We are having trouble with a smell that we can't find a source of. I really don't know where to go now. I had an addition put on the house and had the kitchen redone. About 2months after the kitchen cabinets were in, there was a smell under one of the cabinets. It is now under 2 of the cabinets. The cabinets are on an outside wall and not near the sink. I have taken eveything out of the cabinets, wiped them down, tried home remedys for odor such as a bowl of vinegar, nothing helped. So we called someone to have them test for mold. No mold. The walls are dry as a bone. What could be causing the smell? The mold guy said the test showed no dead animal smell either. Besides, the smell has lasted 8 months now so I doubt that would be the answer. I gag every time I walk in the kitchen. It is still under the same 2 cabinets. WHAT COULD THIS BE?? I do not want to live my whole life with this smell, that wasn't there the 1st 41 years we were in the house. In addition, I am starting to notice a smell on the floor where the addition got adfded onto the house. A little different smell, but still foul. Any direction we can go would be helpful. Thanks.
C

Is the house on a slab, or frame? Just wondering if you could have an animal nesting underneath. Sometimes wild animals can cause a real odor inside the home.

You can rent an ozone air treatment to run under the cabinet for awhile and it will remove the odor. But, the odor will come back if the source is not removed... if it is a wild animal, get rid of the animal then run the ozone generator.

The original house and also the addition are both on a concrete slab. There is no space to house an animal.

What about a way for them to get into the wall? Or, is it possible that there could be something under the bottom shelf of the cabinet?

The cabinets were put in brand new in Dec. How can you see underneath of the cabinets? I think the wood goes to the floor. We had the mold tester drill a hole in the outside of the house wall and the inside to take a look around in there and he didn't see anything.

As far as getting into the wall, how would we go about searching the entire length of the wall for something? The kitchen wall area of smell is about 8 feet. The wall where the houses were joined is about 35 feet. What could make it smell the entire length of that wall?

I'm wondering if it is a drain vent pipe in the wall causing the issue. Since the area is totally dry, which I assume was tested with a moisture meter, that eliminates water issue coming in from the roof of the addition, etc.

I use ozone generators to rid areas of odors. That is what many remediation companies do after fire or flood damage. It is very effective at odor removal. But, if the source is still there, the odor will return.

Did they add to the slab also when they did the addition? There could be something coming up through the concrete joint into the inside of the wall.
Al

Yes, they did add to the slab. Actually, they poured a new slab for the addition which is quite large. I know there was a gutter that ran into a drain on the side of the house that they tied into for the addition and then concreted over it. And now that you mention it, the smell in the kitchen comes from directly above where they tied into that drain. Do you think there is a leak? Is there anyway to test for water there without ripping up the concrete? Do you think that is also water sitting between the house and the addition? Is there any way to check to water there?

I want to thank you for being so helpful.

C

I think we found the source. I hope it is not too far under the slab. If it is they may have to cut up concrete to do it. They may have another option of inside the wall. But, obviously I'm not looking at it.

You can test for moisture with a moisture meter, which you could probably rent. It is easy to use. Or, call a professional out. If the original contractor is still in business, I would have them come out.

One thing you can do is to run some disinfectant such as lysol concentrate or something similar down the drain and see if it changes the odor at the source. That would help you isolate it before your contractor comes out. Make sure that the disinfectant you use is fragrant so that the smell would be obvious. And, use a lot of it.

Good Luck,
Al