What's behind the walls of my kitchen?

May 10, 2024 3:30 PM

There's a funny smell.

I don't think it's mold and I don't think it's a decaying animal. It's sort of sweet and fruity.

On a suggestion, I am running the air conditioner and a dehumidifier, but I only got about 2" water overnight.....
Bonus: I asked the office manager to send the guys over to move it our so I could clean behind it (as a bare minimum to start anyway) and she didn't. And I will be gone for two weeks.
And I texted both of my neighbors and told them if it gets worse please remember I asked the manager and she didn't respond.
I made sure the board president knows as well (not that she gives a shit). Such horrible service.

posted by intrepid_simpleton to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Sweet and fruity is decaying animal. Could just be a mouse.
posted by amanda at 3:52 PM on May 10

I have smelled plenty of decaying animals over the years (some of them in my walls) and would never describe the smell as sweet or fruity.
posted by Redstart at 5:00 PM on May 10 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: Same.
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 6:58 PM on May 10

Do you have a range hood that could be turned on strategically?

A sweet smell could be a sign of a coolant leak (AC/ fridge) or electrical issue.
posted by oceano at 7:36 PM on May 10

I had a sweet smell issue many years ago. It was never resolved. Except once I moved out of that place, various springtime hay fever symptoms I'd been experiencing ceased and have never returned.

Don't rule out mould ... or some other kind of old building issue.
posted by philip-random at 9:27 PM on May 10

“Putrid sweet odor” is a common phrase that I came across for the smell of a dead mouse in a cursory google search. I’ve twice had the joy of tracking down the mouse carcass from said sickly sweet smell. I dunno? 🤷‍♀️ Maybe that is particular to small mice that get stuck in crevices and die because the cat won’t stop playing with them?
posted by amanda at 11:23 AM on May 13