Hi Kendrah,

Not a pro but it's possible that the chlorine smell may be coming from the dry walls in your home that may have crept up from an undetected water source like a leak in the walls from a recent rainfall or from the plumbing. It's also common for moisture to collect in the basement or stone foundation as it is the lowest point in your home and also the coolest. Hot air rises while cold air falls.

Secondly, on the surface of a stone foundation, it may appear dry and may even feel dry to the touch but stone by its very nature is porous. Moisture and mold can collect and build up inside the stone foundation where the eye cannot see.

If you can afford it, it might be a good idea to hire a professional water damage restoration company to help find that undetected water source and nip it in the bud. Dehumidifying your space, removing any mold that may have built up and traveled well into your dry walls, and replacing with fresh new dry wall would be the best solution (but unfortunately, also a costly one).

You can also try buying a 10 lbs bag of cat litter and filling smaller bowls of it, placing them everywhere in your home, especially near your bathroom, kitchen, and basement where moisture can collect and build up. It might just be a humidity issue that's causing the smell. Cat litter is super absorbsent and can capture the moisture that's in the air--given enough time.

We hope this information will help you make a more informed decision on your home needs.

Very Best,

Tai Truong

Elements of Design

3400 Medford Street

Los Angeles, CA 90063

tai@lusivedecor.com

www.elementsofdesign.com

Are you on city water?

The reason I ask - when we moved from MA to DC I was pretty shocked by how strongly the city water smells of chlorine. Towels would smell of it after a shower and you could definitely smell it in the bathroom when the towels were hanging to dry. I don’t know if I’ve become desensitized at this point or if that was some kind of issue with the chemicals they use to treat water, but I no longer smell it.

Interesting. Yes, we have city water. Though I have lived in this city for 8 years now so not sure why I would have a sudden reaction to it. Maybe they have done something to the water system that could have caused a change? I asked my neighbors tonight if they had a similar smell and their house and non of them did. One of them is particularly sensitive to bleach too.

Have you had an upper respiratory infection this winter or other allergies? Since no one else can smell it and and you have none in your home, I would see your doctor to rule out olfactory conditions. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/temporal-lobe-seizure/expert-answers/phantosmia/faq-20058131

Other people smell the bleach smell, they just don't have horrible sinus pain from it. My husband, a mold technician, and a friend have each smelled the strong bleach smell. I usually have a very strong reaction to bleach products which is why we don't use them in our house.

I've tried to get an allergy appointment and the wait for a good one is 6-months, or others it is 2 months. I went to my doc's office and had to see the nurse practitioner who just told me to take Flonase. It certainly had helped reduce my pain, but of course does nothing to take care of the root of the problem. I have not had any infections this winter or other allergies.

Since undergoing chemo more than 15 years ago, I have developed all kinds of reactions to ordinary smells. It sucks. Often I can smell things that other people can't but the smell is actually coming from somewhere. For example I will have a terrible reaction to lavender, or to paint that nobody else smells or nobody smells it very strongly, it but we can always hunt it down and find the source. So I don't think I have phantosmia.

I would also suspect city water; perhaps they have upped the ratio of chlorine. I'd have the water tested and see how much chlorine is actually in it.

I live on 1/2 acre with no neighbors on 2 sides (front and back) and am shocked by how often I smell people's laundry products when they are drying clothes in a dryer. Perhaps someone is washing with chlorine bleach and the dryer vent is blowing toward your home?

Is it possible a neighbor has installed a hot tub in a place where the scent could be entering your home?

Have you had your HVAC serviced lately? My service guy always pours bleach in the condensate line to prevent algae, mold, and mildew growth. Do you have a metal electrostatic filter on your HVAC system? They can emit ozone which has a chlorine-like smell. Is all your equipment in the basement such as your hot water heater and furnace? Here’s a few things a google search came up with:

“Electrical Burning or Ozone

If you’ve ever stood out in a thunderstorm, you’ve likely smelled the sharp smell of ozone, a scent reminiscent of chlorine. Your furnace might create a similar electrical or metallic smell when it overheats.

As your furnace ages, worn bearings may cause the blower motor to seize up or bind. Your furnace may then draw additional electricity to push through the resistance, and that additionally voltage may result in excessive heat buildup in the motor. The heat is often enough to melt away wire insulation, and soon your unit could produce electrical shorts and sparks that emit the smell.

If left untended, these sparks and melting wires create enough heat to start a fire in your home. If you smell electrical burning, cut the power to your unit and call a technician for help.” https://www.getzschman.com/blog/whats-smell-5-furnace-odors-mean/

“ 9) if possibly ozone, rather than chlorine (the biting sharp smell some electric motors and transformers and brush-type motors put out), then check around any electric motors you have - furnace blower, water or sump pumps, "instant on" hot water recirculation pump, A/C, furnace blower, reefer, doorbell or furnace/boiler transformer, etc. if from this source should be sharply stinging to the nose and much more evident near the motor when running, and of course turning off for a day or so should stop the smell.” https://answers.angieslist.com/What-causing-consistent-chlorine-bleach-smell-home-recently-purchased-q224287.aspx

Another person had the same smell throughout the house and found the hot water heater exhaust fell off causing the odor. I feel for you as I cannot tolerate chlorine at all. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.

call your water co.

