There is a very odd smell that has been plaguing our three bedroom apartment for the last several months. It comes and goes and more times than not, we don't smell a thing. The problem with that is it makes calling maintenance really difficult because if the smell isn't around when they come, they can't do anything and it's really hard to describe. It isn't exactly a rotten egg smell, but it really is offensive. Today we were uncluttering the third bedroom (which doesn't have it's own bathroom, so I don't think it's a drain issue, though not sure) and the smell was SO offensive. We air it out... and air it out... and air it out. We've bleached all the drains and left them to be overnight and poured hot water down them. We just can't figure out where this smell is coming from--it seems to be in the air, not "of" something and it's driving us crazy! We will have a new baby soon living with us and I'm very concerned about the baby inhaling this!

We first noticed the smell in our closet, but the only thing in our closet is hanging clothes, all of which are worn and washed frequently with Tide. We don't have ANY boxes or any stuff in that closet. We have NO IDEA why there is such a smell there. It comes and goes in there and sometimes leaks out into our master bedroom.

Sometimes we smell it in the living room, but rarely. Today we did, but it's on the other side of the third bedroom and I wonder because we had the door to it open, if perhaps it leaked out.

I just don't know what to do!!

Tough w/o being there. Could it be some critter dead in the walls or the attic? Does it smell like dead animal? Have you had an exterminator out to bait for mice or other critters? Do you hear anything strange noises in the house walls or attic? If so, it could be animal urine, bat feces, etc.
Does the bedroom adjoin a neighbors side? Maybe something w/ them.

Yes, there are people on three sides of us. I wondered about a dead animal, too, but the smell is in different places at different times, and the apartment is almost 1300 sq ft. No attic, by the way. Plus we go several days sometimes with not smelling anything.

How do we know if this is a toxic smell or not? I'm worried because I get frequent headaches and feel nauseated or "fuzzy" in my head. I can only imagine how it would affect a baby if my headaches are related to the smell.

Do you have forced air heating? When the furnace kicks on it stirs up the air and may dissipate the odor. After it has been off for a while, it builds up. You can isolate things by taping over a drain. If the smell comes when a drain is taped over, it is coming from someplace else. Note, tape over the overflow as well as the drain. Check the drip pan under the refrigerator. You can have a bad wax ring seal on a toilet. Taping around the base may stop it long enough to tell.

This tough, maybe someone else on the forum has an idea. All I can say is my wife is pregnant and her sense of smell is 3x what it was. She can smell something's that I don't smell. No offense.

Do you have carpet in your apartment? Could it be possible that the carpet (or its underlay) is damp and moulding?