Have you tried scented candles?

Try a dish of baking soda in the closet with the door closed. I think the baking soda will absorb the smell. You may have to change the soda more than one time, but it is a cheap fix.

HI -- Try putting a bag or bucket of charcoal BBQ bricks in the closet -- that should help over time . Just be careful you don't get the black dust all over the place . This has worked for others .

I'm going to try baking soda and the candles. I like the BBQ charcoal idea except this is where I plan on storing clothes so seems like a risky move.

The scented candles will only mask the odor and not truly get rid of it. The baking soda will hopefully get rid of it. One thought......I would not try both of them at once, or the baking soda might have too much to absorb.

Try putting a bowl of white vinegar in the closet for a few days. It truly absorbs odors and after a few days the vinegar looks awful. Refresh bowl every two days and try for a couple of weeks.

There is a paint called Rid. Lowes, Home Depot all sell paint then get a can of freebreeze (sp)? It does work you can buy at any market. Then place a fan and open windows leave door open. It will disappear . Don't use until odor is gone.

Sorry paint is called Kilz maybe spelled wrong. But they will know.

Do you have carpet in the room? If so, clean the carpet with white vinegar. You can use white vinegar in a carpet cleaner same as the shampoo. You might also wash the walls with the vinegar as well.

If none of the above suggestions work, google it as I'm sure this is a common problem, and I bet you'll find all kinds of solutions.

BTW, travisinteriors, Kilz is a primer.

I am with reggiesmall on this one. Something is causing the odor rather than something that left the odor.

I didn't read all the comments that carefully, but I also agree with rggiesmall that there may be some pot hidden in the walls, especially if there's a crawl space in that closet, or an opening to the attic.

We had rat get trapped in the insulation under our house and die several winters ago. It was right under the wall between the kitchen and living room near where my chair was so every now and then, I'd smell something rank. We were having a cold spell at the time so the odor wasn't as bad whenever I'd have my husband come over to see if he could smell it. Finally he did, and had to go under the house and retrieve the poor dead critter, and then the smell went away.

interesting! I like the baking soda idea and would like to hear what worked.

Do folks think I can do the baking soda and vinegar (two separate dishes) at the same time?

reggie et al. - honestly, given how little is left from the old owner in that closet (the carpet is gone, new coat of paint, no wooden shelving - metal shelving) I am honestly considered it is in the damn drywall.

but i just finished renovations and i'm just not in the mindset to rip anything else right now. ugh.

It's a concrete apartment building so I'm not really sure how many crawlspaces or little hiding spaces can possibly exist.

I'll have my super take a sniff tomorrow and see what he thinks.

Coffee beans do the trick.

Yes.......double up on the baking soda and vinegar and be ready to change them as they become tainted. It means they are working and absorbing the smells. The good thing is, both of them are cheap and easy to get.

Agree to look for hidden compartment. Look for any fake air grilles, outlets, switch plates, etc. pull up carpet and look for trap door. See if any wall panels have exposed screw heads.

To cover up odor, try cedar chips which can absorb and mask the odor.

Piff, since you're already all done in the closet, including the shelving, then I do suggest you try the vinegar and baking soda; it can't hurt.

Once you've given those products every chance to work, and if it's still bad, then you'll know that at least you've tried the simpler, more logical solution. Plus, you'll probably be somewhat rested from the big reno and will be more emotionally, physically and monetarily ready to tackle the mini gut job that you'd have to do in your closet. Even thoug it'll be very aggravating.

Oh, I just thought of something. There's no vent in your closet, right? I mean the odor can't be coming into your closet from somewhere else in the building, can it?

Charcoal briquettes work wonders. We had power go out at our cabin and the freezer full of meat was quite ripe and we thought it was a lost cause. Cleaned and put a dish pan of dry briquettes in it and closed the lid; within a week the smell was gone. Just be sure you don't use the kind with lighter fluid in them! Good luck!

If you have trouble finding briquettes without the lighter fluid, any place that sells aquarium supplies will have carbon (used for aquarium filters).

HI -- Are you sure your not smelling black mold ?? Maybe you should get a mold expert in to check things out . Mold is not safe and can smell terrible .

I caught my kitchen on fire recently (don't know what I was thinking, putting a box of paint on top of my stove). No permanent damage done, but the house smelled to high heaven of smoke. I used the vinegar idea and put out a number of bowls in the house in the morning. I walked in from work that night and the house smelled like a barbecue pit. LOL honestly, it smelled just like barbecue sauce...smoke and vinegar mixed. My husband craved ribs for days!

Lefty - fortunately, or unfortunately, I know weed when I smell it. Still I'm going to have my super have a sniff tomorrow and I'll also ask about any mold history in the building.

I second the cole....

Reggie - I just checked the closet. No vents or doors. There's a fair amount of wiring in there. But it can't be that.

Ok, that's good about the vents. Does it smell like burning at all?

Hmmm, perhaps as having polled the audience and they vote for vinegar and baking soda, you try that and go from there, as suggested.

