Smell is driving me insane!!

[Housemouse1]

Hello fellow mumsnetters. Am reaching out here as a last ditch for help. We moved about 5 months ago, and whilst renovation is still ongoing there is one room that I cannot spend time in as it absolutely stinks and I have no idea what it is. It’s hard to put my finger on it ; just a dirty, musty smell. There is a fireplace in there but it’s not the smell of a dead animal that’s fallen behind or anything, we had damp readings done before we bought it so shouldn’t be damp. When we moved in we had the 70s red plush carpet in here ripped out and replaced with laminate- it absolutely stank but we’ve removed it, and in other places in the house where it was it doesn’t smell. We’ve aired this room every day since we’ve moved in, but I can still smell it and it’s no stronger in any part of the room, just a general stink. Any ideas?

What renovations did you do? I've seen builders leave their lunch in cavity walls before now!

Dead rat under the floor boards?

I am also thinking dead mice or rats under the floor boards.

I'm wondering if there should have been a gap between ripping out the stinky carpet and laying the laminate. Is it stuck down? Could you take it up temporarily to let the old carpet smell dissipate?

Either something stuck in the chimney
A dead rat or mouse under flooring or in the cavity wall
Or cockroaches .

Could the carpet in that room be soaked in ancient cat piss? Perhaps it has permeated the floor below? Maybe in the past a very old incontinent cat was kept in that room?

I even have heard of it seeping into concrete and creating a lingering aroma.

Like pp, I’m thinking the floor possibly needed treating with something before putting the laminate down being as the carpet stank.

Soot up the chimney?

Sorry everyone, have been out trick or treating. No, so the smell definitely isn’t of a dead animal variety - really hard to describe but it’s a dirty, really grubby kind of smell.noir vendors were absolutely filthy and didn’t do any cleaning before we moved in, but I have had that room professionally cleaned and we have repainted it. Definitely not a builders old lunch either as we didn’t do anything structural etc. I can smell it even walking past the room when the door is open.

the floor under the new laminate is concrete, I wonder if the smell of the stinky carpet has permeated the floor as others have said : although the smell doesn’t seem to come from the floorboards. Also not a sooty smell if that makes sense, like a really repulsive musty, dirty, grimy stench. Is it possible for walls to smell? And if so, what can I do to rectify that?

Maybe the old tenants smoked and it’s left an awful smell

I did wonder if it was cigarette smoke, but it’s only in that one room. They had lived here since the 70s so likely smoked in it at some point, but I would have expected the smell to be in every room

If they were heavy smokers they might have smoked predominantly in one room, it was awful in my house I stripped all the wallpaper off. Luckily I had to replaster the walls and that got rid of the smell

repainting should have helped with the smell though

I came on to say its your carpet underlay. Concrete is porous so I bet the smell has seeped into it.

drain leak under the floors?

Hmmm, if it is cigarette smoke I would be happy to replaster the walls if that would resolve it, the smell is really disgusting.

@Pixiedust1234 the underlay has been removed though as we replaced the carpet with laminate.

really hope it isn’t a leak under the floors, that sounds very expensive and difficult to fix.

I know but you said it was concrete underneath which is porous, or did you seal it properly before putting down the laminate? Did the floor people mention anything while they were working?

To be fair it might be easier to try the replastering route first.

Could it be damp in the chimney due to broken or cracked mortar?

Hello fellow mumsnetters. Am reaching out here as a last ditch for help. We moved about 5 months ago, and whilst renovation is still ongoing there is one room that I cannot spend time in as it absolutely stinks and I have no idea what it is. It’s hard to put my finger on it ; just a dirty, musty smell. There is a fireplace in there but it’s not the smell of a dead animal that’s fallen behind or anything, we had damp readings done before we bought it so shouldn’t be damp. When we moved in we had the 70s red plush carpet in here ripped out and replaced with laminate- it absolutely stank but we’ve removed it, and in other places in the house where it was it doesn’t smell. We’ve aired this room every day since we’ve moved in, but I can still smell it and it’s no stronger in any part of the room, just a general stink. Any ideas?

Was it a wet or dry month when you had the damp readings done?...

Is it a room right above the front door?
I had a similar stinky room before and someone explained it to me as a smell that seeps out the door and up and can gather and linger in that room. I can't remember exactly why.
Improving insulation in the space above the front door would help.

I've just got back from a weekend away with 20+ family, beautiful Manor house, except my room, and only my room stank. It smelt dirty, in a deep dank musty way, ghat had pervaded everything, and the smell even woke me up at night. Even as a long time ex smoker it took me a day to work out it was the smell of long time engrained cigarette smoke.

Honestly, it sounds like dead mice. We have dead mice in our (old) office and it bloody stinks!!

Have you smelt inside the fireplace? If there’s been a real fire in there and there’s no cowl on the chimney the chimney can get damp and creates really strange musty\tar sort of smell.

Morning everyone, so I have smelt the floor and I don’t think the smell is originating from there. Fireplace smells a bit gross but don’t think it’s the source of the smell. There is some old trunking covering some radiator pipes and that does seem to smell, but doesn’t explain the smell down the other end of the room. Will try and take the trunking off and see what is hiding behind. This was the room the vendors most used, but just can’t see how a smell can be ingrained so much when we’ve painted and replaced flooring etc

For the poster that asked, the survey was done in April but it was dry weather. We viewed twice and I didn’t smell whatever this is when we saw it

When I moved house, a bedroom that had been used by a teenage boy absolutely reeked - just that horrible musty hormone, smelly sock boy smell.

I painted the walls and ceiling with two coats of zinser stain block (and changed the carpet and underlay), throughly washed the window with pvc cleaner and scrubbed all the gloss with sugar soap before repainting, and I haven't had a problem since.

Zinser is the stuff you need.

There was a thread on here once where the op and one or two others paint made their rooms stink.