Weird smell in bedroom

R

rosinka

Guest
Hi all,

I wonder if anyone can help me understand what is happening in my bedroom. There is a strange, bad smell that we get in the winter time only (November/December). It's not easy to define the smell, it's like a mix of mold and sewage. It comes and goes and it's been doing it for about three years. Nothing at all in the summer times, it all starts in the beginning of November and is usually gone by January but it comes and goes even during those months. We have a boiler in the bedroom and the smell seems to be coming from one part of the closet, we ripped out the back of the closet but we can't tell exactly where it's coming from. There is no visible sign of damp. The door where the boiler is doesn't smell, the one part of the closet right next to it is fine. It's the one after that smells really bad. I'm mentioning the boiler even though I'm not sure it is related to that. Does Any idea of what this smell could be due to? I don't think it's something like mice (no sign of mice anywhere) so I presume it could be something related to the heating. I guess I should call a plumber and hope that the smell is there when he comes. Any opinion would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

rosinka
 
rosinka said:
Hi all,

I wonder if anyone can help me understand what is happening in my bedroom. There is a strange, bad smell that we get in the winter time only (November/December). It's not easy to define the smell, it's like a mix of mold and sewage. It comes and goes and it's been doing it for about three years. Nothing at all in the summer times, it all starts in the beginning of November and is usually gone by January but it comes and goes even during those months. We have a boiler in the bedroom and the smell seems to be coming from one part of the closet, we ripped out the back of the closet but we can't tell exactly where it's coming from. There is no visible sign of damp. The door where the boiler is doesn't smell, the one part of the closet right next to it is fine. It's the one after that smells really bad. I'm mentioning the boiler even though I'm not sure it is related to that. Does Any idea of what this smell could be due to? I don't think it's something like mice (no sign of mice anywhere) so I presume it could be something related to the heating. I guess I should call a plumber and hope that the smell is there when he comes. Any opinion would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

rosinka
Click to expand...

This seems a strange one. Is the boiler on in other months, not just Nov/Dec/Jan?
Is the bedroom on the ground floor, maybe something under floorboards or leak?

We had an odour once in a rented place. We had laid out rat poison. A smell arose a while later in the hall, intensifying when the heat was on. The dead rat was under the floor at a radiator pipe. The smell lasted a few weeks but this doesn't appear to be your issue.
 
STEINER said:
This seems a strange one. Is the boiler on in other months, not just Nov/Dec/Jan?

Is the bedroom on the ground floor, maybe something under floorboards or leak?

We had an odour once in a rented place. We had laid out rat poison. A smell arose a while later in the hall, intensifying when the heat was on. The dead rat was under the floor at a radiator pipe. The smell lasted a few weeks but this doesn't appear to be your issue.
Click to expand...

It is indeed a weird one and it's driving us crazy especially in the last couple of days since the smell has been particularly strong (thank god we have a spare bedroom!). The boiler is on also in other months and the room is upstairs on the first floor. The smell is really strange, there's almost a hint of rotten in it, but I presume that a dead animal would not smell after 3 years. I should also mention that 3 years ago is when we put gas heating in the house. It was electric before and the smell was not there.
 
rosinka said:
It is indeed a weird one and it's driving us crazy especially in the last couple of days since the smell has been particularly strong (thank god we have a spare bedroom!). The boiler is on also in other months and the room is upstairs on the first floor. The smell is really strange, there's almost a hint of rotten in it, but I presume that a dead animal would not smell after 3 years. I should also mention that 3 years ago is when we put gas heating in the house. It was electric before and the smell was not there.
Click to expand...

I don't know, maybe it is the boiler. Is it serviced annually?

There is also the remote possibility of paranormal activity. LOL
 
I remember back when I lived with my parents; one of the bedrooms had a very strange smell a bit like what you describe - it turned out oddly enough to be the the light fixture that the bulb fits in - you probably only notice it when the main light is switched on.
Not sure if this is your problem but its worth a look/sniff!
 
In november/december it is mostly cold and rainly from october...Then the walls(if the house is old) become wet also from inside. that can be the cause of it.....It's better to open a window in daytime and make sure that you turn on the heating for drying the room. That will help you...If that's the problem...
 
