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October 15, 2008
old house smell?
We recently bought a very old wood-frame house and did some minor renovations (ripped up carpet, refinished floors, painted, etc. We had the house thoroughly inspected for mold and we found no evidence of pests of any kind. There is a smell in the main room/dining room area of the first floor that is driving me crazy. It smells like an old house and I can't seem to locate the source other than this one room. The room has hardwood floors and plaster walls and a tin ceiling and has been thoroughly cleaned and newly painted. It has a built-in wood hutch that I scrubbed with a vinegar/water solution. Still, the smell. My husband does not notice it so it can't be that strong. Any thoughts?
Comments
it could be a ghost or a spirit, especially if it's contained to just one room. maybe a dead rodent in the walls or a corroded moldy beehive too or a moth coocoon.
-r
Posted by: PitbullNYC at October 15, 2008 9:38 AM
Hi there,
I recently bought an 1890 Victorian and posted about this too:
http://www.brownstoner.com/forum/archives/2008/10/new_victorian_s.php
Our house is a shell right now and its been airing our for 2 weeks...the smell has gone and we now know for sure that the horrid smell is coming from the kitchen addition that we are tearing off. One thing I did notice is the distinct smell coming off the old wood...this smell has not gone, and Im sure this may be what your smelling.
Posted by: nybk01 at October 15, 2008 9:45 AM
Maybe its just old house smell.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 15, 2008 9:50 AM
Unfortunately, this could be the ghost of some long dead kitty-pee-a-lot. If there was an unaltered tom cat that resided there in the distant past, the remains of its scent may be ingrained in the floorboards. I have no idea how you'd get rid of it. Try Ask this Old House.
Posted by: bohuma at October 15, 2008 10:12 AM
A nice gut job does the trick...we replaced beams also!
Posted by: nybk01 at October 15, 2008 10:27 AM
Are there gaps in the floor around the radiators? Old-house smells could be coming up out of gaps in the floor there. Try plugging them.
Posted by: traditionalmod at October 15, 2008 10:48 AM
I don't really believe in ghosts . . . BUT we bought the house from an elderly woman whose husband had lived in and cared for the house for 50+ years (he had been born on the block and in fact his parents had owned the house a few doors down for a few generations too - they are also gone now). He built the wood built-ins and took immense pride in the house, had a workroom in the basement where he did everything himself. I've heard from neighbors that keeping up this house was his main passion and he did a great job with it. The woman who sold us the house said she thought his spirit was still here but she was sure he would go with her to Florida. Maybe he will winter in Florida and be with us the rest of the time? Seems like a nice spirit, if there is such a thing, as the house has a very nice vibe to it.
Posted by: WTbound at October 15, 2008 10:53 AM
Ok, I can't believe I'm going to write this but here goes. To ask a spirit to leave in a nice way, you burn sage leaves. For some reason this seems to work. My friend moved into an apt. where a murder took place and the poor young man was obviously not ready to go. So he hung around but a bit too much around for my friend and her roomates's level of comfort. They consulted somoe sort of clairvoyant on the matter and that was the solution. And it worked.
good luck.
Posted by: italiana71 at October 15, 2008 2:45 PM
They may have told you they were burning sage leaves italiana71 but you apparently don't know what smells exactly the same as burning sage leaves!!!!
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 15, 2008 2:49 PM
Not that this is the source, but you should check that you do not have gas lines in your lighting fixtures which was the case for us!
Posted by: cupotea at October 15, 2008 3:16 PM
If your main ghoul is to get the place to smell nice buy the spirit some under-arm deodorant.
Posted by: dittoburg at October 15, 2008 3:20 PM
Or a nice wraith of stargazer lilys, they smell up the place.
Posted by: dittoburg at October 15, 2008 3:22 PM
My parents moved into an old house 15 years ago and it has always had a very woody, musty old house smell. At first it was overwhelming because it was a new smell but over time the house is lived in and you sort of get used to the smell and don't notice it. I haven't lived with my parents for about 10 years but I still smell the smell.
Maybe it just ever goes away.
Like the smell of library books - inherent to the character of the books or in your case the house.
Votivo makes really strong scented candles -- those help too.
Posted by: Caitrus at October 15, 2008 5:21 PM
This is probably not it, but pull off the summer covers on your fireplaces and see if the smell isn't stronger up in the chimney. If there is moisture and a lot of accumulated old soot, that could give off a musty old house smell. You may want to at least rule it out. But don't let me stop you from lighting up the, er, sage leaves.
Posted by: slopefarm at October 15, 2008 5:31 PM
We do have old gas lines in our lighting fixtures, but I thought they were capped and shouldn't smell. You think they could be leaking?
Otherwise, I will try the, er, sage. No, really, the sage. And I guess is that doesn't work I will learn to like it.
Posted by: WTbound at October 15, 2008 6:39 PM
Is there a dumbwaiter or old heating grates? There may be a dead rodent at the bottom or something.
Posted by: mh at October 16, 2008 12:53 PM
Definitely check all radiators.
Vacuum as much of the sut from inside the cast iron rings as you can.
Check if you have any exposed wood that is not lacquered, especially that custom piece. what is the condition of the hardwood floor? It may need to be sanded and laquered as well.
What is the condition of the walls and ceiling, are any beams exposed?
Posted by: Gosha at October 16, 2008 1:09 PM
Do you have oil heat? We just moved into a new (for us) brownstone. I have never had oil heat before and the smell drives me nuts. I am seriously considering converting to gas but haven't yet run all the numbers...perhaps I will poke around elsewhere on this site for that!
Posted by: suto2 at October 19, 2008 6:47 PM
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