Thanks for your ideas and sympathy! Upon my dad's recommendation, I took the cap off my condensate pipe that collects condensation both from my A/C and from my dehumidifier, and stuck my nose right up to it. I almost passed out on the basement floor. (Thanks Dad!) The trap had completely dried out and there was SO much build up sewer gas. It smelled like regular old gas - like from a gas leak, or from a gas stove, or from gasoline. It didn't smell like bleach. But, it did have a funky mildew undertone. (Sounds like a fine glass of wine - strong gaseous notes with a hint of mildew.)

I have no idea if this could be the culprit from my sinus problems or have contributed to the chlorine smell. I poured a steady stream of 4 cups of water into the trap. I smell the second floor laundry discharge trap and no smell at all. Poured water down there none the less. Ran water and flushed in a bathroom we haven't used lately, even checked the traps in our outdoor storm water, which ties into our sewer line. (In Philly, they are not separate.)

I'm going to call my HVAC plumbing people to see if they added any chlorinated products when they installed a new evaporator coil this summer. If I ask them to come check out the motor - what is it that I am asking them to look for? It is clearly running because the heat in our house is on and working.

No electrostatic air filters on the furnace.

Thanks again. It takes a village ....

My husband, a mold technician

Is it possible that some chemical your husband uses is on his clothes? Has he brought some home and stored it somewhere? Is it possible that somehow he is the source (accidentally, of course)?

Ha. Those were serial commas. My husband is not a mold technician. He is an attorney. No chemicals there.

HAHAHA! I see now. And you used an Oxford comma. Way to go!

We are huge Oxford comma fans in our household. Glad you are too. Not even allergies can take away the pleasure of grammar.

Hear, hear! (NOT "here, here.")

Also, for anyone who's wondering, Oxford commas are entirely different from dangling modifiers, misused participial phrases, split infinitives, and grocers' apostrophes.

Or, as our friends in the UK say, "different TO."

Ain't English fun? :)

Here's a crazy thought: have you, by any chance, bought a new laser printer recently? Might you be using one more often than you did previously? Some laser printers emit ozone. It has a sharp and not very pleasant odor that might remind you of chlorine.

Did you ever figure out the issue to your smell? I believe I’m currently going through this in my house.

I had this same odor several years ago and found the answer somewhere on the Internet . Now the odor is back but for the life of me my 65 y/o brain would not unlock the info! Today the termite guy came to inspect (do not freak it isn't termites) and noticed the lines to my geothermal furnace were dripping at the couplings and a small puddle of water on the floor! Inside my unit is a drain hose . It was not draining much condensation . Sure enough it was blocked. ( Small amount of water standing in the drain pan)

Shazam !!, my atrophied brain said ,"Oh yeah that is what the problem was several years ago!" Gee thanks ancient not so wise one! So I cleaned out the opening at the furnace drain pan with a bottle washer brush but still not draining properly. I mixed a solution of hot tap water and Pinesol and got a small rubber tubing. Poured solution , inserted hose and blew out the line several times. OMG the junk that was in there! Now 4 hours later no more chlorine smell just a light sent of Pinesol. I do not know if other non geothermal units have a drain hose like this but it is worth checking on any units that might have a drain tube such as mine! Hope this helps!

Have you done a pregnancy test? Just an idea....

I have had this chlorine bleach like smell in my house for a long time. No one else smells it. I have had numerous people including ac guys come and check my ac unit. Whenever they open the panel they say its very clean. They have emptied my pan, acid washed the coils, put hot water in line but still a smell. I had someone check my attic and go onto the roof, no smell. I did have an ac leak which caused mold but was remediated. My bathroom shower did cause a leak and was fixed due to a bad shower pan and liner which was replaced. I did have a new floor put in, and 2 bathroom remodeled. Still a smell. The crazy thing is that when the ac is off no smell. Please advise.

I know this is an old discussion but I was searching up bleach smells and came across this forum. Kendras problem was our problem a year ago...BUT WAY WORSE. We just completed many major projects to remediate moisture and mold issues that were pushing me to only one room in my home that I was safe in until I was eventually pushed out of the house. Despite paying many other consultants and mold testers who could find nothing we eventually found Rick Bayless of A Healthier Home who gave us a home audit with hundreds of pictures and walked us through practical steps on how to remediate our homes issues. He found mold that tests missed on sight which ended up required an entire wall of cabinets being removed. The list goes on. We have one more medium sized project to complete but for three months I have been breathing inside my healthier home.

I also want to boost the recomendations from Elements of Design (although the kitty litter is a new one, that's for the tip!) The moisture around our house from our neighbors downspouts was a contributing factor to our basement walls that didn't look wet but according to the expert - stayed wet. Moisture/Water remediation specialists we brought in couldn't find anything. Our older home (1918) had visible drips only in the attic that was very slow...hardly perceptible but a combination of simple solutions from A Healthier Home (I know I sound like an infomercial but I was sick with mold/dust/chemical allergies staying in hotels and friends sterilized spare rooms for 9 months and he was an answer to prayer).