DH and I had noticed an "off" smell in our home. As soon as you walked in the door, it smelt as if I had broccoli sitting in the closet, just waiting to be found. After you left the entryway it disappeared and only reappeared as you opened the door to head down to the basement family room and laundry.
I have searched for 2 or more weeks for the source of the smell. I cleaned throughout the house. Found my nephew's lost car and my nieces Christmas gift (don't ask) but no broccoli, no dead animal, no "foreign objects" anywhere.
In deep frustration I spoke to my dearest friend and her family. They suggested the possibility that something had crawled in my heater vent system and died. Eeek! I was going to call the duct cleaners when the smell disappeared last week. I thought we were home free. DH was out of town last week and things were nice and quiet. On Friday I did a load of laundry and left for work. When I arrived home the smell was BACK!!! "Oh for heaven's sake!!" I exclaimed to my befuddled husband who had just arrived home from a loooonnng drive. I had wanted the house nice and fresh with the laundry done when he came home.
Long story longer, we have terra cotta pipes running from our home to the sewer line and they have shifted and collected "gunk" along the way. Doing laundry was the culprit. After $600.00 worth of "Hydroscrubbing" (read pressure washing) we can now do our laundry, take a shower and run the dishwasher among the other normal activities. We cannot, however, leave the terra cotta in the ground the way it is. We have another appointment with the plumber to determine how much time and money it will take to replace the pipe so we aren't seeping into the soil around our home.
I guess I will have to plant my tomatoes in Terra Cotta pots instead of in the ground this year. It's a good thing terra cotta is good for pots!
5 comments:
So glad your smelly problem is fixed. Will you ever be able to eat broccoli in your house again?
Plumbing problems are the worst! When we first bought our house we had a clogged stack pipe that caused a toilet to overflow every time we ran water, showered, did laundry.
Thank God you were able to have the problem fixed... if even for a little while.
Are you enjoying your anti-procrastination goodies?
Mary - It will be some time before I serve broccoli again, although it is my favorite "green" vegetable. I am just SO blessed I have a nice smelling home now!
Molly - I haven't received my prize yet. Mrs. Wilt e-mailed me on Monday (2/12/07) and said she was sending it out this week. I think the only thing worse than not getting a package is the waiting for a package you are expecting! LOL, this is a good test of my patience :)
What a bummer about the pipes. The joy of owning an older home!
Wow, I never heard of terra cotta being used for pipes! Goodness!
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