Find The Funk: The Causes of Strange Smells in Your Home

Keeping your home clean, tidy, welcoming, and safe for your family and guests can feel like a never-ending battle. Just as soon as you’re sure the place is spotless, the dog tracks in muddy paw prints, the cat decides that the family needs the “gift” of a mangled field mouse or the kids decide to start throwing a ball around the living room at the expense of your carefully displayed vase. Still, as infuriating as these things can be, at least they’re easy to see. There are some things that can detract from the cozy and perfectly maintained look and feel of your home that cannot be detected by sight… but they can be smelled. Obnoxious odors around the home can be a source of huge frustration, especially when you don’t know where they’re coming from. Still, no matter how hard you scrub or how diligently you vacuum, they never seem to go away. It’s time to identify the possible causes of funky odors in the home and take action…

Image by Ihtar via Pixabay

Faint odors in the living room could be your carpets

I know, I know. You vacuum your carpets diligently. But the unfortunate truth is that with the whole family (and your four-legged friends) tracking dirt, dust, pet dander and even tiny insects through your home day after day, a layer of nasty stuff can actually get pushed deep into the carpet fibers far beyond the ability of any vacuum cleaner to remove. This is why you should get your carpets cleaned professionally every 12-18 months.

Fishy smells could be electrical burning

Is there a fishy smell in the kitchen or living room despite the fact that you haven’t partaken of Piscean cuisine in a while? Have a sniff around your electrical outlets. You may find that the odor is stronger there. Tiny electrical fires in your power outlets or overheated electrical components can create a pervasive fishy smell. This is a sign to call out an electrician ASAP. Some rewiring may be required to make your outlets safer. If your home has old fashioned aluminum wiring rather than copper, this can be prone to overheating and could potentially cause electrical fires in the future.

Do your drains need some TLC?

If you can smell something rotten or sulfurous in the kitchen but you’ve checked the refrigerator for any food that may have gone bad, your drains may be the culprit. Over time we can develop a habit of pushing food waste down the drain or neglecting our waste disposal system. A registered plumber will be able to find and remove persistent bad smells caused by decaying food waste stuck in your pipework. Click here to find one that’s insured above state mandates so you can enjoy complete peace of mind. You may be surprised by just how much cleaner and fresher your kitchen feels.

We need to talk about your kitty litter

Finally, as much as you love your cats, keeping the funk of their litter box under control can be a real challenge. Investing in a self-cleaning litter tray can make it easier to keep on top of funky odors but if that’s beyond your budget you’ll need to get into the habits of scooping out solids on a daily basis (sorry) getting the best odor control kitty litter and keeping a small bowl of activated charcoal close to the litter box to absorb the funk.