What is this smell??!

[EbbyEbs]

DH keeps banging on about the living room smelling of urine. I keep getting a strong wiff of it too but I don’t know where it’s coming from!! I’ve sniffed the rug and the sofa, the smell is coming from this area but no obvious source. It’s driving me mad. I don’t know what he expects me to do if we don’t know where it’s coming from!?

AIbU to tell him to either find the source or shut up about it??!!

as an aside - what could the smell be as it can’t actually be urine! What else could smell like this?

Have you got pets?
Have you had any elderly friends/relatives round who have sat on your sofa?

i have dogs but neither wee in the house.
no elderly relatives

Is there a loo adjoining the living room? Could be a slow leaking pipe under the floor?

They may have when you didn't see

Are you sure they don't have a UTI that might cause them to dribble pee? You could get a black light that would highlight any spots of it.

Is it a slightly fishy smell? If so could be your electrics.

How old is your electrical wiring/sockets /light fittings etc? We had similar to this in our 1930's house and it turned out to be light fittings- the bit you stick the lightbulb directly into- they overheated and smelled awful- it reminded me of fish but DH thought it smelled of urine. A mate of DH was an electrician and knew what it was - he put us some new light fitting things in (only the plastic bit where you put the bulb in) and it stopped.

Mango juice smells like this when it’s been spilled - I have had this in our house !

Had this when underlay of carpet got wet and it released a gas that smells like urine.

Do you go in there in outdoor shoes? When our office smelt of urine in wet weather. It turned out the alley we walked through was used as a urinal and when it rained we were walking through it unaware and walking it in.

I bought a carpet cleaner spray which stinks of urine! I had exactly the same thing where my husband kept coming home saying it smelt like wee and took me a few weeks to work out it was every time I used that blooming spray!

I've heard of some paints having a urine smell
Electrics can smell fishy

Our old leaking windows used to make the mdf windowsill smell like urine.

Any houseplants - some can smell and/or the soil if it’s been overwatered and started to rot.

fun fact there are a fair few plant bulbs that smell like marijuana, which I discovered while working at B&Q… we all assumed it was the new student working there 😂

Could a boy cat have come in and sprayed wee somewhere ? Get a UV light and check all around ?

My sitting room smelt of poo recently. I was blaming the dog and all manner of other things. Turned out to be a plant I had sitting in some stagnant water. Could it be something such as that?

Yep dodgy wiring can give off a pissy fishy smell.

Waste paper bin with bag in? Once used black bags that stunk of cigarettes and got a bad review (B&B job)..

Could it be a deceased rat/mouse? Underneath the floorboards? They sometimes smell fishy as they decompose

No lillies in the lounge?

Have you recently put up new curtains? I had some with a thermal lining, they stank. Took months for the smell to go.

Valspar (I believe) skirting paint has been mentioned before on here. When it warms up near radiators also.

Blinds can smell when the sun hits them.

Do your windows open onto a moss covered roof? Our kids bedroom was stinking last year and it was the moss outside the window.

@VimFuego101 Your suggestion of getting a black light really made me laugh. It was such a Mumsnet answer! I can just see people crawling around shining a light, looking for pee.