coming across the smell at any point.

I'm not convinced it's weed smell for this reason. Has it smelt like this for a long time or has it gotten much worse during the heat? Could it be like a mouldy house or something off where the heat might be making the smell worse?

Weed smells like cats piss to me definitely not earthy and sweet. It’s quite sharp and sour. Could it be mould or fungus? DP left his wet trainers in a plastic bag in the car boot once and they grew mould inside! 🤢 That smelt like sweet wet soil.

Sounds like weed to me. But
Could be a deepfat fryer smell they reek

Are they perhaps storing marijuana? Dockyards are where a lot of it is smuggled through. I know that may sound daft, however, a friend works at the docks and attempts to stop this daily. You mentioned the husband works there. I could be totally wrong, it an Environmental Health issue when someone else’s home impacts on your quality of life this way, be it something innocent they are doing or not.

What’s the link between making jam and NOT smoking weed?! Loads of people smoke weed, the habit transcends class / income etc…

And yes, it smells disgusting.

I really really don’t think it’s weed. I know what the smell of weed (being smoked) smells like and it’s not that. I did think when I saw the comments maybe they are growing it but I still don’t think it’s likely!! I know of course someone can make jam and still smoke weed but I suppose it’s the best way I can describe them- they’re very conservative and I really cannot fathom
it being weed.. it doesn’t smell like weed to me.

I don’t know what a dead body smells like 😂

i could politely ask if they are using a fryer?? I think that is possible!!

I think the detail you’ve posted about their occupations is a bit identifying, OP - I’m sure that’s not your intention but you may want to report your post.

I have smelled a dead cat at the side of the road, it smelt like gone off chicken to me.

Also yes to the person who commented about mice - I have put poison down in a few safe places as I did think it could be but it would have to be a hella lot of mice 🤢

they do have animals - a dog and a couple of cats. We have the same! They also have chickens but they are quite far from the houses. X