Funny smell in the house

June 29, 2024 7:06 AM

I already called the gas company and they sent someone out to check, to the negative. This smells as if someone lit matches and blew them out. It's in the kitchen and the bathroom. He checked the basement, too. It is not the coming up from the drain in the basement. It is not very strong. Any ideas?

I can open the windows although it will be 90 soon. I called the emergency maintenance last night who told me to call the gas company and get my but out of the townhouse. He would probably be less than useful here.

posted by Rumi'sLeftSock to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

Are there people in your neighborhood setting off firecrackers? That's what's causing it here at my place.

(Just to be safe: have other people confirmed smelling the smell? Phantom smells could be a sign of a neurological event.)
posted by phunniemee at 7:21 AM on June 29 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Good idea to find out. No one ever comes over here :).
posted by Rumi'sLeftSock at 7:22 AM on June 29

Kitchen and bathroom are rooms that probably have extractor fans in them, i.e. direct connections to outside air; so I agree this could be from firecrackers, or something else coming in from outside.

If those rooms do indeed have extractor fans in:

1. Do you know where the fans vent to? If you open a window (or walk outside) on that side of the building, is the smell in the air there too?

2. If not, then maybe the smell came in yesterday night and has already dissipated outside, but not indoors. If you either run the extractor fans or open the windows for a bit, does it clear? When you stop / close them, does it come back?
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:30 AM on June 29

Deteriorating urea-formaldehyde resin in old light fittings is an often-overlooked source of weird household stink. It's always smelt more fishy than matches-like to me, but your nose may vary.

Similar resins are used as bonding agents in medium-density fibreboard and can offgas formaldehyde and/or ammonia when the MDF absorbs water, so if you've got MDF cabinetwork in your kitchen or bathroom you might want to check it for evidence of water leaks.
posted by flabdablet at 7:49 AM on June 29

Response by poster: What is MDF? Sorry if I missed something.
posted by Rumi'sLeftSock at 9:22 AM on June 29

"Burnt match smell" makes me think of grape vines and sulpher dioxide. Do you live near some vineyards or farms? Or have you bought a bunch of table grapes lately and left them on the counter?
posted by niicholas at 9:49 AM on June 29

MDF is medium-density fibreboard and if it's been dampened enough to start deteriorating it will soften and show visible swelling and/or surface roughness and/or paint loss.
posted by flabdablet at 10:02 AM on June 29

I once smelled a mild but persistent smouldering smell in my house and couldn’t find the source. After trying a lot of things, I called the fire department, and they sent someone over with a UV camera that could detect heat sources. They found that an extractor fan had jammed and the motor was heating up the wall and wiring. I highly recommend trying the same if you feel it’s warranted.
posted by ourobouros at 10:44 AM on June 29 [8 favorites]

Ouroboros above may have been referring to an IR camera, which can detect heat. Note that you can rent one from hardware stores that rent out tools. I used a FLIR handheld during a cold snap to find out where our cold air leaks were. And to get an IR photo of the cat :)

My money is on failing electrical something.
posted by intermod at 11:32 AM on June 29 [3 favorites]

When we were dealing with this and had exhausted every possible culprit...we finally figured out that it was some failing insulation in a very old light fixture. Ours did happen to be in a bathroom. Replacing the fixture solved the problem.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:45 PM on June 29 [1 favorite]

They found that an extractor fan had jammed

That's a good thought. The lacquer that's used to insulate motor windings emits a sharp and pungent smell when overheated, a smell that could quite plausibly be described as akin to that of struck matches. And when a fan's bearings wear out enough to start stalling it, the cooling airflow over the motor could easily be reduced enough that it starts to cook off its own lacquer.

This is a dangerous condition that could easily result in a fire if ignored, but it will typically smell a lot stronger and maybe even emit visible smoke well before that happens. Run your extractor fan for five minutes, then turn it off so that it's not instantly sucking away anything coming from the motor, and have a sniff at it. If the motor is overheating you will definitely smell it.
posted by flabdablet at 12:51 PM on June 29

Might be that a small creature died outside or in your walls/attic/crawlspace and it is giving off a death smell. High heat may be exacerbating that, leading to intermittent whiffs. I don't think of small dead rodent typically giving off a matches/sulfur dioxide smell specifically, but it can be kind of chemical-y. If you happen to notice an uptick in flies on your window-screen or inside, they too are smelling it. Unfortunately, unless you can find out the exact source and remove it for some other kind of burial, it's usually a gross-wait-it-out scenario.
posted by luzdeluna at 3:35 PM on June 29 [1 favorite]

As noted, if you keep catching this scent, especially if it gets stronger, the fire department is the right place to call. I've called them before for stuff like this.
posted by limeonaire at 4:46 PM on June 29

Of course, they're not around now, unless I call 911 (which definitely seems like the nuclear option) but I left them a message and will follow up tomorrow.
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 6:57 PM on June 30