I may have a challenge for you....

**elvenkayt** · 10-17-2008, 08:18 PM

My Pa and my husband are fairly knowledgeable folks when it comes to piping and home repair, though they do not do it for a living by any means.
We have noticed a sewage/fertilizer smell in one corner of the first floor. This is most prevalent in a closet area that includes drawers. Behind the drawers is the worst part. This is no where near a bathroom.
There are no pipes underneath. The smell intensifies when the heat is on. We have torn everything up without taking out drywall to find out where this smell is coming from, but it has left us mystified.

So I bow to your knowledge. Your kung fu is much mightier than ours.

Can you please help us. We're almost out of air freshener.

I thank you in advance for your comments and thoughts.
Kayti

**Cookie** · 10-17-2008, 08:28 PM

Dead mouse, perhaps.

**Dunbar Plumbing** · 10-17-2008, 08:31 PM

Tear everything down to the bare walls in that corner of the house.

Strike my first statement.

**elvenkayt** · 10-17-2008, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by Cookie

Dead mouse, perhaps.

We thought of that and I suppose it could be, but the insulation under the floor is the spray type and very well sealed. Anyway, you can't smell anything from the underside of the floor in the basement, just on the top in the first floor. I suppose it could be hiding in the wall and we just have poor smell direction. We'll have to check that out tomorrow, when there's light and we are not so tired and hurting from pressing our noses to the floor for the last hour.

Thank you for helping!

**elvenkayt** · 10-17-2008, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by RUGGED

Tear everything down to the bare walls in that corner of the house.

Strike my first statement.

Okay, stricken. Although a tent would be a cool and unique place to live, it would also be a very cold place to live.

It may have to come to tearing down walls in that corner. I loathe the idea, but if it must be done, it must be done. But I'll expect I'll have to make cookies or something just to get the menfolk moving on it.
Thanks for responding!

**Dunbar Plumbing** · 10-17-2008, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by elvenkayt

Okay, stricken. Although a tent would be a cool and unique place to live, it would also be a very cold place to live.

It may have to come to tearing down walls in that corner. I loathe the idea, but if it must be done, it must be done. But I'll expect I'll have to make cookies or something just to get the menfolk moving on it.
Thanks for responding!

Or you could be like my neighbor and burn the whole house down, blame it on the cat.

Oh and somehow the cat got out alive, locked doors and all. Uh-huh.

Cat leaped on top the flames, which then carried the cat to the burning tree, then did a backflip double somersalt into the pool and lived to comfort its owner,

without one burned hair or whisker.

**Cookie** · 10-17-2008, 08:58 PM

Well, this is something I had to do for myself. I made sure I had a very sharp knive and I cut out a very squared chunk of the drywall near the bottom of the wall, first popping off the baseboard. Sure enough a dead mouse was laying on the floor inside the wall. Since I was careful in removing the wall, I was able to refit it back in and just had to tape it, sand it, prime it, and then paint it. All for a mouse.

**Cookie** · 10-17-2008, 09:01 PM

Yeah, but Rugged he lost all his 9 lives on that one,

Glad he got out. Poor kitty.

**Redwood** · 10-18-2008, 04:54 AM

I imagine that same fire had about 3 or 4 points of origin...

hj · 10-18-2008, 07:13 AM

And cats should never play with gasoline inside the house.

**elvenkayt** · 10-18-2008, 09:04 AM

Well, in the morning light we discovered a random vent coming out from under the house right at the spot where we got the smell, so it's most likely the cause of our problem. It only goes about three foot up from the ground right next to the house (and doesn't go up beyond the roof some, like most vents do), so it doesn't get enough wind to keep the smell from backing in. Problem is, we have no idea what this vent is for, since the plumbing and hot water heater vents come up on the roof. I guess Pa is gonna have to spider-proof himself and shimmy on underneath there to find out where it's coming from.

Do septic tanks have a vent and would it be placed right next to the house like that?

I appreciate everyone's posts and I got a good couple of laughs out of some.
Thanks guys!
Kayti