Funky Smell

confluencebuild

This may be a little bit outa left field, but there is a strange odor in our house and I'm stumped.

Everyday my wife comes home and must open all the windows to air out the place to get rid of the smell. Its best described as musty, moldy. The obvious thing would be some mold issue. I highly doubt it. We've had little precipitation, our underfloor is well insulated, and we have broad overhangs. What else could it be. Its not the dead critter smell either. We do have exposed t and g ceilings, but our roof is less than four years old. Any crazy experiences with funny smells that my give me some insight?

Magnettica

Maybe something in the HVAC system? Do you have a forced air system?

Mike(VA)

Just because it hasn't rained and the house is well built doesn't mean you can't have a mold or mildew problem. A pipe could be leaking slowly inside a wall, basement sump crock could be nasty, drain trap dry somewhere, condensation pan under the coils inside an AC unit could be moldy, shower pan could be compromised, and dozens of other things. Could be condensation in the walls due to faulty installation of a vapor barrier, or none at all, could be a lawn mower in which the grass wasn't cleaned from underneath.

I would try closing all the doors in the house when you all leave for work. If the weather is suitable, also turn off the heat/ac fan so nothing is circulated. When you come home, try and isolate which area has the highest concentration of odor and go from there. Keep us posted; I'm waiting for the dead possum under the leaves beneath the deck.

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Deadhead Derek

drip pan under fridge? I agree with Mike, close it up, shut it down and then follow your nose.

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Max Nomad

Funky smells in a house usually connects to something moldy or something dead and/or rotting.

Any and everything you ever wanted to know about mold but didn't want to touch:

http://www.epa.gov/mold/

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Tiger

A little-used drain like a floor drain has had all the water evaporate out of it letting in some sewer gas?

MBS

If it smells moldy and musty, thats a huge clue thats its probably mold. What else smells like mold? Why discount the obvious? Mold likes to grow in places that are closed up. Thats why it can be hard to see without a very serious effort to locate it.

Outside walls and plumbing walls should be checked. One way to check them is to turn on all the house exhaust fans. This will de-pressurize the house. Shut the air or furnace down. Keep all windows and outside doors closed. Then sniff all the outlets and wall switches. If there is mold in those walls you will smell it by those openings. Base boards are also a good place to sniff while doing this.

Air ducts are a common place for mold. Low spots in the duct work, where moisture can collect are the most common areas.

Good luck.

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