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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

What's that smell?!

74 replies

fancifulmanciful · 24/07/2023 13:54

You know that bin smell you get, that staleness that can overcome a home that's not properly cleaned or just left to fester a tad too long? Many homes with animals in have it to an extent.

That smell has just appeared in my home and been there for the past few days.

I can't find anything! I've taken the bins out and cleaned out the bin and bleached and cleaned but it's still there.

Suggestions?

OP posts:
PhilomenaShitpeas · 24/07/2023 15:16

Double check it’s not a fish smell coming from your electrics - I happened to find out it can mean you’re about to have an electrical fire. A year or so later we narrowly averted catastrophe thanks to that random piece of info!

ThePoshUns · 24/07/2023 15:16

red78hot · 24/07/2023 14:18

Look for an rogue potato at the back of a cupboard, I had this and every time I opened the cupboard tiny flies appeared, emptied the cupboard and at the back 2 well rotten potatoes and a whole new eco system, GAGSVILLE 🤢

I had this last week but with a bag of rotting onion

YukoandHiro · 24/07/2023 15:18

Check all cloths and sponges in the kitchen

babayhaga · 24/07/2023 15:35

This reply has been deleted

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ruthieness · 24/07/2023 15:39

Just a suggestion but the fridge pump can overheat which creates heat in the fridge and then the fridge goes into extra cooling mode which then causes a viscous circle as demand for more cooling actually causes heat - back of the fridge will feel warm and you will get that fish smell - very expensive on electricity too!

TheHappyCarrot · 24/07/2023 15:53

The rotting potato = the ultimate smell of death.

WonderingWanda · 24/07/2023 16:03

I regularly bung my mop head in the washing machine. What are you doing on your floors that makes it so unsanitary?

LittleGreenDuck · 24/07/2023 16:06

I had this in my car. Eventually tracked it down to a shopping bag in the boot. Something from the grocery shop must have leaked into it and then gone off.

HippyChickMama · 24/07/2023 16:14

We have had an unidentifiable smell twice, once it turned out to be a collection of bottle tops from beer that dh was keeping for FIL who was making home brew. The second time, milk had leaked in the fridge and had been cleaned up but some had leaked through into the drip tray on the back (frost free fridge freezer) and gone mouldy. I ended up emptying and cleaning the drip tray and also syringing zoflora through the drain hole Envy

OhDeniseReally · 24/07/2023 16:18

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A bit rude and very unnecessary!

Arniesleftleg · 24/07/2023 16:27

mouldy bread?

SpookySpoon22 · 24/07/2023 16:30

Does a plug need unblocking in a sink/bath? That can create a horrible smell

TraumaSurvivor · 24/07/2023 16:31

Jongleterre · 24/07/2023 14:09

Lightbulbs that are too strong for the shade etc can give off an unpleasant fishy odour.

😯😯

Libre2 · 24/07/2023 16:34

When this happened in our house, it turned out to be a little bag of elderly lamb which I had taken out in a coat pocket to train the dog with and then left in the coat pocket and hung back up under the stairs. It took me days to work out what it was. It was utterly disgusting!

TraumaSurvivor · 24/07/2023 16:34

PhilomenaShitpeas · 24/07/2023 15:16

Double check it’s not a fish smell coming from your electrics - I happened to find out it can mean you’re about to have an electrical fire. A year or so later we narrowly averted catastrophe thanks to that random piece of info!

I'm terrified of a fire. I'm going to sniff my electrics now to be sure they're ok..

BloodyPrime · 24/07/2023 16:58

cuckyplunt · 24/07/2023 14:07

Not if you rinse and dry them properly.. but so few people do.

I read this as being about the orifices the OP was checking and my mind was boggling....

UnfinishedUserna · 24/07/2023 17:07

Libre2 · 24/07/2023 16:34

When this happened in our house, it turned out to be a little bag of elderly lamb which I had taken out in a coat pocket to train the dog with and then left in the coat pocket and hung back up under the stairs. It took me days to work out what it was. It was utterly disgusting!

I did this exact thing, was horrific!

AssertiveGertrude · 24/07/2023 17:09

I wash and air dry my mop after I use it (just on a 20 min cycle) so it doesn’t get that smell

have you washed all the floors and aired the house a bit ? Is all your washing clean and dry

crossstitchingnana · 24/07/2023 17:09

Mouldy potato.

ALongHardWinter · 24/07/2023 17:31

Washing machine? Mine was giving off an awful pong until I ran some washing machine cleaner through it. Or has someone put some fruit or veg in a kitchen cupboard and it's gone off? A few years ago my DD put a bag of onions in the the kitchen larder,on the floor,and stuff got out in front of them so I couldn't see them. They had rotted and turned to liquid. The smell was horrendous. 🤢

ALongHardWinter · 24/07/2023 17:32

Got put ^

golddustwomen · 24/07/2023 17:38

Oh fucking hell this has reminding me of our red onion incident. We also had this horrible smell come over our kitchen a couple of years ago, I cleaned everything to within an inch of its life multiple times, emptied every drawer and cupboard. Removed the panels underneath draws and cupboards, i just couldn't get to the bottom of it. Then came the flies! I was all but ready to move out, I was a women possessed. One day I went bonkers and said I was ripping the kitchen out. The first drawer I furiously ripped out and broke happened to have a slimey, mouldy, leaking, disgusting red onion absolutely covered in flies behind it. I have no idea how it got there but fuck me.

red78hot · 24/07/2023 17:47

ThePoshUns · 24/07/2023 15:16

I had this last week but with a bag of rotting onion

It was horrendous, I had to put my big girl pants on to deal with that one, whilst fending off a very interested 7 month old in a baby walker 🤣

BashfulClam · 24/07/2023 17:56

MoonlightMedicine · 24/07/2023 14:48

My sunflowers started smelling AWFUL before they showed visible signs of going over. Do you have any flowers in vases??

Was going to say the same.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 24/07/2023 18:06

Possible causes;

Next door neighbour's bins. Annoying but not your issue to fix.

Dishwasher filter/other side of the filter in the pump. Solution is to take filter out, clean it, get any food scraps out of the exit and threaten any other residents with murder if they fail to scrape plates off properly before placing in the dishwasher.

Shower filter. Four screws - don't drop them, put them straight into a large, flat container with decent raised edges, lift the cover, try not to puke, clean residue from around the underside, poke down as far as you can go and chuck in a litre of boiling water.

Kitchen sink partially blocked. Check how quickly it drains with boiling water. If it starts speeding up, there's a good chance there's solid fat down there mixing with odd bits of pasta and vegetables. Or just pasta. Rotten pasta smells like death.

U-bend under sink is blocked from liquid detergent coming from the washing machine, gone mouldy and is causing a back up of waste water/food particles from the dishwasher. Yes, I am being very specific here. It involves a bucket, hot water, Fairy Liquid, an unfolded metal coathanger, rubber gloves and the ability to breathe through your mouth for about half an hour.

The worst case is that the next neighbours along the communal sewer have blocked it with cooking fat and baby wipes or it's collapsed. Try flushing the toilets and check that the additional water actually all disappears quickly.