I'm also very sensitive to odors (while my husband is not) and it's very frustrating. :(

Did the super/ building maintenance man end up coming to check (though, respectfully I say, he probably wasn't very helpful as it's in his interest to say that you're imagining it)?

Hiya Reggie - as a follow up. The smell is still there a month on. Nothing has helped. Indeed the super was not helpful. He admitted that he could smell it but had no suggestions.

An interesting development has occurred however. The smell ALMOST went away for about a week. It was fairly faint. But then it came back full force at the beginning of this week. This tells me that someone above or below me is using their closet as funny-stuff-storage. (So whoever hypothesized that there was something in the walls causing the smell was really not off). Now how to handle this with neighbors....

GOSH! The good thing is, you may have figured it all out. But now it becomes difficult. Do you handle it alone or beg with the super again? And if it smells very strange, maybe mention the police will be involved?????

Do not knock on the neighbors door or mention the police to anyone. You don't know how involved the neighbors may (or may not) be in this or other harder drugs.

I agree with Darzy on not saying anything to your neighbors because they could be dealers or something. Once you are there a while and maybe get to know them better, you will probably see if that's the case or not. If you're around them enough to see that they're just stoners, suggest they open a window or invest in a smoke eater or something.

About the charcoal, we put some bowls of it out at work when someone completely melted a plastic bowl in the microwave. It really absorbs odors & doesn't give off a smell. Charcoal is used in some air filters.

An ozone machine will get rid of any smell. Probably cost a couple hundred bucks. After that, if it comes back, it's definitely your neighbors. Or the previous tenant stashed some a little too well and forgot it.

This will work ,buy bags of charcoal ,the kind without starter fluid already on it ,open the bag sit it out where you need to remove Oder,it will absorb the smell

Hiya Piff,

So sorry for you; what a waste of your time and no doubt lots of stress and frustration. And it doesn't seem as if you have a permanent and safe solution.

If others suggest the charcoal, I'd say go for it. It can't be worse than it is.

Did you purchase or are you renting?

Invite all neighbors over for a party, see who does what and you'll know who the culprit may be. Then leave a nice little polite note on the door. :)

I'm agreeing with either there's a stash in the closet or you're getting shared smells.

Don't approach those neighbors. You don't know what else they're up to, that much weed to make your closet reek is a lot of weed.

Move. I know, I know, but. I'd rather be far away from a situation like that.

Wow... This is an issue! You're going to laugh... I would contact the police department if you think it's pot... they can get their dope sniffing dogs out there and possibly find the stash... They will welcome the practice for the dogs I suspect. Something is there, and until it is found you will have this issue... Like previously
mentioned ... it just may be the neighbors ... or an apartment employee who uses the rafters to store the goods for his "other job".
Or it just may be a dead animal in the wall...

We shared a wall with our weed smoking neighbors back when we rented. It made our whole townhouse stink. They were otherwise cool (never reported our late night parties) and watched out for us/our apartment, so we didn't report it to anyone. Plus it would have been obvious who had done the reporting. Every day we'd come home, open the windows and doors and light some incense.

I did finally say something to the neighbors when the odor in my coat closet got to be way too bad. It was pretty obvious that they were storing some in their closet, which backed up to mine. I played dumb though (easy to do when you're blonde). I asked if they were smelling that terrible skunk smell too and if they thought there was one living in our shared crawl space. They said they'd smelled it too and would call the landlady about it for us if they saw anything in the crawl space. A couple days later the smell had dissipated.

One trick for getting smoky odors out of books is to put a piece of fabric softener sheet in the book and then put the book inside a box filled with a mix of kitty litter and baking soda. The Friends of the Library I work at swear by it.

Danielle... what a wonderfully diplomatic way of handling it... I wouldn't have thought just the neighbors smoking, would come through the walls so badly! I still liked the dog sniffing idea! LOL!

For removing nasty odors from cars, (ie dead things) restoration folks usually load them up with an inch of baking soda on the entire floor and seats. They may also use strong smelling bars of Irish spring soap beneath the seats. If this can work for "barn finds" that can have mice, birds, and other critters living and dying in them it might help you. If this in combination with shampooing the upholstery and carpets didn't work, they replace every soft surface in the car.

Just wondering whether you ever solved the odor problem?

Not at all. Thanks for checking up on me though.

I did the baking soda thing, the cedar block thing, the charcoal thing, the vinegar thing, the febreeze thing. I even had my super come in and fill in the gaps in the floor around some electrical wires just in case the smell was seeping in there.

Still no success.

But honestly the smell comes and goes. The super guessed that it is probably the guy below me who lives with his mother. So maybe he's hot boxing in there or something? So the smell comes and goes with his "usage".

It's annoying but I've gotten used to it. I keep my junk in my stinky bedroom closet and I keep my suits and dresses in a closet in my foyer where the junk should be.

**Coffee Beans** A couple bags of WHOLE coffee beans