Strange one

[Alwayslearning22]

Hi all, not long moved into a my new home. 
 Few days after Laying my laminate flooring I noticed a wet mop smell. I couldn’t find the source. It seemed concentrated in middle of house. 
I noticed the smell has now changed to a sweaty feet smell and it seems to be central in the house and gets worse the warmer it is outside. 

could the slab still be wet? 
house was built over a year ago and it lay empty for months before I moved in. Minimal heating on during that time. 
 

anyone experienced this? 

[Mr Punter]

Wet mop and sweaty feet do not bring to mind ideal conditions.  I think you may need to take up a section of flooring or make a hole somewhere inconspicuous to see what is going on.

[Nickfromwales]

Did you put a membrane down under the flooring? Sounds like the floor is sweating. 

[saveasteading]

6 hours ago, Alwayslearning22 said:

could the slab still be wet? 

It shouldn't be, if the house was weather- tight.

The outdoor temperature shouldn't make much difference.

Anything else you can tell us?

Do the windows steam up?

How long did you have the house before laying the flooring?

 

What is the flooring material? Laminated can be several options.

 

Any chance it is simply a smell coming off the flooring material itself?

 

[dpmiller]

where are the family's shoes stored?

[Alwayslearning22]

21 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

Wet mop and sweaty feet do not bring to mind ideal conditions.  I think you may need to take up a section of flooring or make a hole somewhere inconspicuous to see what is going on.

Im going to lift a few planks edge of room. Hopefully I can find the source 

[Alwayslearning22]

19 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

Did you put a membrane down under the flooring? Sounds like the floor is sweating. 

Yes I had a flooring company do it. They used a foil faced membrane. 

[Alwayslearning22]

18 hours ago, saveasteading said:

It shouldn't be, if the house was weather- tight.

The outdoor temperature shouldn't make much difference.

Anything else you can tell us?

Do the windows steam up?

How long did you have the house before laying the flooring?

 

What is the flooring material? Laminated can be several options.

 

Any chance it is simply a smell coming off the flooring material itself?

 

No windows steaming. 
 Relative humidity is low enough in the house. 
 

only had how’s few days before laying flooring. So house had almost a year to dry out since slab way layed I think. 
 

it’s normal Egger lamainte click flooring mdf core. 
 

I was wondering that but it’s only in certain areas of the house.

[Spinny]

Could it be the drains ?

Maybe lift the drain covers and check everything is free flowing.

Have all the waste traps in the house got water in them ?

[ProDave]

Another vote for possibly drains. Were they properly pressure tested during build?

[Mr Punter]

I think @Spinny and @ProDave have got this.  Dry trap / stuck dirgo / open end on pipe.  Check anything connected to drains (dishwasher, boiler condense, shower, bath, washing machine, MVHR etc.).

[Alwayslearning22]

It doesn’t smell like drains. I checked they all seem fine 

[Square Feet]

Is there a void that an animal might have crawled into and died?  I know there shouldn't be with airtightness regs but the last time I had a smell that I couldn't find the source for it turned out to be a dead neighbour 😌

[Nickfromwales]

7 hours ago, Alwayslearning22 said:

Yes I had a flooring company do it. They used a foil faced membrane. 

Was it foil with a spongy backing, used to insulate sometimes? 

[Alwayslearning22]

39 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Was it foil with a spongy backing, used to insulate sometimes? 

It’s more like a thin foil with  soft fabric like backing 

[Spinny]

11 hours ago, Square Feet said:

Is there a void that an animal might have crawled into and died?  I know there shouldn't be with airtightness regs but the last time I had a smell that I couldn't find the source for it turned out to be a dead neighbour 😌

Didn't you say on another thread that you were putting traps out for rats ? And had tried poison ?

You could perhaps have dead rats somewhere. Got any flies ?

What happened with us years ago - rats came up a drain - got into some house voids/cavities/subfloor - wife claimed she could smell something - rat man put down poison - also blocked drain aperture - rats slowly disappear - 2-3 weeks later a plague of flies in the house.

When our old extension was demolished - builders found some rat carcases under the floor.

 

(PS Someone I once knew had a distant relative die in their house - body not found for 6 months - had to be identified by DNA. OMG)

[Square Feet]

1 hour ago, Spinny said:

(PS Someone I once knew had a distant relative die in their house - body not found for 6 months - had to be identified by DNA. OMG)

Yes that's what I meant by a dead neighbour. Poor old guy was lying there for six months over the hot summer of 2020. The first policeman to break into the flat came straight out and threw up on the pavement after. For months I'd been trying to find the source of the grim smell - it wasn't the drains or the sewer or the bins but smelled a bit like all three. Sad business.

[SteamyTea]

We had a strange, intermittent  smell at work, seemed to be coming out of an unused air vent.

Turned out to be a dead rat in a ceiling void.

The intermittency was caused by water leaking through the roof.

 

 

[DamonHD]

We were told by a neighbour with some glee during our house-warming party (previous house) that the occupant had died in the main bedroom.  Luckily there was no smell by the time we moved in!

[Alwayslearning22]

It doesn’t smell like anything’s decomposing to be honest it’s more like a damp dish cloth 

[Nickfromwales]

It’s the underlay for sure.

 

You need to swap it out for the EPS, and put that over a light membrane.

 

It’s absorbing moisture and sweating. 

[SteamyTea]

36 minutes ago, Alwayslearning22 said:

decomposing

Brian May is still composing, but Freddy Mercury is decomposing.

No help whatsoever.

Edited 2 hours ago by SteamyTea

[Alwayslearning22]

44 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

It’s the underlay for sure.

 

You need to swap it out for the EPS, and put that over a light membrane.

 

It’s absorbing moisture and sweating. 

Thanks Nick. I was thinking that too.  My wife thought I was going mad.

is it normal for the subfloor to be still releasing moisture almost a year later? do I need a water resistant membrane? Then thin sheets EPS on too? 

[saveasteading]

2 hours ago, Alwayslearning22 said:

like a damp dish cloth

 

55 minutes ago, Alwayslearning22 said:

 

is it normal for the subfloor to be still releasing moisture almost a year later?

Absolutely not . 

You can test this. In a similar area, i.e. same floor construction, but not covered, put a piece of clean polythene down with weight on the edges to hold it down. If there is free moisture then it will condense under the polythene. You could use an upside down glass instead.

Putting a vapour barrier on top may be necessary but should not if a) one has been installed under the slab. b) the slab has had time to dry.

 

I've known drain smells to be dish-cloth-like. If the traps are not filled with water, it can come up there.

Edited 1 hour ago by saveasteading

[Nickfromwales]

2 hours ago, Alwayslearning22 said:

Thanks Nick. I was thinking that too.  My wife thought I was going mad.

is it normal for the subfloor to be still releasing moisture almost a year later? do I need a water resistant membrane? Then thin sheets EPS on too? 

 

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

Absolutely not . 

As above. It should be consuming moisture not emitting it, but the question is of how good a job has been done installing the DPM.