Anyone here a handyman? Handywoman? DEAD RODENTS...???

[[Pe...]]

Hi BBs,

 

Okay, we're stumped. We have a smell in our laundry room. A sewage smell or fresh hard-boiled egg kind of smell. Our laundry room has two doors. One is at the end of the downstairs hallway and the other one leads into the garage. If you were standing in front of the hallway entrance door to the laundry room just to the right of you would be our downstairs bathroom (full). The bathroom does not smell. The sink, toilet, and tub are working fine. The washing machine and dryer (gas) are working fine. Inside the laundry room on the ceiling is a vent. The wall behind the washing machine and dryer is where the water drains out from the washer and the dryer hose has it's exhaust hose.

 

Why does it smell this way? It just came out of nowhere!

 

We have run water through the washer hose and down the P Trap. We have filled the bathroom sink & tub full of water and then all at once we uplugged the drains and flushed the toilet at the same time to flush out any possible clogs in the main sewage line (city not septic). Nothing backed up. We have cleaned out the vent pipe that runs from the laundry room through the ceiling and out through the siding of the rear wall (backyard) of the house.

 

We're really scratching our heads over this one but we don't want to have to dish out so much $$$$$$ for a plumber to come and take a look.

 

My last thought on this: What does a dead mouse, rat, or bird smell like?

 

Anyone?

 

Thanks so much to anyone with ANY suggestions at all. I want to do some laundry but I can't bring myself to go into the laundry room. Gack!

 

 

Penny

[[Pe...]]

Maybe if I just one question:

 

What does a dead mouse, rat, or bird smell like?

 

Thanks, BBs.

 

Penny

[[sa...]]

Any reason to get out of doing laundry.....lol.

 

Girl, I don't know. But you said it smells like rotten eggs and you have gas appliances...I am assuming you have investigated a gas leak, right?

 

Just saying, I am not handyman...wait, Maybe...

 

Just thinking about a stinky smell makes me crinkle my nose.

 

Check back in when you find out what it is!

 

peeewwwwwwww...

lol

Sarah

[[Pe...]]

Very funny, sbear. You calling me lazy? Tsssssssssss! 

 

No, not like rotten eggs. Like the disgusting smell that fills the house after you've just finished cooking and shelling hard boiled eggs. And just to add a graphic twist on it for you, like really rank brother/boyfriend/husband farts.

 

(I have a neighbor who says to me "Oh, sorry about the smell, I just boiled some eggs!" e-v-e-r-y single time that I go to her house. I wonder if she's one of those serial killers who "was always so nice, you know, such a normal down-to-earth person!" lol)

 

Obviously, you know nothing. Are you blonde? Yeah, so am I. teeeeeeeee heeeeeeeeeeeeee.......................

 

luv ya, gurlie-girl,

Penny

[[sn...]]

Hi penny, Do you possibly have a floor drain in the basement that has dried up? Sometimes the water evaporates out of the trap under the concrete floor, just the same as a trap on a sink, tub, shower, etc. Just a thought. Good luck with those wicked smells, wherever they might be coming from.

 

Snoball

[[Vr...]]

Could be a drain trap as Snoball suggested.

 

I once rented a place with laundry hook ups I wasn't using and one day a kind of sewer smell developed in that area.  I think I told the maintenance people I thought I had "swamp gas" - or what I imagined it might smell like.  Anyway, they knew right away that it was a trap or pipe somewhere (dried up?) and they poured something down a washer hookup pipe (or whatever it's called) and the smell disappeared immediately.  I'm guessing they flushed the trap out.

 

Vribble 

[[Pe...]]

Hi Snoball,

 

Well, I guess it could be that but instead of a basement we have a crawl space under the house. Do you think there might be a P Trap in a crawl space? I believe the crawl space is probably about 2 feet in height.

 

Hi Vribble,

 

That's exactly the smell I'm talking about. Like what I would imagine swamp gas to smell like. Sewage-y. A smelly stagnant pond. Something like that. My husband did pour water down the washer hookup pipe to see if it would back up (it didn't) and also to get some water into the P Trap and the next day the smell wasn't so pungent but it has continued to linger.

 

 

Good thinking on both of your parts. I'd really like to do some laundry to see what would happen (also because I need to do laundry!) but I'm too scared that the room might blow up if I do because our dryer works on gas. I'm home alone for a few days so I guess I'm going to have to wait until my family gets back.

