We have a terrible odor that keeps recurring in our guest bedroom. It only happens in that room and when it happens, I have smelled every inch of the room and can't find a source. It happens suddenly, may last an hour to four hours and then goes away. It may not happen again for a month. It happens a lot when we have guests visiting and it's very embarrassing! It doesn't seem to have anything to do with plumbing, although this bedroom is attached to a bathroom. I know what a dead mouse, etc. Smells like, and that is not the smell. It's hard to describe. It's making me crazy! Anyone have an answer? We live in Arizona, and it doesn't seem to be temperature related, like I can't pin it down to winter/summer. It happens any time of the year.

How long has it been going on? If more than several months, then you know that it can't be a dead animal in your walls or an air conditioning vent - since the animal would be decomposed or mummified by then.

Since you say "can't pin it down to winter/summer. It happens any time of the year." then it sounds like it's been going on for a VERY long time. My guess is that it is something exterior... from something going on in the neighborhood that just blows in when the wind is right.

Have you asked other neighbors if they've ever noticed the odd smell that you are noticing?

CHECK THE ELECTRICAL OUTLETS!!
We have had an intermittent smell (similar to a dead animal... just a stench that was awful!) coming from my daughter's room... though sometimes it smelled strongest in the hallway under the return air vent. Was tearing my hair out trying to figure out what it was! FINALLY did an internet search for BAD SMELL IN MY HOUSE COMES AND GOES and cracked the case when someone suggested it was ELECTRICAL!! The smell would seemingly disappear, and then come back at "random" times... but turns out it really was most often when I was actively using plugs like my hair dryer plug in my own bathroom. The house is a bit older, so the plugs, while not near each other, feed off the same circuit. I went to my daughter's room and touched the outside of each socket fixture and the one behind her dresser (that was not in use at all) was WARM to the touch! Called an electrician out today and gave him my suspicions and sure enough, he popped open the outlet cover and discovered FRIED wire connectors going from the outlet toward the source!! The solution was a simple outlet removal/change. (And when he showed me the old outlet, we both sniffed it and it had the Same FOUL DEAD ANIMAL RANCID SMELL on it!. turns out it's just the putrid smell of burning plastic around the electrical wiring!) But this is NOT stuff to be messed around with! Could have easily caused a fire in the walls of our house!! CHECK THE ELECTRICAL!!

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CHECK THE ELECTRICAL OUTLETS!!

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This is a good suggestion.

Yes, old outlets and other electrical devices made of what we used to all "bakelite", give off an odor when over heated and you don't have to be using the outlet for it to over heat.

Thanks for posting.

This is a question from 2012 and the poster has never returned, therefore this thread is now closed.