Odd smell?
Question:We are moving into a house in the next week and there is an odd smell in the kitchen area. We have scrubbed everything and can not find what it causing it. Its not a rotten food smell or a musty smell it just stinks. Ive taken to putting two room deotorizers in there and it helps some. But, I cant figure out what is causing it. I know they just put a new floor down but shouldnt that go away fast?
Answers:
Yeah if you cleaned everything up and you can't seem to locate the smell it could be in the walls or under the house. I know dead mice have a very peculiar smell when they rot in the walls. Also, it could be leftover waste water from the kitchen sinks back trap. Try poring some bleach down all your drains to push that stuff down, if that sits too long (like when selling a house) it can get kinda nasty.
its probrably under ur house
ask the dead bodies that are there.. joking mop with fabuloso
sounds like damp. Did you get the house looked at properly before u bought/rented it? It may have damp in the walls of ceiling.
We had that. Ended up being a dead animal inside the wall.
Have you checked the garbage disposal?
mold
A new floor, AND an odd smell? They might have hidden something under the floor, if you know what I mean. Why do you think they are selling the house? Just a thought.
Mice could be behind or under one of the appliances, we have had a few die under our dishwasher and oh my goodness was that stinky...try moving some of the large appliances around and see if you find anything dead
maybe someone died in there before you moved in. I know it sounds eerie, but it happens and it take a LONG time for rigor to leave the air.
You should 'thoroughly check' two things ... the 'adhesive' they used to put the new floor in the kitchen, and the area 'just under' that new floor. DO NOT MOVE IN until you have that 'checked out' ... that 'stink' could be from many different things, and it may 'just go away with time' ... but it also could be indications of 'mildew' or some small 'dead animal' and both of those could be HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH.
Is it the mop? Sometimes, especially when you mop up milk, the mop smells funny. I would mop the new floor with a bleach cleaner... and a new mop... and see if that doesn't help. It might also be dog/cat smell... which the baseboards need to be scrubbed with the bleach solution as well as the floor.
If your new floor is tile, it is possible that they didn't put sealant over the tile grout, allowing food/spills to seep into the grout. Mopping the floor with a bleach solution, then putting a sealant over the grout will help.
I am afraid tho it could be whatever they put the new floor over. if the boards or liner underneath was rotten or mildewed, you are never going to get that smell out until you take up the new floor, rip out the rotten wood or liner, and replace it... that can get expensive! But, I couldn't live with a bad smell in my kitchen... or anywhere...
Check with your realty company. this might be covered in your new homeowner's inspection report... if it was "passed" by an inspector, then the sellers have a 'disclosure' obligation... and maybe they are responsible for fixing the pre-existing problem.
Good luck!
clean with bleach. and i would look around too see what is causing the smell. try the garbage disposal. and run the dish washer. it also could be that.
check the plumbing behind and under the sink - the drain (p-trap) or even the water supply lines could have a small leak, causing mold/mildew build up. Depending upon damage, it could be from cheap (replace some pipes) to expensive (replace cabinets, flooring and joists).
You know it!s an awfull smell of rot when there are cockroach's about what might be the problem. Try turning light off at night and wait about ten mins and suddenly switch on, this is one way of finding them, dirty things. Good luck. Best way to get rid of these is for to keep place warm and dry as they can not live without water(humidity).
maybe an animal got in between the walls and died. a squirrel or a bird.
Could it possibly be a dead rodent? You would be suprised at how strong that odor can be. The BAD part is, the smell will be there until it is done decomposing.
Is there ANYTHING you can liken the smell too, so that maybe we can guess?
Hey lady . SAFETY first ... if its THAT bad , just don't try any harder ... leave the apartment asap .. with ur kids!
if you havnet moved in yet sprinkle all the carpets with baking soda. i know it sounds wierd but it absorbs the smell. (you put it in the fridge to absorb odd smells in there right?) i worked in a nursing home and we had to use this method for some of the people with "wetting" problems. the entire hall would smell like urine. i would sprinkle some baking soda on the carpet every day and do my rounds of showers, cleaning, and meds then vaccume it up. you can also use vinegar to clean if you can acctually pinpoint where the smell is coming from. it could also be that its just the smell of the people that lived there before and once you get your things in there your smell will take over. i moved into a house one time that had been sprayed by terminex for roaches before we moved in. the people before had them soooo bad that the carpets would crunch when you walked on them. we had to wait 3 weeks before moving into our house due to the cleaning it took to get rid of that smell. finally i thought about the baking soda and it worked! you can also use coal... although unsightly... it too absorbs odor. also you can put dryer sheets on the air vents once or twice a week in all the rooms and that will help keep it fresh. the only fragrance that i have found that will get rid of smell is oust.everything else smells good for a bit and then i smell the stink again. you can even get what is called a tea light oil burner. you can buy them in just about any craft store. you can get one that works by tea light candles or one that is electric. you simply put 10-15 drops of oil in the bowl and light or turn it on . as it heats up the oil fills the room. you can also boil a pot of water on the stove and add some oil to get the same effect but it will mess up your pot. i really hope these tips help. good luck with that smell!
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