 

 

Vribble, did the maintenance people just pour the water into the pipe or did they snake it first and then pour water into it? Or did they use high powered water to try and flush it?

 

Thanks to you both. I may end up having to hire a plumber or whoever but that's going to sting right after xmas and property taxes and paying the credit card bill among other expenses. yikes.

 

Penny

[[sn...]]

Penny, Does your crawl space have a dirt or cement floor? Generally, they don't put drains in crawl spaces, due the fact that they will repeatedly dry out. Also there should be no need for one in that area. Sometimes, a sump pump will be installed in the crawl space if outside water is running in around the foundation in low lying areas, but with a sump pump, the water that is reclaimed is required to be pumped outside into the yard, etc. Municipal water reclamation districts do not allow for this type of runoff to be run back into their system. I guess I would check to make sure all traps are full with water, including toilets, and make sure that everything actually has a trap, like the stand pipe for your washer drain. Sometimes, the vent pipes can pull apart, if not installed properly, and also release sewer gas into the house. Sometimes it is in the wall or an area you cant see. Either way, I hope you get it figured out. I understand how tough it can be around the holidays, financially speaking. Good luck.

 

Snoball

[[Vr...]]

Penny,

 

the maintenance people just poured a solution (like bleach maybe? not sure) down what I think may have been the pipe the washer would have drained into.  Don't quote me though, I'm not sure.  Whatever they did was quick and remedied the problem immediately.  They knew right away and were in and out in a minute.

 

Ibble

[[2z...]]

Boiled egg smell is usually associated with sulphur dioxide.

 

Didn't read the whole article, but here is a link on sulphur.

 

http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/s.htm

 

Dead things have the decomposition smell unless they die in a dry place & mummify. Then they don't usually smell.

 

Decomp smells like a garbage dump, but worse depending on time dead. Been there, not dump - people & animal - smelled it. Not nice.

 

Once smelled - never forgotten.

 

I am handy/restoration person (temporarily side lined due to w/d sx & back pain) & would be glad to answer most any question related to fixing or building things.

 

 

[[da...]]

Penny...do you have one of those high efficiency washers?  I don't, but I have a friend who does and it smelled exactly like what you described.  YUK!  Apparantly, it is very common for water to collect behind the seals and it stagnates.  They actually have a product you are supposed to run through those machines once a month to eliminate the stench.  If not...I hope you find out what it is....

 

Donna

[[Pe...]]

Boiled egg smell is usually associated with sulphur dioxide.

 

Didn't read the whole article, but here is a link on sulphur.

 

http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/s.htm

 

Dead things have the decomposition smell unless they die in a dry place & mummify. Then they don't usually smell.

 

Decomp smells like a garbage dump, but worse depending on time dead. Been there, not dump - people & animal - smelled it. Not nice.

 

Once smelled - never forgotten.

 

I am handy/restoration person (temporarily side lined due to w/d sx & back pain) & would be glad to answer most any question related to fixing or building things.

 

Hi 2zaz,

 

Thanks for that link. But it says that sulpher smells like rotten eggs which is not the same as fresh hard boiled eggs, right? Or is it? The older I get the less I know.

 

I'm sorry that you had to smell the dead smell. I've googled the dead rat/mouse/bird smell thing and a lot of people have said pretty much the same thing as you: You'll never forget it once you've smelled it. So, I'm guessing it wasn't that. Yay, no dead things in my wall!

 

So, you're a handyman. I've got to start some sort of little "address" book about this place.

 

2zazapam65 - handyman - post him for help with house repairs.

 

benzotired - retired dentist - post him for help with tooth repairs.

 

etc.. lol!

 

Actually, this is what I did yesterday. Since the smell in the laundry room was almost non-existent yesterday morning I decided that if I was going to blow up the house trying to do some laundry then I was going to blow it up with only me in it and not the rest of my family. So, I just marched in there and did a load of laundry. And since I wasn't blown up and dead I did another load of laundry. And then feeling all superior and everything because I was *still* alive, I did yet another load of laundry. And guess what? The room smelled fresh as a daisy again. And it still smells fresh as a daisy this morning.

 

WHA....?

 

I just don't get it. You know that icky feeling when something bad gets better without having found the problem? Like a noise in a car engine or something? Well, even though you're happy that it's better there remains a nagging feeling in the back of your head that since the problem wasn't found and fixed, it's inevitable that the problem is going to come back. That's how I feel about this whole thing: I just know something lies waiting for me in the future and it's going to come and bite me in the butt again someday.

