Bad smell in a house

Carpenter

A friend of mine has a bad smell in his house :mad:
Now after all the jokes are finished what can he do about it
He says it smells musty what ever that means any idea,s

mad m

Did you mean Musty smell?Where in house is the smell

If its a musty smell had same problem in sitting room,when i changed floor in it i found alot of rubbish under floor(its a sub floor) plus the radiator pipe under floor was leaking very slightly.Cleared out all the rubbish(was bits of wood,which where rotting) and fixed pipe.Smell has never come back.

Carpenter

yes musty (sorry)

mad m

Well it can mean there is damp somewhere in house or something is rotting maybe.Used to get it in mornings when sun beamed onto front of house,when i walked into sitting room.

maccydoodies

We used to get an awful fishy smell in our guest bathroom that we hardly use. Then we discovered that the seal around that bath upstairs was leaking and dripping down into the light socket in the guest bathroom. Eventually we got the bathroom upstairs fixed and the smell has not been there since. Did he check the light sockets??

mad m

Oh meant to say also check the vents in house as one or more might be blocked,as you know a fresh constant air is needed going through a house.Well mine does because of sub floor(toggle joists).

kadman

Musty smells can mean one of two things, or both. Condensation , damp.

Condensation and damp both promote mould growth, which can be the source of musty smells.

Is the smell throughout the house, or localised into certain areas.
Is there evidence of mould or fungal growth, on walls or floors.

Blocked air bricks in old houses, at ground floor level, should be cleared out to allow proper air flow beneath wooden floors, to stop fungal growths that thrive in stagnant damp areas.

Air bricks at the apex or roof s should also be clear to allow good airflow through the attic so as to prevent some forms of rot

Is there any signs of damp in the house, and does the house have sufficient ventilation to minimise any prospect of condensation.

Was the smell always present, or is this only a recent occurrence.

kadman

Carpenter

kadman wrote:

Musty smells can mean one of two things, or both. Condensation , damp.

Condensation and damp both promote mould growth, which can be the source of musty smells.

Is the smell throughout the house, or localised into certain areas.
Is there evidence of mould or fungal growth, on walls or floors.

Blocked air bricks in old houses, at ground floor level, should be cleared out to allow proper air flow beneath wooden floors, to stop fungal growths that thrive in stagnant damp areas.

Air bricks at the apex or roof s should also be clear to allow good airflow through the attic so as to prevent some forms of rot

Is there any signs of damp in the house, and does the house have sufficient ventilation to minimise any prospect of condensation.

Was the smell always present, or is this only a recent occurrence.

kadman

Recenth bud (how,s the saw)

kadman

Carpenter wrote:

Recenth bud (how,s the saw)

Hi Carpenter,

(Saw's magic, made a lovely pair of gates this week, I'll post pics soon)

How recent. Any traps set recently, or poison put down.
Any work done recently, that has maybe caused leaks at rads or joints, or loose wc. connection, blocked waste pipe vent. What about blocked gullies out side, manhole.

Is the smell all over the house.

kadman

rooferPete

Hi,

I'll play a wildcard

Did he get new PVC or aluminium windows installed recently ?

Any chance the vents in the rooms or a fire place were blocked up ?

MR DAZ

We had a similar problem before where there was a smell coming from the guest bedroom....

Thing was nobody could get the smell only me... To cut a long story short.. when ever i travel back to the home place I stay in the spare bedroom..which is free 99% of the year..

So like all good Irish Mudders ... The room is cleaned from head to toe before I come home

Can you imagine the look over my parents face when I complain about a fishy smell in the room....It was ROTTEN!!!

Anyways it turned out to the lamp beside the bed...ya see no one ever used it..during the day etc... but when I stayed over before going to bed I'd leave it on for while...reading etc

It took ages to discover what was causing the smell!!!

So it could be something as simple as that!

Carpenter

rooferPete wrote:

Hi,

I'll play a wildcard

Did he get new PVC or aluminium windows installed recently ?

Any chance the vents in the rooms or a fire place were blocked up ?

yep fireplace blocked up 2 weeks ago nice 1 bud

kadman

Rooferpete is so hot off the mark, he must be using the force.

Rooferpete, we are not worthy.

kadman