Hello!
I live in a prefab townhouse from the early '90s, and for the past week or so, my wife and I have noticed a strange smell in the kitchen. After cleaning, searching, and clearing out pipes, etc., without it disappearing, we realized today that it might be moisture in the ceiling. Last winter, we spilled a glass of water on the bedroom floor (which is above the kitchen), and some water dripped through the kitchen ceiling. I drilled a hole in the kitchen ceiling then and got out "all" the water. With the hole, I thought (naively?) that the remaining moisture would ventilate out. Since then, we haven't thought about it until today when...
What do I do now? My immediate thought is to open it up and take a look. But I'm not sure if it's that easy. From below, I would ruin the ceiling because it's some form of hutonit ceiling tiles that interlock with each other. I don't think I can remove such a tile without destroying it. From above, it might be easier; there is a click-lock floor over the original linoleum mat (and underneath that, I don't know). So, I would need to remove the skirting boards, pick up a couple of floorboards, and then tear up a piece of the mat.
A third option is to call Anticimex directly and hand over the issue to them, standing by with an open wallet in the background...
What do you recommend?
I live in a prefab townhouse from the early '90s, and for the past week or so, my wife and I have noticed a strange smell in the kitchen. After cleaning, searching, and clearing out pipes, etc., without it disappearing, we realized today that it might be moisture in the ceiling. Last winter, we spilled a glass of water on the bedroom floor (which is above the kitchen), and some water dripped through the kitchen ceiling. I drilled a hole in the kitchen ceiling then and got out "all" the water. With the hole, I thought (naively?) that the remaining moisture would ventilate out. Since then, we haven't thought about it until today when...
What do I do now? My immediate thought is to open it up and take a look. But I'm not sure if it's that easy. From below, I would ruin the ceiling because it's some form of hutonit ceiling tiles that interlock with each other. I don't think I can remove such a tile without destroying it. From above, it might be easier; there is a click-lock floor over the original linoleum mat (and underneath that, I don't know). So, I would need to remove the skirting boards, pick up a couple of floorboards, and then tear up a piece of the mat.
A third option is to call Anticimex directly and hand over the issue to them, standing by with an open wallet in the background...
What do you recommend?
Thanks, we called Anticimex and they also suggested that it could be something entirely different causing the smell. Especially since we don't see any visual signs of moisture/mold. It's hard to describe the odor, but it’s somewhere around vomit/fermented/sour.. The smell is most noticeable in the middle of the room, at head height/near the ceiling. However, we have a ventilation exhaust at ceiling height in one corner which makes the smell hard to pinpoint.
If no one here has a brilliant idea, the plan is to do a thorough cleaning of the kitchen tomorrow. Move the stove, fridge/freezer, etc. Who knows, there might be an old piece of meat or a dead rat or something
If no one here has a brilliant idea, the plan is to do a thorough cleaning of the kitchen tomorrow. Move the stove, fridge/freezer, etc. Who knows, there might be an old piece of meat or a dead rat or something
Yes, it could be moisture, but not from the water glass.