Bad smell in house

[coachgrd]

Has your diet been OK?

 

[DocHeb]

Mentioned once already but....

Add water to all your drains. Every drain has a trap in it. The trap holds water to keep sewer gas from coming back up the drain. If it's not coming from a drain, then check the vents. These should be on the roof as small tubes and vent the gas from the drains to the roof. If clogged with something, bird nest, etc. it could be coming out somewhere else.

And don't forget to fill the traps in any floor drains.

 

[jinman]

Jon, I have a small chest-of-drawers that I bought unpainted many years ago. I stained and finished the chest myself. Problem is, it stinks. It's not a strong odor, but when you close up a room with it in it, the odor of the wood or the finish is very evident when you enter the room. With a 2-yr old house, you could still have paint, adhesives, or putty causing the odor. I doubt it is propane.

 

[CurlyDave]

There is one other thing to check in your propane system.

I recently bought a used trailer for use as a hunting camper (Redneck hunting lodge). Anyway, my plan was was to use the indoor-safe Mr. Buddy propane heater I have with it. I put the heater (no propane cylinder) in the camper and soon started smelling gas. Thought I had a leak, until I traced it to the rubber propane hose the heater uses. These rubber hoses are very slightly permeable to propane and the odor they add to it. Now, I store the heater and hose outside, and only run the hose into the trailer when I actually am camping and using the heater on a regular basis.

Anyway, if you have any rubber propane hoses in your house, replace them with metal and the propane smell will go away.

 

[bigtiller]

With a 2-yr old house, you could still have paint, adhesives, or putty causing the odor. I doubt it is propane.

I agree with jinman.

Also, check the name plate on the propane tank for the year that it was built. If it is an old one, say, 30 years or more then there is an oil residue that will collect on the bottom of the tank and that smell will enter the house when burning propane. The less the tank is used over the years the more oily residue will be in the tank.

 

[MossRoad]

Jon, I have a small chest-of-drawers that I bought unpainted many years ago. I stained and finished the chest myself. Problem is, it stinks. It's not a strong odor, but when you close up a room with it in it, the odor of the wood or the finish is very evident when you enter the room. With a 2-yr old house, you could still have paint, adhesives, or putty causing the odor. I doubt it is propane.

We had a very unusual odor in our house that I thought was somewhat like natural gas, so I called the gas company. They come out and check for free. The first thing the guy asked after he poked his nose into the house was "Have you stained some wood recently?" Yes, I had. Apparently the fumes from the drying stain is burned off by pilot lights in the stove, furnace, etc.... and makes a smell similar to the stuff they put in natural gas to make it stink for leak detection.

Anyhow, if it were my house, I'd stay out until the gas company inspects it and gives it an all clear.

 

[riptides]

Check and find out where your drains on your HVAC go too.

 

[Travelover]

Mentioned once already but....

Add water to all your drains. Every drain has a trap in it. The trap holds water to keep sewer gas from coming back up the drain. If it's not coming from a drain, then check the vents. These should be on the roof as small tubes and vent the gas from the drains to the roof. If clogged with something, bird nest, etc. it could be coming out somewhere else.

.....................

A loose toilet will also let out sewer gas.

 

[schmism]

propane needs a 11% concentration to ignite. During my hazmat training for the FD im on, i was told that at that concentration you have a hard time breathing and most people start gagging.

A few months ago we had a 36" oak tree hit a 500 gal tank sq on the valve cover. knocked the shutoff valve loose. You could see the propane venting out the side and the propane guys walked right up to the tank no worries. We were staged about 100 yards back because thats were we got a "strong smell".

My guess is its unlikely to be the propane and likely to be a septic tank sewer smell from a leaky pipe or a trap that has gone dry.

 

[JonR]

Many thanks to all of you. I feel well armed for evaluating the smell this weekend.
Jon