Can dampness in a house cause a strong ammonia/cat wee type smell as opposed to to musty damp type smell?

Question

At first I thought the dogs may have wee'd somewhere but no ... at one point I thought it may be coming from the tumble dryer???? Don't know what to do!!!

Answer 1

dampness does not cause this type of smell, but will bring out this smell if there has been an animal in the house such as cat urine. i had a store that had cats in it. when it rained and the basement got damp, then i could smell the cat urine. i used a product from a pet store and sprayed the floor and the smell went away. if you have carpet look for a stain, in the shape of a circle and spray this product on. good luck

Answer 2

Normally I think it would only produce the damp musty smell as you metioned, however, being that the pets were a consideration, I have to wonder if perhaps they have tinkled in the house on a previous occassion. If so, maybe there is genuine dampness in the house, but it's on an area where the pets have been. Although the area may have been cleaned, the re-wetting of the area, even if only with water, may have re-moistened any left-over urine that wasn't thoroughly eliminated--causing the re-freshened "wee smell". Sniff out the spot, and sprinkle a bit of baking soda over it. Let it absorb and then vaccuum it up. Should do the trick! Hope this helps. :)

Answer 3

you know thats wierd, my friend had a really damp place and when i'd go in it stank of ammonia, they didnt have a cat, there was a dog in the flat but she was really obedient and i cannot imagine her pissing on the carpet, they did have a tumble dryer though. It sounds as though you have dogs rather than cats anyway, dog pee doesnt have that same really musty smell as cat pee. Odd, i wonder if anyone with a science background would know if the smell could be caused by atmospheric conditions in your place?

Answer 4

It depends. Just dampness won't cause a smell like that, but if the general humidity is causing something to rot, then a nasty smell might be coming from that. Or maybe your dogs did something in the tumble dryer! hehe

Answer 5

The smell is definitely not dampness. Could a neighbour's tom cat have got into your house and sprayed your furniture? Have you got a baby? If you have could you have dropped a disposable nappy somewhere in the house by accident, that would cause the same sort of smell.

Answer 6

Through much remodeling of old houses, there is nothing worse than a house that a cat has gotten to, even if you don't own one, the previous owner may have. The high humidity can cause the aroma to rather noticable, even from old stains. Carpet, padding and even worse, wood floors can trap the urine. You can try some of the tips, but I usually rip up old carpet, seal the wood floor and leave it or lay new carpet.

Answer 7

no not damp that ammonia is definitely a cat.damp and dry rot is a musty smell to check look in the area of smell check if plaster is bubbling or flakey next get a screw driver push it on your skirting board if it goes straight in you've got dry rot if it stays on surface don't worry.you've got a cat that must be friendly with your dogs.

Answer 8

One time about a year ago I though my cat was urinating in the house.I couldn't believe it cause I had this cat for 7 years and it never had gone in the house.Come to find out while we where at work this male cat was getting in our house and urinating in it.I finally came home early one day and caught him.He was coming in through the crawl space under the house through our basement door.I don't know just an idea.