We have a strange smell in our house. It builds up when my wife and I are out of the house for a couple of hours or more. If one of us is home, when the other comes home there is no noticeable smell. We both have to be gone. It is weird. The smell is kind of a stale, unpleasant smell such as you might find in a run-down, slummy apartment building, or maybe an older person's home who does not have the energy to take care of hygiene matters. It is not a sewer gas smell. It is not the smell of mold. The smell dissipates fairly quickly after we get back, often in a matter of minutes (we open the door for a few seconds, light candles, and my wife sometimes also lights incense). Even when we don’t light candles and incense, it is hard to locate the source of the smell. It seems to concentrate in the entrance foyer, and then spread to the nearby living room and kitchen. We noticed that even before opening the front door, in the space between the storm door and the front door, there was a strong smell (we took down the storm door, but the smell remains). We moved into the house almost a year ago. It is a home built in the early 1960's; concrete block foundation; repainted before we moved in; previous owners were older and had moved into a nursing home before the repainting; no attic – just a shallow-sloped cathedral ceiling throughout the house; we have an early 1960’s oil furnace. We have a high water table in the area, and our sump pump always has some water in it (which does not smell). Our roof has been checked by a roofer, and our plumbing pipes by a plumber, and both are o.k. We have had our ducts blown out, and have put in new pleated, 3M filters. We have hardwood and vinyl floors (we ripped up the carpet). Does anyone have any idea what could be the problem? What could cause our house to smell (intermittently) like a slummy apartment building? I would be extremely grateful for any ideas or suggestions.

Strange, unexplainable odors are sometimes associated with hauntings. Do you have any other reason to believe that your home may have an "extra" resident? This could be an active haunting (interacting with or aware of current residents) or residual (a kind of "photograph" of the past.) A residual haunting can be as mild as the presence of unexplained smells, or as intrusive as footsteps, knocking noises or visual phenomena. If you think it might be possible, don't panic and don't be afraid. If you need more advice, I would suggest looking up a reputable website on hauntings. Seek one with a more scientific and less sensational attitude like TAPS.

Thank you, Jackie, for your suggestions. I am hoping that there is a natural explanation for the problem, because I would like to fix it. I would like, therefore, to keep this supernatural explanation as an explanation of last resort. Thanks, again, though for wanting and taking the time to help :) It is greatly appreciated.

I am glad you are going to look for other explanations first. You should always eliminate every possibility before considering the paranormal in any situation. Also, if you are not experiencing anything else except the odor, chances are there is a "normal" explanation. When you hear hoofbeats, look for the horse before you look for a zebra!:D

We found mice droppings when we were cleaning up the garage. We set traps and have caught six so far. They were getting into the garage, and I don't know where else in the house. We haven't found droppings in the kitchen, so I don't know how far they made it into the house, but we have set traps there, too. Around the same time, we put in an ERV (energy recovery ventilator) to increase the fresh air intake in the house. The combination of the two things seems to have done the trick.

I have also smelled a strange smell in my other house. It was one time one night. I was under extreme stress and read that this could be my mind playing games with me. I would hate to think the other alternative. It was a smell I will never forget. It was so strong; my eyes hurt and I felt nausish. It was not a gas leak. There were some other weird feelings when my roommate was asleep. It scares the crap out of me to think the possible; but we really don't know everything even though at times we like to think we do. I believe in another force but to actually smell and experience what he did when sleeping I don't know how else to explain it. The smell literally was making me sick and my vision was going. I left that night to stay at a hotel. I never smelled it after that night but the roommate still experiences his choking sensations during the night. This is coming from a 29 year old manly man and it literally scares the crap out of him. Could it be stress? I pray it is. Does anyone have any thoughts. I hate to say this but its true; it smelled almost like crack; unfortunately I was witness to someone a couple years back in that situation and I never forgot how awful it smelled when I walked in to the party at it almost immediately reminded me of it and no my roomie nor I smoke or smoked it.

We have a smell that is kind of like sweet ammonia, it has no origin but in only one room of the house, I have checked the roof cavity, roofing leaks, wall cavities from the lower level and the other rooms have no smell. Weather cold or hot dosen't affect it, its in my daughters bedroom and has only started since my dad died a few months ago, he was 2000ks away, yet my daughter was the only one out of all the family that had a dream of him saying goodbye, I have no other explanation and am a very practicable man when it comes to house building and the substances used, very disconcerting, even with the windows open and the fan blowing it the smell stays in this one room. I'm at a loss with other rooms all off the one entrance