Strange smell !

Hello all,

I have been renovating a property now for 6 years ! A slow, live in project, doing bits and bobs as and when we have time and money. We're just about there now, but we have a concern.

Some of the time, and only some of the time, we get a smell of rotten cabbage in the hallway, stairs and one of the bedrooms. I can't locate the source of the smell for the life of me. The bedroom in question has an old fireplace, which is still is open to the chimney. The smell is always worst in the hallway.

The house is a 1954 quasi-semi. Bitumen floors downstairs, tiled over in kitchen and hallway, laminate floor in living and dining room. I dont think the bitumen is the problem, although I foolishly tiled over a few "mushroom" type raised lumps in the floor in the hallway, leveling first of course.

We have seen lots of what appear to be Carpet Beetles, both lavae and adult, but cant find a definate source. Most are found in the bedroom mentioned above, but some are found about the house.

So, anyway, can anybody suggest how I could identify the source of this smell, or if there is any company out there that could help. Its particularly bad today with the very high winds, which makes me think it may be something in the chimney, dead bird or something, although I have had the chimneys swept in the past.

Thanks for any advice !
Bob

Since it only smells some of the time and only in certain areas I might start by checking the ducts and attic. The only time I've had to track down a hidden smell (actually, a horrible stench) I was working in a restaurant and it turned out that a sink pipe had broken inside the wall. I hope you don't have to start poking holes in the walls.

Where is the hallway located in the house (top floor, near bathroom....). I had an awful smell a few months ago and it turned out that due to the cold weather and running heat....the p trap had dried up. I poured about a gallon of water down the drain the basement. It later smelled again so I poured about a quart of bleach down the drain and followed it with another gallon of water. Since, I have had no problems. You may want to check your washer and dryer drain pipe as well. I currently don't have a p-trap on mine and I get a funky smell every once in a while. I'm not sure if sewer gases are the problem, but it might be something to consider if you haven't. Plus, the gases seem to settle in certain areas which made it hard to identify at first.