Mysterious musty odor permeating house

10 years ago

This is such a strange situation...really hope someone has some insight. Is there such a thing as a fungus that only stinks in the AM? For the past month or so there has been a musty odor permeating the house, strongest on the 2nd floor (sometimes stronger in one room; strongest in 2 out of 3 upstairs rooms), less pungent on the 1st floor, barely noticeable in the basement. The noisome assault begins sometime after sunrise (it usually gets potent enough to wake me around 9:00 AM) and gradually diminishes until early afternoon. Then it disappears (the master bedroom stinks the longest) and we get a reprieve until the following morning.

I thought maybe it was a plumbing issue, but the odor seems to be strongest in the master bedroom. I'm wondering if it could be water damage in the attic or moisture seeping into the ductwork near the bedroom. Do either of these theories sound like possibilities? Anyone have a different theory?

Thanks in advance for any help in cracking the case of the Malevolent Morning Mustiness.

Featured Answer

bluecat2
Original Author

10 years ago

Thank you so much to everyone for your feedback! This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but what seemed like a musty odor emanating from the ventilation system turned out to be a musty odor emanating from the plumbing in the upstairs bathroom sink. It was seriously that potent! For some inexplicable reason (to me,anyway, a plumber probably wouldn't be mystified), the sink would start to reek of mildew after being unused for several hours. A thorough cleaning of said sink revealed a thick build-up of black sludge that must've been harboring mold. So all it took to fix the odor problem was boiled water plus good old-fashioned baking soda and vinegar. The bottle of tea tree oil dumped down the drain may have helped.

It's always a good day when strange house problems turn out to have a simple solution :-)

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Comments (7)

jackieblue
10 years ago
I wonder if there could be some moisture somewhere that is aggravated by morning sun heating it up. Is there direct sun exposure on the outside of the rooms with the smell that goes away in the afternoon? Any openings in the exterior walls in that area that might be letting in moisture?
southerncanuck
10 years ago
The more facts given the better the possibilty your mystery may be solved.

Style of home?

Age of home?

Location, rural, urban, what is in area, such as totally residential to moderate or heavy manufacturing, school, restaurants etc. As much info as possible.

Mechanical system of home, forced air, electric, type of hot water heater and age, AC, age of systems, type of plumbing materials. What is the prevailing winds direction where you are. Have you asked your neighbors if they have noticed anything different .

Has the simplest thing changed since this has started, new appliance, furniture, home project.

Those are a few of many questions that we need to base a theory on.

Can you send a picture of the house, all elevations, and a overhead photo from Google earth.

This can be a simple as a bad hot water heater anode to a drip from a plumbing fitting..

Several of these simple questions can not be answered by some homeowners, it may surprise you as how little residents know about their houses.

The time of day this becomes a problem is good start, what happens at night that changes during the day, opening doors and windows happen, sun comes up, home is warmer, AC goes on, the world wakes up all types of activity comes to life. From factories running to laundry being done.

More info=better solutions.

It's usually the simplest thing that gives us the answer to a problem. As well the smallest thing we overlook as having nothing to do with it.

You have to provide more information.

Someone asked recently to help I.D. a terrible smell, one of those driveway sealing crews did a few homes blocks away.
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I would recommend getting a mold expert in there - it's nothing to mess around with. Too many builders take shortcuts with flashing and drainage planes. Your house is just about the right age for these things to start rearing their ugly heads. We had to tear the entire exterior of our house off due to water intrusion - and it wasn't even done being built! What we found under the siding was lots of mold trapped between the Tyvek and the sheathing and dry rotted studs. A mold expert can help you figure it out. Don't delay - if let go too long it could end up costing more than the house is worth to fix. I know many people who have had to move out of their homes due to mold. It was even recommended to us that we burn our house down (we got a second opinion on that one). Read some of the information at www.buildingscience.com to try to understand some of the issues involving mold. Also check out the HADD site below. Here is a link that might be useful: Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings
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Clear shellac may do the trick. Shellac is often used to seal in smoke odors and pet urine stink. (Is it possible that what you're smelling is cigarette or cigar smoke? The age of the house may make it likely and that really reeks!) As always, test first in an inconspicuous spot as the finish on the paneling may be shellac and a new coat could disturb the color by re-liquifying the shellac, which is often tinted. (You could tint new shellac, too, but it sounds as if you like it the way it is now? It does darken with age.) You can test to see if it is shellac by using water which will mark shellac. Denatured alcohol will dissolve shellac. Mineral spirits would dissolve varnish - but not shellac - and wax - so you might test with that as well. But if you decide to go ahead, you might try buying shellac flakes and mixing it up for the job. There are varying levels of sheen in shellac as well. Old shellac sitting pre-mixed with alcohol (its solvent and carrier) in a can can go bad so fresh is always better and stuff in hardware stores and big box stores may have been sitting around as it is not a really popular finish in these days of poly-everything. Be sure to ventilate the room while applying as it will give you a cracking headache (and probably kill off some brain cells) to be closed up while working on it. Once its dry it doesn't give off odors as the alcohol evaporates completely. Shellac is a bear to apply during periods of high humidity, so wait for late fall, when it's dryer and you can still open windows (leave screens in to inhibt bugs getting caught in the still-drying shellac.) HTH, L.
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I hate mysterious smells! Drives me crazy hunting them down. Is your air handler down there? We had a problem once of water getting into the air handler and getting mildewy and then broadcasting that smell thru the whole house whenever the heat came on. It might not be your washing machine, but it could be the drain that it empties into. Try running a hot water/bleach/vinegar wash thru it and see if that helps. And keep the lid up on the washer when it's not in use. Maybe a de-humidifier is called for down there, too.
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You say that you sense the smell mostly in the air. Is it possible that this particular area is just an area where other household odors accumulate? We have two such areas in our house, where odors will collect and linger- one is in a central area in the entryway, the other is in a bathroom that is in a back corner. One of those I can see having limited air circulation, but the first seems like odors would move through quickly, yet they don't and odors from other parts of the house will essentially leave those parts of the house and collect in these. I was just wondering if it was possible that the smell is coming from elsewhere (say a nearby bathroom or laundry room?) and is hanging there? What happens if you put a small fan in that area later in the day? Would the smell still be in that area with the fan on or off? The other thing that comes to my mind is bed linens- particularly any down or feather product. I've had issues on occasion with these getting funny/smelly odors that come and go, and it's very hard to pinpoint the issue, even when smelling the comforter or pillow directly. It's only by removing the item from the area/house for a little while, that we were able to pinpoint exactly what it was. I've noticed this problem more when the humidity is higher and it was worse later in the day when temperatures in the house had increased, and like I said, it smells fine some of the time and then other times there is a weird funk. I hope you can find the source. It sounds very annoying.
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jcalhoun
10 years ago
Is the problem only occuring inside the house? Are neighbors having the same issue?

There is a cardboard mill around here that can smell really wierd around 4am to 7am especially in the summer months.
dajsnipe
10 years ago
Is there a bathroom off the master bedroom, is the shower used in the morning?
toxcrusadr
10 years ago
Glad you got that sorted out!
southerncanuck
10 years ago
I as well.

Mysterious musty odor permeating house

bluecat2
Original Author

Comments (7)

jackieblue

southerncanuck

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jcalhoun

dajsnipe

toxcrusadr

southerncanuck

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Mysterious musty odor permeating house

bluecat2Original Author

Comments (7)

jackieblue

southerncanuck

Related Discussions

jcalhoun

dajsnipe

toxcrusadr

southerncanuck

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GET HELP

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bluecat2
Original Author