twinbirches Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 I am a long time reader of the WTM forums. I rarely post, but I am going nuts with this weird smell in my basement and I am hoping somebody will know what it could be. We have a split level house built in 2015 and the basement was finished in 2017. One night in September I went downstairs and was hit by a chemical smell like paint thinner or pvc glue. I called the gas company just to be safe and the guy came out and waved his meter around, but couldn't find anything. He did agree that there was definitely a paint thinner kind of smell. With the window open and a fan going the smell was gone by the next morning. Fast forward to last night and the smell is back, it seems to be stronger in the unfinished mechanical areas of the basement, but pervasive throughout. Again the gas guy said there is no gas leak, but as soon as he walked in the door he said "that is paint thinner." We don't have any paint thinner, and haven't done any construction in months. The attached garage does not smell and the boiler is the only gas appliance in the house. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Is there a bathroom in the basement that isn't used often? I noticed a strong chemical/oil paint? smell in our basement once. We hadn't been doing any painting, but our neighbors were doing work in their kitchen. I suspect that they were cleaning something or putting stuff down the drain that didn't belong in the sewer. Because our basement shower hadn't been used in a long time, the p-trap had dried out which would allow sewer odors to come into the house. (Back then, I didn't know anything about p-traps and sewer gas.) Anyway, I started running water in the shower on a regular basis, and we haven't had the problem again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 (edited) Anything refrigerated near by? Some freon stinks with a chemical smell. It is a smell similar to rubbing alcohol. If you have new construction, sometimes chemicals like glue in vent pipes will only smell at certain temperatures. Carpet and hard flooring can off gas more when warm too. I have heard that Ozone from air cleaners can smell. Edited February 8, 2018 by Tap 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 I would guess sewer gas from a p-trap also. We had a similar issue a few houses ago with a rarely used bathroom shower. We started running the shower for a few minutes monthly and the problem was solved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Did you notice the smell after running the dryer? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinbirches Posted February 9, 2018 Author Share Posted February 9, 2018 Thanks for the ideas. I'm leaning toward some glue in the vents/pipes somewhere, though I have no idea why it would happen once in warm weather, nothing for months and then again in the winter. The only plumbing in the basement is for the washer which I use nearly everyday, though I didn't do any laundry yesterday. No refrigerator or freezer in the basement, but we do store the window a/c's down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 We had sewer gas coming from a washer outlet/drain pipe. I was using the washer nearly every day--it wasn't a dryness issue. Instead the hose had got caught down there somehow and was holding the p-trap open somewhat if I recall. It wasn't a constant issue, we were new to the house, and it took us a while to figure out what it was. I know the fix was to pull the drain house out more and reattach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Most likely sewer gas. If the plumbing is plastic then you can put a few T salt in there and it won't dry out if you don't use the drain. Or a couple drops of vegetable oil. If you really think it's a solvent get an explosive gas detector CO alarm combination, about $40 and you should have one if you have gas in the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 What was the outcome of the original post. rhis is happening to me at the moment I’ve had every trade and expert in there and no one can figure out what is going on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Zombie thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Zombie thread oddly resurrected again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Lynda said: This started happening in my house 3 days ago. Seems worse when furnace is running, but have had that checked and no problem. We're at a total loss for answers! It's currently happening in my garage as well. No idea. No bathroom, no utilities, does have a freezer (needs to be replaced, but availability . . . ) and a 2nd fridge. I don't have a french drain around the outside of it (not a happy camper) and after heavy rain the water comes down the hill and goes underneath it. (and on down the hill.) we've had four atmospheric river events in the last month, so lots of rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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