Victorian house / heating smells

[missleahy]

Hi all

We moved into our gorgeous Victorian cottage in Jan this year. Throughout the winter when we have had the heating on, we have noticed it makes the house smell very odd. I can't describe the smell. It's not damp, or cigarette smoke-y but it clings to our clothes and is noticeable when you walk through the door. I can't work out if its something in the heating or the walls. The carpets were brand new when we moved in (but we will be ripping them up)
It's really bothering me because I can't work out what it is. It's a smell that is only when the heating is on throughout the winter.

It's not the electrics is it, that can smell like fish if they're dodgy.

Have you had the boiler checked/ serviced properly?

Do you have flooring with a cavity underneath, such as plank floorboards or manufactured panels over joists? Dust and debris will collect beneath these over time and when underfloor heating pipes become hot you will get a smell.

So, rip up the flooring, vacuum all the debris and you'll have a house fresh as a daisy. Apparently.

Clean behind the radiators too. Hairdryer on cold to blast the muck down, then vacuum up.

Have the radiators been painted a million times? Ours smell when the heating goes on at the start of winter.

Get your boiler serviced. Ours was full of stour and it was that burning that was making the smell. Once that was cleaned out it was much better.

Just realised stour might not mean anything to you as i think it's a Scots word. Stour=dust etc.