Mysterious stains and smells in stored fabric
June 21, 2019 1:11 PM Subscribe
Yesterday while sorting some clothes and fabric bags in two separate closets, I discovered that a few random items have mysterious yellowish/brownish stains, and a VERY pungent odor. I don’t know about the stains, but the odor was not there mere hours before. I can rule out (for reasons explained within) urine from any of our pets.
I am truly stumped! What could this be? And how do I prevent it in the future?
The stains were found in two tank tops which were stored in the bottom layer of a hanging wardrobe rack in my bedroom closet (similar to this )and in a fabric shopping bag stored in the downstairs entrance closet on a high shelf. The tank tops were stained but dry, the bag was stained AND damp. While I suppose it’s possible the cats could have got to the clothing, there’s no way they could’ve gotten to the bags, so the immediate first thought of errant cat urine is not the culprit here.
Things that are perplexing:
- the smell is identical in both areas, but localized to the affected items only
- the smell was not present in the morning in the bedroom closet, but was overpowering by 5pm (harder to judge timeline on shopping bags, as we’re not in that closet often).
- the smell isn’t what I would consider urine-y...more like old paint thinner?? I don’t know how else to describe it.
- the affected fabric shopping bag was still damp when we found it, so whatever it was happened recently
- the two closets are not close together, nor is one directly underneath the other
- nothing else in either closet was affected
My first guess was some sort of creature has somehow gotten into our house and tried to make a house or bathroom in these soft areas...but it seems highly unlikely to me that neither myself nor my husband nor (more importantly) any of our two dogs and two cats would have missed the presence of an animal in the house?!
Any ideas what this could be? Utterly stumped here...
The stains were found in two tank tops which were stored in the bottom layer of a hanging wardrobe rack in my bedroom closet (similar to this )and in a fabric shopping bag stored in the downstairs entrance closet on a high shelf. The tank tops were stained but dry, the bag was stained AND damp. While I suppose it’s possible the cats could have got to the clothing, there’s no way they could’ve gotten to the bags, so the immediate first thought of errant cat urine is not the culprit here.
Things that are perplexing:
- the smell is identical in both areas, but localized to the affected items only
- the smell was not present in the morning in the bedroom closet, but was overpowering by 5pm (harder to judge timeline on shopping bags, as we’re not in that closet often).
- the smell isn’t what I would consider urine-y...more like old paint thinner?? I don’t know how else to describe it.
- the affected fabric shopping bag was still damp when we found it, so whatever it was happened recently
- the two closets are not close together, nor is one directly underneath the other
- nothing else in either closet was affected
My first guess was some sort of creature has somehow gotten into our house and tried to make a house or bathroom in these soft areas...but it seems highly unlikely to me that neither myself nor my husband nor (more importantly) any of our two dogs and two cats would have missed the presence of an animal in the house?!
Any ideas what this could be? Utterly stumped here...
Perhaps you have some brown marmorated stink bugs paying a visit? "Old paint thinner" is a pretty good description of their stink. Even ladybugs have a surprisingly sharp little smell. Look around for signs of bugs.
posted by Corvid at 2:48 PM on June 21, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Corvid at 2:48 PM on June 21, 2019 [2 favorites]
Have you looked around for any other signs of a pest? Poop, frass, grease marks on the walls, etc.? I would have considered maybe a leak and some type of mildew/mold situation except for the fact that one was low down in your closet and dry...
Sometimes domestic animals don't care much about invading animals, ime.
posted by purple_bird at 4:23 PM on June 21, 2019
Sometimes domestic animals don't care much about invading animals, ime.
posted by purple_bird at 4:23 PM on June 21, 2019
I would also have guessed rat pee... You could sniff the rats in a pet store to see if the smell is familiar?
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:24 PM on June 21, 2019
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:24 PM on June 21, 2019
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posted by sallybrown at 1:21 PM on June 21, 2019 [2 favorites]