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The house I just bought has a strange smell in the utility room!

Posted by John Lawton, on
There's a very strange smell in the house I've just bought. It seems to be coming from the room in which the oil fired boiler is situated. It doesn't smell like oil, but is a sweet/sickly smell, with a bit of TCP thrown in! The boiler is pretty old, but it doesn't seem to be any more smelly than the rest of the room. I wondered if it might be in the lino, so I've ripped that out, it did smell, but now that it's gone, the smell is still there. I think it's got into the carpets too, which I've cleaned with a Rug Doctor cleaner. I can't pin it down. Who should I call out to track it down? Is there a "Smell Buster" service out there?? Any thoughts?
Chris Mead

Chris Mead

Hi John The smell your talking about does sound like a death smell. You said its a utility room, if you have a washing machine or dish washer in there it could be them, or maybe an open stench vent or a drain. I think you should call in a plumber or builder to have a look. Good luck Chris
Derek Austin

Derek Austin

Difficult to say, but if you have a suspended floor there maybe something crawled under their and died! A mouse or rat? If you can ascertain the type of floor you may be able to take up a board or two And inspect. Also you can get a horrible smell from a leaking radiator. Try bleeding a rad and see if the smell is similar.

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