Weird smell in bedroom - damp??? Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[withnail1969]

We've been in our house for a year. The front bedroom smelt weird, a big damp stain came through, eventually had to have chimney stack removed. This was a few months ago, now it's got cold the smell is back. It's ok during the day but niffy at night. It's like a fermenting smell, really odd. The patch is still drying out as it had been covered up and the rain had been coming in for years.
We have got horrible aluminium windows that create a lot of condensation - but then so have all the other bedrooms and they don't smell....
We've had a recent damp inspection downstairs and there's no problem there. What could it be that it's only smelling in one room?
Any ideas folks?!

[tucny]

do you use this room much??

Smells are usually caused by bacteria. These often require moisture and often strong smells can be caused by mould or fungi. Removing the moisture is usually the key to solving the problem. Assuming that the chimney problem has been repaired then the source of moisture should have stopped however you still have the dampness in the wall/chimney breast that needs to dry and often roofing timbers surrounding the stack will also have to dry. These timbers may be at risk from rot.

Try forcing the moisture to dry using fan heaters and dehumidifiers and inspect any timbers surrounding the dampness for rot.

Note: often plaster may be stained giving the impression of an on going damp problem even if the source of damp has been cured. This is usually due to salts. Some plastering using a water resistant renovating plaster maybe required should this occur.

[withnail1969]

Thanks for the good advice.
My 4 yr old sleeps in there, it's not used much otherwise.
This may sound stupid but would the rot be easy to spot in the timbers?
We had the roof timbers inspected a year ago and all was well so i'm hoping they're still ok.
Airing the room is helping with the smell. I will get the timbers checked out again. It's good to know the chimney breast etc takes time to dry out.
We have still got stained plaster, I tried to seal it soon after the chimney was removed but the paint blistered. I'm gonna leave it another couple of months and try again.
Thanks again!

[mutti uk]

hey withnail, sounds a similar issue to what i have...

we are in the front bedroom with our 2 year old son at the moment and a while ago we had to clean the walls of mold and fluff. We overpainted to tidy it up hoping it didn't come back but it did, not as bad but is still there, the inner house walls are fine its the walls inside the outside of the house (if you know what i mean), one is where the head of our bed is, the other where the window is, and like yourself, have bad condensation in there, all other rooms have the same windows but are fine. Also, the wall with the window in it has a white build up on it, salts or something...

Was thinking of buying anti mold paint and going over it all and then repainting again, but i think its probably stemming from the condensation build up creating moisture and then feeding the bacteria as the previous chap said... would this be right?

All other rooms heat fine, have thought about leaving the window open a crack but with the weather being cold, have not wanted to do that, trying to get our lad in his own room now, so that may solve the problem, if anyone has any other advice please send it over.

Many thanks

[dcmoore]

Take a look at any one of our damp projects and ring the phone number for Property Repair Systems. They give free, no obligation advice and we recommend them. They will tell you what you need to do (if anything) and will also be able to supply you with anything you need to do it with but will certainly not try to sell you anything you don't need

[simone123]

i have a weired smell in my bedroom the windows have mold round them we had new windows fitted a yyear and a half ago the smell is a damp smell but cant see any prof of it my cloths have a mustey smell and its driving me mad my husband says there nothing wrong please can you help

[dcmoore]

I know the cold is unbearable but keeping the rooms well ventilated plays an important role in keeping your house free from condensation. When you have your central heating on it increases the moisture in the air and as the room cools down at night the moisture will settle on the cold parts of your house and this is when the black mould likes to form. Common places of finding this mould are behind beds, on windows, backs of wardobes and exterior walls (particularly below ceilings) as these are often found to be the coldest areas.
If you can try not to dry laundry on radiators. This adds moisture to the air and can damage your decor. If you can get hold of one i find that a dehumidifier is a great investment. It will keep your rooms dry and i find i dont even have to have my radiator on when i have this going.
If you find that you need to redecorate a surface cleaner and antimould additives are a cheap and effective way of stoppng the black mould settling on your walls.
Also, if you have any mould growing behind furniture such as wardrobes and beds move these away from the wall slightly as this will get the air circulating behind.

I hope this is helpful. Please dont hesitate to say if you would like me to ellaborate or you're still not happy.

All the best
Sam, Property Repair Systems