Is there a fireplace in the bedroom or a flue from the downstairs fireplace? Do you still use your fireplace and has it been cleaned recently. I don't use my fireplace but clean behind the fire inset every year and the amount of debris, soot, sticks etc that fall down there is surprising; and if these get wet it can result in a mouldy smell. But agin it shouldn't come and go with such regular frequency.
One more thing, check all the clothes in the closet, pockets etc. My son once left a cheese sandwich in his pocket and it took us six months to find the source of the smell! Such a simple thing but what a relief when we found it.
 
Given the time of year it occurs, it would tend to suggest something to do with dampness/rain etc. Is there any chance it could be the gutters with debris rotting in them after the autumn?, especially if you have any trees close to the house. Your bedroom could be the room closest to them

are there any birds nests under the eaves(birds migrating so next may be empty and rotting) or in the attic.?
 
Upstihaggity said:
I remember back when I lived with my parents; one of the bedrooms had a very strange smell a bit like what you describe - it turned out oddly enough to be the the light fixture that the bulb fits in - you probably only notice it when the main light is switched on.
Not sure if this is your problem but its worth a look/sniff!
Click to expand...


We had a strange fishy smell in our hall way and we also found it to be the light fixture...........it might be worth checking out.
 
Hi all,

thank you so much for all your replies. I'm in work, just back after a week end away and I am dreading the moment that I will walk into the bedroom this evening!

I don't think it's anything electric, it is not a fishy smell and it does not come from the light bulb.

Not a fireplace either.

The one thing that could actually be it is the gutter as Mpsox pointed out. I would need to check if there's a way to clean that. I will also check if there's any cheese in some pockets :)

Last but not least, I may if nothing else works call a plumber and check if it's something to do with plumbing.

Again, thank you all for the hints. Keep them coming (if you think of something else).

rosinka
 
One more question rosinka, is your bedroom on the ground floor? If so check that there are no damaged drains under the room; this happened me and we had a weird smell there too for a while before it was sorted.
 
ophelia said:
One more question rosinka, is your bedroom on the ground floor? If so check that there are no damaged drains under the room; this happened me and we had a weird smell there too for a while before it was sorted.
Click to expand...

Hi ophelia, it is not on the ground floor, it's on the first floor. Still, I feel as if the smells comes from below rather than from above. No smell whatsoever in any of the other rooms.
 
Wet leather from shoes or a jacket, in the confines of a wardrobe without ventilation, will give off a smell thats like the one you describe. The smell will permiate the room and worse - your clothes.
 
I think the problem may be getting worst and may not have a quick solution. It is now over a week that the smell is always there, this is the first time it is so persistent and strong. We removed the carpets and we start thinking that it may be some sort of a dry rot in the wood floor boards. We can see that along the edge of the boards there is a yellowish stain, it looks almost like they're wet but they are really dry. The smell doesn't seem to be coming exactly from there but it's very hard to tell. The other thing that we still think possible is that it is related to the heating pipes that are under the floor boards (we don't remember ever having the smell before the heating was installed 3-4 years ago). So, us not being DIY expert, we will probably have to call a wood floor specialist and a plumber and hope that they don't take advantage of our clulessness :(

Any more feedback from you will be much appreciated.
 
it may be necessary to lift a few floorboards, and have a good look underneath. It is not hard to do, just annoying to have to do this.

At least you will see any pipeleaks, wetness, damp etc
 
Could be a dead rodent/piece of food decomposing/leak leading to joist rot.

Given the time of year it may be a problem caused by condensation.

This can be caused by lack of heating, insulation or ventilation.

Call in an experienced architect or damp specialist to inspect.

ONQ.

htp://www.oneillquigley.eu
 
So... the smell is still there. We ripped out a couple of flloor boards and we can now confirm that the smell is there only when the heating is on. We still don't have a proper diagnosis but I am now trying to get a plumber, I got a couple of numbers from previous posts in the Recommended Tradesmen section, hopefully someone will answer their phone eventually.
 
lab-rat said:
We had a strange fishy smell in our hall way and we also found it to be the light fixture...........it might be worth checking out.
Click to expand...

I would still recommend checking the light fixtures, we had this problem too and it was some plastic part of the light fixture. Even if it doesn't smell like it is coming from the light!!! My parents were convinced it was a plumbing/rot problem too and spent ages investigating this but it was the light fixture! It only costs a couple of euro to change compared to the cost of a plumber!

Hope you get it sorted!
 
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