Ammonia Smell in Entry under Brownstone Stairs
We live in the garden apartment of a brownstone with a private entrance under the main stairs of the building. Recently a strong ammonia smell has started to emanate from the entryway between the gate and front door to our apartment, and we can’t determine where it is coming from. The space has a small…
We live in the garden apartment of a brownstone with a private entrance under the main stairs of the building. Recently a strong ammonia smell has started to emanate from the entryway between the gate and front door to our apartment, and we can’t determine where it is coming from. The space has a small closet, which is painted shut and impossible to open, so it is possible that a previous owner placed some kind of cleaning product in there years ago that has now corroded and is leaking. The area is also damp and has terrible drainage in bad weather, so it is possible that the smell is somehow related to this.
If anyone has recommendations regarding someone we could call to either break open the closet or evaluate what the smell could possibly be coming from, I would really appreciate it. We are at a total loss… Thanks.
We have a neighboring cat from the plant nursery behind our home. We have also noticed a very stron urine smell that seems to be coming from our downstairs bathroom. The odor comes and goes, and sometimes seems to emanate into the den next door to the bathroom, as well as the basement stairs just parallel to the bathroom. I had originally suspected that the odor was due to the cat that pops into our yard each day, but my husband noticed that the smell is not outside. Sometimes it seems to be coming from the bathroom wall(the other side of the wall is our yard.) We are also trying to figure out if we might have dead mice, or even dead birds or squirrels in the wall. Who should we contact to determine what this odor is? Again, it smells like a strong cat urine odor. Thanks for the help.
Dead rats can smell like this.
When we had a sewage back up, it most definitely did not smell like ammonia.
You may not have a cat, but I bet other people on the block do. We have an ammonia/musky smell in front (especially when it rains), and I think some cats come by to spray. In fact, it smells remarkably like the apartment floor that was ruined by cat urine.
It definitely isn’t cat pee. We don’t have a cat and I have never seen a cat outside our building.
I’m having a plumber out soon for another problem, so I’ll have him look into the sewage possibility.
Any other thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
I still say it’s cat piss.
Yes, it could be a waste line. We had a plumber come over after we had a similar problem and he said it was raw sewage. He said it was a city issue and to call the DEP. They came over and ran green dye through our neighbors plumbing and would’nt ya know it showed up under our stoop. They were actually cited and told to fix it ASAP.
Sometimes the vent for the main waste line is placed under the stoop. Sewer gas? Get a razor knife and cut open the door along the seam. Get a crow bar and pry a little to see if the door moves. if not it may be screwed shut. If you are renting, call the landlord and tell him something smells like it died and you want to have them come over.
Just helped someone with that same problem,she didn’t have a cat problem she had a rat problem and I pour new concrete under the stoop.
Cat piss can smell like ammonia.