Annoying smell from crawlspace?

Question

We have moved into this older but expensive house 1.5 yrs ago. From day 1, smelt this really annoying stink seem to be coming from the crawlspace. Have tried plumber, pest control and home inspectors. Noone can identify the type of the smell nor can they find the source or solution.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

Hi Wrangler,

Thx for resp.

As I had mentioned, I had pest control guys, plumbers and home inspectors crawl (multiple) and have not found anything. I have crawled myself several times for several hours with flood light and tried to look for signs of leak and/or mold or animal - didnt find any.

It feels like its urine smell - but I am not totally sure. I have kept the crawspace entrance open with just a screen for a month now - it is not helping either.

Here are a few interesting things that I have found so far

1. There was a small borough near the entrance of the crawlspace - after showing it to all (plumbers, inspectors, pest control) as they all suggested, I filled it up with dirt and stomped. By the way, noone ever smelt anything on or near the borough.
2. The only area that seems little moist is near the entrace - very slightly moist. rest of the soil in the crawspace is rock solid dirt
3. previous owner had pet
4. there are some dry water stains on wood

Oh and the other thing is odor seem to come stronger from the cabinet near the garage where crawlspace ends. Not sure if its because the air gets trapped there because its end and hence the smell or the source is behind the cabinet wall.

I have already spent well over 1000$ and no solution - no to mention the frustration we have been going thru since last 1.5 years. Every single weekend I have spent researching or finding some solution to the problem.

Cannot keep finding and eliminating the possibilities like that since the kind of ppl I have seen and dealt with there is no guarantee that they are doing a through job.

Is there a company or a person in San Jose, CA area that anyone can suggest who can help?

Answer 1

Ive crawled under a LOT of homes, lol.... and I can think of a few sources....These are just listed as I think of them.... not in any order of importance...

1) Plumbing waste has a leak -- If youve had a plumber inspect the waste drain, then he should have spotted this. (This would smell like an open sewer, by the way)

2) Mold or mildew -- this is most often caused by too much moisture under the home... if there is no vapor barrier on the ground.. put one on it! This is more important than many people realize. Use a 6 mil thick plastic, and simply lay it directly on the ground...overlapping any seams. ALSO -- run the central air drain out from under the home!! You get a LOT of moisture from condensation on the air coils... and you do NOT want to simply let it drain under the home! This is a prime source for mold and mildew!. Clothes Dryer vents should also be routed to outside the home for the same reason. Not only will eliminating these sources of moisture help prevent mold and mildew, it will also help protect the wooden structural components of your home from suffering damage due to moisture content (warping, cupping, splitting, etc)
After you have eliminated the sources of moisture for mold and mildew... then you have to eliminate any of that currently exists.... a spray bottle with a 50/50 mix of bleach and water, will kill any mold and mildew under the home. It must be sprayed directly on the mold or milder... all of it... this may take repeated applications. If the home has a plastic underbelly attached to the underside of the floor....don't forget to look there for mold and mildew too.... it may be hard to see, if it is black colored underbelly.

3) Dead animals -- not a fun topic... but if you have an opening to the crawl space... animals can get in... and sometimes die there. While it is important for a crawl space to be vented.. .you want to keep animals out... I recommend covering the vents with a metal wire mesh (1/4" grid) to keep out the larger animals... screen material to keep out insects.... if you make a frame of wood, you can staple the wire and screen to it.. and glue the frame to the crawlspace wall (if concrete), or screw it in place, if it is wood or vinyl. Oh... naturally, you have to remove the dead animal.. .lol... tho... this type of smell should stop in a couple of weeks, if it was only one animal.

4) Live animal--If you have a live animal living in your crawl space, it could be what you are smelling....Ive chased a lot of squirrels, cats, and snakes, out from under homes while I was working on them.... even a few dogs, lol

5) Gas leak -- If your home uses natural gas, you could have a leak in the line... Natural gas has a product added to it, to MAKE it stink.... this makes it more noticable -- call your gas company, and their technician can identify it easily if this is the smell.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

You didn't describe the smell? My thoughts it's got to be a water problem, maybe it's drainage from the way the home is sitting and needs something done to the ground. Hope you find the answer to your problem.
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Answer 3

Probably the seat place to start though is exactly what kind of stink it is. I think that would narrow it way down.

Answer 4

I had this problem before. got me some cats and in a few days the rats were gone. cats are real help with rats and snakes. Ihave not seen a rat in years.

Answer 5

get rid of the cabinet and use a bleach and water mixture to clean up where it use to be. that should take care of it.

Answer 6

could it be some kind of mold growing down there. thats the only thing i could think of ....good luck to you