what is this strange odor that appears every winter?

[Gerald Moore]

Around about this time every year, as the temps dip into the low 40s, we begin to notice a strange odor localized in our master bedroom.

The door to the master bedroom is in the same corner as the door to the master bath. It is really noticeable whenever you walk through this area. If you are in another part of the bedroom and walk into that corner, you will suddenly notice it as you pass through the doorway. So we are pretty sure it is limited to just this one spot.

If you stand there for a few moments, your nose gets used to it, making it hard to really zero in on the location.

If it warms up, the smell goes away. Cold and damp outside seems to really bring on the odor inside. Since it is close to the bathroom, I am wondering if if is somehow moisture-related. The bathroom itself does not really exhibit the odor. If you're in the bath and walk out into the bedroom, you notice the odor.

The odor itself is unlike anything I can equate it too. Sour funk, maybe?

Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated.

Gerald

[Speedy Jim]

Could well be mold. Do a GOOGLE for: mold mycotoxin. Many molds produce VOC's with very odd odors. Bathrooms are often responsible for mold growth behind walls due to plumbing leaks or tile leaks (showers).

Don't rule out a leaking toilet too.

Jim

[mark Ransley]

Cold , damp, sounds like mold. Is an attic above ? When you heat a house for winter it will dry out the mold. stopping its smell. Im guessing , but I will bet your windows are open most of the summer , The mold has always been there , but you dont notice it till you close up ,and put on a bit of heat. As your house dries out , from humidity it goes away , find your leak.

[Ron]

COuld be someone pissed on the radiator

[Jimmy]

Mouse farts

[Me]

A dead mouse that comes in around the pipes and died? They always come indoors in fall.

Just a guess !!!!

[Axial]

Is there a cold air return or a heating duct near the door? Or perhaps some sort of gap in the wall construction letting in air from a crawlspace?

In my new-to-me 40+ yr-old house the cold air returns that were made the old-fashioned way by sheetmetal strung between the floor joists have large gaps in them allowing crawlspace air into them.

In the spring and fall, and only at a fairly narrow air temp range around high 40's or so, a musty unpleasant odor comes from the returns. I've since added lots of foundation vents, put down a double-layer of vapor barrier which helped tremendously, and until I can have the ducts replaced completely I taped the gaps with some sort of metal tape plus I sprayed Febreeze into the vents every few days when the musty odor occurs.

Sheila

[SpongeBob]

Your mother-in-law?

Couldn't resist.

[L. M. Rappaport]

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 21:51:20 -0600, Me wrote (with possible editing):

...snip

Quite possible. If the attic is above and particularly if there is a hole drilled in the plate (to accommodate pipes or wiring), they sometimes squeeze through and fall to the bottom. That usually happens in the fall as the previous poster mentioned.

However, if it's mice, you'll usually hear them scratching around, trying to get out for a few days before they die. They always seem to stop when you get close.

[Liam McConn]

I suspect if you stand in one place for 5 minutes the area will stink. wipe your goat smellin ass and take a bath once a week.

Vinegar douche for the wench.

[Gerald Moore]

So's yer ma.

Asshole.

[Gerald Moore]

Come to think of it, she just came for a visit. Now I know!

Thanks for the help!

[Gerald Moore]

It's ok. Actually it turns out it was Liam McConn's mother.

[Gerald Moore]

Only if your mother is standing next to me.

Well, that's what I told her, but it didn't help apparently.

[~Shelly~]

We had something like that happen, turned out cats had a favorite corner they'd turned into a giant litter box whenever the weather got bad and they apparently didn't want to get their paws wet or cold digging holes elsewhere.

They'd found an access hole that was under the back deck. We didn't know it was there until the cable guy went under the house and came right back out again. He refused to go back under because he felt it was unsafe. My husband had to run the new cable, saw the hole, and took some paving bricks back underneath to block the hole up. It took a long time for the smell to go away.

Could something like that be happening under your home?

~Shelly~