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sully77 · Sep 20, 2006, 10:42 AM

Hi,

For over a year now there has been a foul odor in my bathroom which some have said smells like a skunk. It comes and goes with some days being very noticeable while others not at all. My condo is only 3 years old. I had the maintenance worker cut 3 holes in the wall to see if he could see anything which he couldn't however the smell was very strong behind there. Behind the wall, it looked very dry with no water stains or mold and the pipes were tight and not leaking. His thoughts were that it is just a musty smell. I always have the fan going when in the shower and for about 10 minutes after. There are no windows in the bathroom. I do keep the bathroom door closed at all times when I'm not in it (which he told me not to do anymore). Is this what could be causing the smell? Thanks!

speedball1 · Sep 20, 2006, 04:08 PM

Hey Sully,

Without being there it's hard to track down bad smells and weird noises.
However, I can tell you what I've found in the past. I have found dead critters that got in the attic and down in the walls. Also, It's possible to have a bad wax seal that does not leak water but leaks sewer gas. You had no smells for two years? Let me know if you fnd any thing. Regards, Tom

sully77 · Sep 25, 2006, 11:20 AM

The condo is three years old but I've only lived in it for 1 1/2. Prior to me, no one was there. The property manager told me it was just a musty smell but it's so bad that I need to keep the door closed and want to spend as little time in there as possible. He cut 3 holes in my wall and found nothing - no animals, no leaky pipes, no water marks and no wetness. I've also talked to 3 neighbors who say that they don't smell anything in their houses but they do smell something skunky when the enter the main building. I don't think the smell is coming from my house, I think it is coming from the basement/garage area on which my condo sits. I guess now I should post a question in the "legal" part of this site as I think I'm facing a battle with the condo association about getting something done.

speedball1 · Sep 25, 2006, 04:47 PM

Go down and check the floor drains in the garage. Shine a light down each one to be sure that there's water in the trap. If the floor drains are unused and the water seal has evaporated allowing sewer gas to escape then fill the traps with motor oil that won't evaporate over time. Good luck, Tom

ryanplumber · Dec 12, 2011, 05:14 PM

Don't use motor oil in your p traps... use vegetable oil. Its obviously a bad idea to put motor oil in our water supply. As far as the smell goes. I'm having a similar issue. 100 year old house. Just started. I think its wiring or something. About to tear some stuff up. Later

hstinhous · May 25, 2012, 04:03 PM

I finally figured our problem out! Our guest bathroom, sitting room, and upstairs rooms all had a skunky, stinky smell that came and went. We only smelled it on the days when the air wasn't running. Our house is less than a year old, we had the builder over and he was perplexed. The 3 rooms were not connected by anything heating/air or plumbing wise. Looked and looked and could not pinpoint the smell. Finally it occurred to me that the one thing all 3 rooms had in common was their paint color. It is the paint. If you put your nose to the wall it has a wretched stinky smell. Maybe it is a chemical reaction with drywall or something. The paint brand is Pittsburg paint, it doesn't smell in the can only applied on the wall in that particular color. I hope this helps someone find the soultion to their problem, I am convinced this is the cause of ours.

speedball1 · May 25, 2012, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by hstinhous

I finally figured our problem out!! Our guest bathroom, sitting room, and upstairs rooms all had a skunky, stinky smell that came and went. We only smelled it on the days when the air wasn't running. Our house is less than a year old, we had the builder over and he was perplexed. The 3 rooms were not connected by anything heating/air or plumbing wise. Looked and looked and could not pinpoint the smell. Finally it occured to me that the one thing all 3 rooms had in common was their paint color. It is the paint. If you put your nose to the wall it has a wretched stinky smell. Maybe it is a chemical reaction with drywall or something. The paint brand is Pittsburg paint, it doesn't smell in the can only applied on the wall in that particular color. I hope this helps someone find the soultion to their problem, I am convinced this is the cause of ours.

WOW! That's a first. Thanks for the update. You just may have solved smelly problems for a lot of our viewers. Thanks again! Tom

franspace50 · Jul 10, 2014, 12:01 PM

Wondering after these years if you all discovered the cause of the skunk odor, and how you finally thought it was the paint because the wall smelled. Perhaps by now you may have figured it was Chinese drywall that was recalled and has had to be removed from the homes and building it was used in. It causes a skunk or sulfur odor in the homes and buildings it was used in and unhealthy.