 

So, ??

 

Penny

[[Pe...]]

Penny...do you have one of those high efficiency washers?  I don't, but I have a friend who does and it smelled exactly like what you described.  YUK!  Apparantly, it is very common for water to collect behind the seals and it stagnates.  They actually have a product you are supposed to run through those machines once a month to eliminate the stench.  If not...I hope you find out what it is....

 

Donna

 

Hi Donna,

 

Yes, I do! I have a front loader HE washer. But I've had it for at least 13 years and this has never happened before. How long has your friend had his/hers before it started stinking? You are so right though. I've always seen water lying under the bottom of the front rubber seal. But when the smell started last week I stuck my nose right up to it and it didn't have that sewage smell. Nothing in the laundry room had that sewage smell except the entire laundry room. Does that even make any sense whatsoever?

 

Nobody told me about a product that's supposed to be run through the machine once a month. Oh, what they don't tell you when they want to make a sale, eh?! Do you have any idea what it is? I'll try and google it when I log out of here. That way at least I'll feel like I'll have done something to keep this from happening again. If I can find the product, that is.

 

Thanks, Donna. That's a really good suggestion.

 

Penny

[[da...]]

Penny...my friend hadher washer for about six years before she smelled it.  She asked me to come over and 'smell' it one day...it smelled 'rotten eggish' to me.  Her repairman told her it was the stagnant water behind the seal in the door.  I think the product is made by Tide, but not sure.  I have seen it in Walmart in the laundry detergent section.  This must be a common problem with HE washers if they have had to make a product to get rid of the smell...LOL!

 

Donna

[[Pe...]]

Okay, Donna, I did a bunch of googling and came up with tons of info for front loading HE washers. Even though the smell is entirely gone now I'm still going to follow the suggestions I read: vinegar, bleach, cleaning filter, finding possible small clothing items stuck under seal, wiping out the water, wiping rubber seals with bleach, etc.. I think the reason it stopped smelling was because it had been sitting there for days without use and the water inside the washer evaporated. Still, I don't understand why we couldn't smell the sewage smell when we stuck our noses right into the washing machine.

 

Anyway, yes, I think you're right. It does seem to be a common problem but little did I know until now! I found the product you're talking about and it is made by Tide. I'll have to compare prices between using regular vinegar and buying the Tide cleaner stuff. I'm assuming that I probably should use white vinegar? As you can tell I'm no Martha Stewart nor am I Betty Crocker. Yes, I take care of the house and have for eons but I still can't hold a candle to the likes of Mr. Clean!

 

Thanks for your help. My washer is going to get the cleaning of its life regardless of whether or not it, by itself, smells like a cesspool. ha!

 

Penny

[[2z...]]

I think that what the others have said, is that it is probably stagnate water in the drum of the washing machine. If I had any eggs I'd do a comparison with my washing machine. I always leave the door open on my washer so it gets air.

 

I'm glad you didn't blow up. But you took a chance. I suspect if you had a gas leak and there are any pilot lites on other appliances, you'd be a goner by now. It doesn't take too much to explode with just a tiny spark.

 

Also, I haven't had natural gas for many years but do use propane. I think the natural gas suppliers have to do the same thing as the propane suppliers, that is they must add a chemical that does smell, but is not toxic. Then they give you this scratch off card with the smell on it so you know what to smell for.

Be safe.

 

Check my sex symbol. 2zaz is female, but that never stopped me from doing my own repairs.

[[Pe...]]

whoops! on the sex thing, 2zaz. Sorry about that. I don't usually look at those little symbols because, really, it doesn't matter that much to me. We're all in this together here on this forum and I "see" everyone through their words, not their gender. I apologize if I offended you though. My mistake.

 

I hear you on the safety tip. If I really thought there was a possiblility of the room blowing up I wouldn't have tested the machines. I wrote that post tongue-in-cheek for the most part.

 

Btw, the room still smells like a new born babe.     

 

Penny

[[2z...]]

No offense taken. Just proud of it

 

You're right about this site being level playing field. an equal opportuntity site - so to speak - me

[[Pe...]]

http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q764/pennylane101/ww2_zpsb7909195.jpg

 

[[2z...]]

Too right :thumbsup: