Skunky Basement Odor

7 years ago

My family and I moved into a house in October 2017 and since then we occasionally smell a skunky odor in the basement. It was incredibly strong when we first toured the house and we joked that the owners smoked a certain illegal substance, but didn't think much more of it. That summer had been particularly wet and we do have some moisture problems in the basement.

Since then the smell has continued, but is intermittent and we can't seem to figure out the reason for the smell. It's almost always worse at the top of the basement stairs (most likely from trapped, rising air) and is only noticeable in the finished part of the basement. The unfinished part, where we have most of the moisture issues, is fine. That is also where the furnace is located.

The smell is more noticeable in warmer weather and when there is a dramatic temperature change. Perhaps when it rains, as well. The smell was almost unnoticeable during the cold winter months so the only thing we know fore sure is that it is aggravated by warmer weather.

We have had all sorts of people come to look at the basement - several plumbers, HVAC companies, environmental services, etc. Some people can smell it and others cant. Our sump pump pit is open and is located in the finished part of the basement that smells, but it's not a rotten egg smell like sewer gas.

The only other consideration was our basement carpeting. There is a pad directly on the concrete slab underneath old berber carpet. But again, it doesn't smell like mildew. It smells like skunk.

Does anyone have any insight into what this smell could be and why it only shows up at certain times? We're going nuts trying to figure it out!

Thanks,

Katie

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Comments (9)

Mike C
7 years ago
Basement drain somewhere that has dried out emitting sewer gas other than the one with the sump pump?
User
7 years ago
Well, to me: skunk is natural gas or propane. Sewer is different.
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Izzy Mn
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I smelled some sewers that had a skunk smell. Check the clean out access, usually closest to the front basement wall and has a screw closure about 8" across flush with the floor, maybe access is not snug or cracked.

Do you use a dehumidifier in summer. Any floor drains dry? I sometimes pour a water bleach mixture in mine every once in a while so trap has water in it that blocks sewer gas.

I thought natural gas has a additive to make it smell like sulfur/rotten eggs.
Brian Edward
7 years ago
Do you have a shower or floor drains? Traps are dried out and gas is coming up. If you have a sewage pump that might stink and the trap blocks that smell.
Jmint
7 years ago
Take some bleach and pour a little into the sump pump well and any other open drains.
PRO
West End Design
6 years ago
Hi. My family has this exact same issue. It's not a sewer smell--it's definitely skunk smell. Did you ever figure out the cause? Thanks.
Stacy Baker Bloomberg
5 years ago
We have the same intermittent problem as well -- similarly in the dry finished area of the basement -- except that the smell is strongest at the bottom of the basement steps. I only notice when we turn off the AC on moderate temp days. I don't recall noticing it during the winter on any days we may turn off the heat, but I couldn't say for sure it doesn't happen in winter, too. I poured water down the drain hole in the unfinished part of the basement, but that hasn't helped. The sump pump is in a closet in the finished part of the basement, but I don't smell anything in the closet even with the door closed. Any other thoughts? Thanks!
Stephanie Marks-Leavitt
5 years ago
Wow! I stumbled upon this searching for help. I've had professionals over and I think they all think that my kids smoke pot and I am a naive mom. BUT that's that we thought before we bought the house. It drives me nuts. I hate the smell and worry it's not safe.
kburns27
Original Author
5 years ago
Following up to share that we ended up having the basement redone at a significant cost. It’s something we wanted to do anyways, but our initial plan was not to totally demo it and start fresh which is what we ended up doing.

We started by ripping up the carpet and pad and removing the fiber glass ceiling tiles, but that made no difference. It wasn’t until we removed all of the drywall and the fiberflass insulation that there was a noticeable

difference. The panels of fiberglass insulation were glued directly to the concrete wall with a plastic moisture barrier next and then the drywall which is a no no. We never did fully diagnose the problem but we’re guessing it was the old insulation soaking up the moisture from the walls. Either way, the smell is completely gone.