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HELP. Foreign smell in house.

CycloneErik said:
I know someone who didn't follow up on a smell like that and had long-term carbon monoxide exposure. It messed his body up.
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There was a best-of'd thread on reddit awhile back where some guy was posting because he thought someone might be sneaking into his apartment and leaving him post it notes.

Turns out, he was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and was tipped off to it by another redditor.
 
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alarson said:
There was a best-of'd thread on reddit awhile back where some guy was posting because he thought someone might be sneaking into his apartment and leaving him post it notes.

Turns out, he was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and was tipped off to it by another redditor.
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Holy cow. That may be the best thing the Internet has done.

My guy was a missionary serving in the U.S. We all found out this was happening after the fact. He sent out a video, and it was really jarring seeing the twitches and things that he couldn't control.
 
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nfrine said:
In addition to the above, sewer gas is a possibility. If water in the drain traps evaporates, sewer gas will enter to home. Make sure all drains, including floor drains have sufficient water.
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Drains do tend to dry out much faster this time of year. Another issue is when dry basement/sump pump systems dry out. They tend to stink as the bacteria and such that are normally there dry out. I flush mine with beach and plenty of water and they are good for a while after.
 
Yes, I would check all my drains as someone stated. The basement floor drains can dry out. Just pour some water in them. Also, I had a fireplace put in my basement. I noticed an odor. I had the gas company come out and they found nothing. Turns out it was those concrete logs they put in them to look like real wood. They tend to stink for awhile when first used. But, I also wouldn't trust things either and check for gas leaks. Also, buy one of those combination smoke alarms that test for smoke, cco and natural gas.
 
Have you seen Sicario? I would definitely check for dead bodies in the walls. If one wasn't wrapped up properly that could easily be the cause.
 
Vent, get out and get gas and CO checked. I had a similar issue in the first house we built about 20 years ago. Sump pump had a hole but nothing going in or out. Builder used it as a urinal during construction, pee smell took over.
 
We've had CO leaks in two homes. One, roofers knocked the vent out of whack and it was venting into the house. The other, we had a hole burnt through the heat exchanger. I felt it the worst. Terrible headache. The rest felt queasy. Nothing to play around with.

Get it checked right away.
 
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Do you have a CO detector? This is must in any home, as mentioned by others CO is odorless so you'll feel the effects first before you know you have a problem and saying you feel "off" would concern me that it could be a CO problem. First off if you are going to call your gas company to come out and test for CO DON'T open any windows or doors to "air things out" like some have suggested. If there is too much CO present fresh air will throw off any testing they do. Also, check your furnace vents outside to make sure they are not obstructed with ice or snow. If the exhaust pipe is not open then your furnace exhaust is not leaving the house.

We had our CO alarm go off in our old home a few years back, we had no symptoms but we went to the neighbors and called Mid-American to come out. They tested the air and the main living area was fine but we had a gas oven and they asked us if we had used it recently which we had just used it several hours before. He turned it on and waited a few minutes then tested the air near the oven vents and it was putting out about 3 times the amount of CO than it should which apparently was the source. They said it probably took a few hours for it to make its way through the house to the area the CO detector is at which is why it did not go off while the oven was on. We had opened the doors and windows before we called them, they advised us that was the last thing you want to do when you have a CO alarm because the fresh air dilutes the CO and makes it harder to find the source
 
Definitely leave the house and call your gas provider to check right now.
I do think if its a bad odor a trap in a little used drain is a likely culprit. If you had a wood burning stove or fireplace you can get some tars that condense on the vent or chimney, but it doesn't sound like that's the case.
 
Was in the process of moving into an older farmhouse. Thought I had a dead mouse problem. Turned on light switch and kaboom. Methane gas explosion
 
When you get it checked, if they say not gas: our washing machine will really stink if we don't run a soap buster tablet through it every so often. Will stink like rotten sewage.
 
nfrine said:
In addition to the above, sewer gas is a possibility. If water in the drain traps evaporates, sewer gas will enter to home. Make sure all drains, including floor drains have sufficient water.
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THIS. We stayed at my parents house last night, my dad and I checked out the place this morning in better light and found that our waste pipe vent had been froze over. Cleared the ice and hoping the issue is remedied.
 
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Thank you all for the advice/conversation on my families issue! I evacuated the family last night and went back with my dad this morning. We ran water through all the drains and cleared off some ice from my exterior vents this morning. One had been completely frozen over. Yikes! I've been in this house for 4 years and never had an issue like that.
 
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JoshTheCyclone said:
Thank you all for the advice/conversation on my families issue! I evacuated the family last night and went back with my dad this morning. We ran water through all the drains and cleared off some ice from my exterior vents this morning. One had been completely frozen over. Yikes! I've been in this house for 4 years and never had an issue like that.
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Good job! Sewer gas can kill ya!
 
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