Hey all,

I'm new here and I just moved into an older house that my friend is renting to me. I moved in a month ago, but I just started smelling something about 2 to 3 weeks ago. At first I thought it smelled like gas, so I called the gas company. I noticed that the smell only occurred starting around 6 or 7 pm and then is gone by mid-morning. The smell seems to be particularly strong in a very specific area in the master bedroom.

The smell started to occur around the time when I had cable installed in the master bedroom (they drilled a hole coming up to the room from the crawlspace underneath the house). So I used some plumbing insulation in a can and sealed the hole as best I could. I can still smell the odor, but I'm not sure if it's coming from that hole, but it is definitely coming from the area around the hole. So I went into the crawl space myself to take a better look. I added more insulation from there, but that didn't do anything. When looking under the house, I looked for dead animals and nests, mold, etc. I saw that a few of the floorboards where white, which made me think that there was some mold. But why would we only experience the smell at night? There was no moisure on the ground in the crawlspace that I could see. It didn't smell down there (at 10am) at all.

I noticed that when I turn on the heater, the smell goes away, then it comes back when I turn it off (the central heating unit is about 30 feet away, next to another bedroom, which NEVER smells). It doesn't smell like natural gas, plus, when I called the gas company, they said that a gas leak wouldn't appear at night (it would smell all the time) and it wouldn't go away, it would just get worse and worse.

Again, I didn't see any leaks or wetness on the ground down in the crawlspace, but I do not want to go into the crawlspace at night when the smell is most prevalent. Who should I call? A plumber? The gas company (but MAKE them come) again?

HELP!

Do You Have A Septic System And If You Do Does The Smell Accurr After A Shower Or Dish Washing, Like In The Evening... ( Possibility If The Septic Tank Tops Out)..

No, we don't have a septic tank. We live in a large urban city (long beach, ca) and the smell does not correspond to water usage. It just seems to be time/temperature sensitive at this point. I take showers in the morning and if I'm home in the afternoon (I teach tennis), but there is not much smell at that time. It seems to be strongest at night, although, it seems to be present all day long, but it gets the strongest at night, then dissipates.

It could be that you are looking for a smell associated with gas or sewer, maybe it could be caused by something else. Have you bought a new shower curtain or something like that that can be putting off an odor. Do you have drapes in that room that are on the sunshine side of the waes that the sun could be causing to emit an odor. Wall papers, carpets, furniture, lots of different things that are made with plastic or glue can put off odors, especially if the sun can shine on them.
There is always the chance of a dead varmint in one of the walls. Good luck,

I was thinking either sewer gas or natural gas, but where would the sewer gas be coming from? It didn't appear that there were any drainage leaks from the pipes below the bedroom, nor is the smell constant. If there was a gas leak, wouldn't this be constant, and wouldn't my house be so filled with gas that it would be in every room? I have also looked for dead animals in the crawl space and didn't see any.

My biggest puzzle is why do I only smell it at night?