August 3, 1998
1. The odor is strongest in the basement workroom.
2. Foul smell-- Bad food Dead animal?
3. Smells less at ground level standing up.
4. Smell has somewhat dissipated.
5. Smell started on Thursday, which is when I removed rotten fruit salad
from refrigerator
6. The dehumidifier has been on for 3 days and has not helped the smell.
7. The smell is stronger inside the workroom than just outside the back
door.
8. The smell is immediately noticeable as soon as you walk in the door,
but less in the front than in the back
9. It smells more near the refrigerator than it does the workroom.
6 August 1998 thurs
update:
The smell seems to
have dissipated.
This weekend I'll
clean down there
real well.
9 August 1998 sun
The stench has
returned with a
fervor. More on the
outside of the back
basement door than
anywhere.
Maybe we should get
the sewer reamed
out although it doesn’t
smell like sewage.
Aug 11 1998
Smells the worst ever
right now. Closed the
door to workroom.
1. The smell started
on the day of the
Streams BBQ.
2. Describing the smell:
foul, pungent, sweet,
skunky.
Q: Should I open the
door and let flies
lead me to the
spot?
17 August 1998 Mon
update:
The smell was the worst
ever yesterday. Also
the most pervasive
via the air condition-
ing.
Talked to Kurt across
the street. He says
it's probably the
trap in the basement
floor drain(s). He says
that when the P trap
gets dried out, which
I may have contributed
to by not having any
water flow down it
for a long time
and having the dehu-
midifier run right
next to it.
When the air con-
ditioner kicks in it
pulls the smells out
of the drain and into
the basement, especially
the workroom because
of some sort of
warm/ cold air move-
ment situation.
The smell would
be a combination
of perfumes and dyes and
soap and anything that
goes down our
sink drains.
I poured water down
there last night.
This morning: very
little smell.
Poured another
bucket down there.
But: I also had
the air conditioning
off. So I am not
convinced that it is
not MOLD from the
air conditioning. So
I turned the AC
on this morning.
If there is no or
a small smell, the
problem is solved.
19 August 1998 wed
Monday night:
The smell returned.
Not super-strong, but
there. Imbued the
house.
Yesterday:
Still there.
Last night:
Talked to Kurt again.
He says throw bleach
down the drain to
kill whatever smells.
As I threw the bleach
down the drain in floor,
it occurred to me that
the crux of the smell
is probably in the
elongated P-trap
of the double wash
utility basin:
[illustration]
problem.
This makes sense for
a # of reasons:
I did swish out
a goodly amount of
mold from the
moldy fruit salad
on the morning of
Thursday July 31,
the day of the Streams
picnic.
The smell was first
noticed that evening,
which means the
mold would have
had time
to take hold in
the awkward P-
trap.
That would also
explain the dissipation
period, which I believe
coincides with Monica
doing laundry, thereby
washing water down
the drain but allow-
ing the mold to grow back.
So I poured bleach
down all sink and
bath drains, cleaned
the tubs downstairs
with a bleachy
vengeance in the
form of that small
green bleach cleaning
product along with a sponge.
I disinfected every-
thing in the area, in-
cluding buckets, garbage
cans, the washer &
dryer, and the
refrigerator. All
bleach-cleaned.
This morning:
Smell gone.
If it's still gone
tomorrow, I have
succeeded. If
not, and even if
so, I will have
to ream the pipes
with a snake.
24 August 1998 mon
@ home
It didn't work.
On Saturday I borrowed
Dennis' (next-door
neighbor) electric
auger.
Couldn’t really get
it to work.
Cleaned out the
outside drain gunk
by hand.
Sent garden hose
down both floor
drains, which worked.
The water flowed perfectly
fine.
Opened up sewer
and swished it
out; cleaned around
it.
Cleaned underneath
porch so I can get
at the stuff.
Smell gone.
Then Sunday:
Smell still gone
from inside drain
but remains from
outside drain.
Then today:
No smell at all.
Analysis:
I need to send water
down the drains
every day for a
while.
Use the drain clean-
ing products I
purchased:
Drain-O for pipes and
A more heavy-
duty product
for the drains.
28 August 1998 Fri
It only smells now in
the workroom.
I threw 8 oz. of the
drain cleaner down
the basement tub
but haven't checked
to see if it worked.
© 2003 Daniel X. O'Neil
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