what kind of flooring do you have in the entry and back hallway? Could it be the glue under the floor or something like that?

Jane, I have no help to offer as I am in a similar boat (except this is our first summer in this house and I couldn't smell anything until I was pregnant and now it overpowers me). I've done the frantic smell testing everywhere too. I said our odor smells like a dirty dog rolled in honey, but the dirty hamster cage isn't far off either as the cedar shavings sort of capture the cloying sweetness I am smelling. Does airing out the house help in your case at all? It does not seem to in our house. I have been suspecting our suspended ceiling, so I painted all the tiles in Kilz to try to keep them from offgassing anything else, but that worked or masked the smell for 3 days and then it came back when it hit 100 degrees again. Do you have any paneling? We have a small wall of paneling in the culprit room and I was thinking perhaps it could be a glue issue there.

Jane - I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier. I had noticed a similar smell in our home around July this year. We now run a dehumidifier 24/7 and the smell has been gone all summer.

This may be a little late, but has anyone considered the fact that around that time was when the Chinese were importing drywall into this country? The drywall itself would put off an odor. There was a recall and a class action lawsuit if I remember correctly. Just my $.02, but I'd have it checked out. Just do a search for Chinese drywall problems

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-03-16-chinese-drywall-sulfur_N.htm

http://www.certified-chinese-drywall-testing.com/chinese-drywall-problems.html

http://homerenovations.about.com/od/drywallsheetrock/a/ChineseDrywall.htm

I've the same issue in the bathroom. I thought it was mold, or the wall paper but after bleaching the whole place multiple times and peeling some wallpaper I'm now I"m thinking it's under the wood sink. It gets worse at night. Definitely a hamster cage smell. I basically abandoned the bathroom because I just can't stand it. Any one have any suggestions? I'm going to try damp ride. Has anyone tried that already?

Very well may be mold behind and underneath the walls or floors. Toilet, shower or sink plumbing leak at all or had it recently leaked?

Any drains in there you don't use often? Make sure all your drains have water in the trap. I had a shower stall in a guest bath that wasn't used and sewer gas was coming up into the house.

I sure hope you’ve found a solution to the problem by now but just Incase I thought I might share that it could be the insulation. If you have sprayed insulation then perhaps the professional mixed a bad batch causing the fishy smell. If that is the case you will need to have it inspected because it could be toxic sending out fumes of formaldehyde.

Could there possibly be a chance of vermin in the walls or in the house somewhere?

I have a similar smell in my house, the Only way to describe it is hampered cage smell with no hampsters. It drives me Insane, I mostly smell it IN the back spare room and in the spare bathroom, both used less than the rest of the house, any idea what causes this yet anyone??

Have you eliminated all the possible reasons stated in this thread so far?

I notice in my home which is a split level the entryway does smell and it is likely the hand rails that are wood and when it gets humid and hot the wood gives off an odor like cedar

Im dealing with this issue right now and I’ve done everything I can think of. Strongly considering moving as it bothers me so badly I can’t eat at times. If the weather isn’t too hot, I don’t smell the horrible woody smell. I read somewhere that it could be humidity from the crawl space under the house, which has a dirt floor. The previous owners had a rodent problem also, which freaks me out. I’ve cloroxed every inch of this place! I just want the smell to GO AWAY!!!! 😭😭

Keep the air conditioning nice and cool and that will help alleviate the smell. Also if the humidity gets to 60% get a dehumidifier going.

Tori, you might consider covering the soil under the house with plastic sheeting to reduce the moisture evaporating off the soil.

Is the house sealed well? Really really well.

Same issue here. I'm in the UK but same sawdusty smell/some times bordering on stale farts. It gets worse in the heat and goes on cold days. We've had a bout of humid weather here and its pretty bad now. I'm in a brick construction house, new build house with a concrete foundation and cavity walls. There is a small gap behind my toilet to the exposed cavity that I think its originating from. Still investigating I'll update if I get to the bottom of it.

please i welcome your comnents. every evening my apartment i smell something like smoke or a smell that causes me to cough my eyes burn and i have a nagging cough. it is becoming scary. i dont smoke nor use recreational drugs. i do live near refinieries carson california. i rarely open my windows because my unit faces the street. its a new senior building i am getting desperate. i even purchased the rainmate which has help a little. I have never felt this way before am trying to move.

Jeffrey, this could just mean the condenser coil and air filter in your HVAC have absorbed too much of the smell in the past. This could be due to the location near the refineries, or a previous tenant who smoked. Giving the coil a good cleaning and replacing the filter might be all you need! Cheers.

Twintech Heating & Cooling

https://twintechheating.ca/

One further update on my problem. Seems like the smell is actually sewer gass. We had some heavy rains and humid conditions and the whole street smelled the same from the drains. We since had a camera into our pipework and the pipe is cracked at the point it enters the house letting gas into the cavity. Who knew it could smell so sickly sweet.

Could you clarify which pipe work you are referring to? I have a similar problem and I’m
going nuts as well. It’s also hard to find someone who can help you figure a problem like this out. Did you end up calling a plumber? Or HVAC folks? thank you in advance!

I have a similar problem. I’ve noticed a smoky smell, that comes and go. I can’t follow it. I only smell it in my room and a hint of it in the living room and kitchen. Every other room is fine. When the weather was nice and cool, nothing. But last week, when the temperature went up, the smell became stronger. The strange thing is, when there is no fan/AC on, the smell is not that strong or noticeable. But when I turn on a fan (I have a desk fan and a ceiling fan and a window AC unit), the smell increases. Since I can’t seem to follow it, I’m not sure if it is coming from the attic space or the crawl space or if my computer/monitor is giving off that smell or is it an electrical problem. And it is DRIVING ME CRAZY!!! I have a hard time sleeping and I literally dread going into my room. I can’t seem to “air it out” and the smell becomes stronger. My parents are able to smell it too, so I know it’s not just me. So I’m not sure where to start on getting this all fixed, like who would I call? Ugh!!

Have you checked all your outlets and switches to see if anything is warm or hot? If it's worse when you use electricity, it's possible you have an overheating switch or outlet.

I've touched the outlets in my room and nothing feels warm or strange. I do have surge protectors plugged in and everything works, with no issues.

The scent just sorta lingers in and lingers out. I put my nose near my window and the smell is not there. The heater vent, no scent. If I lay on the left side of my bed (which is against a wall), I don't smell it. But when I lay on the right side, I can smell it.

I can't seem to follow it. The scent is not all over my room. It is mainly in one section of my room, which is near my computer. Where I can smell it more. I've had my computer and monitor off ever since last night (thinking maybe it is a computer issue). Yet I can still smell a little of it.

I have a ceiling fan, but I don't use it. I have put my nose in that area and nothing.

I did have some plumbing done earlier in April (blocked kitchen drain), where they installed new pipes. I have wondered if there is anything in the crawl space that could be causing it. Not sure where they dumped the crap that was blocked in my drain or if there is any leakage. But before I get someone. I guess I just wanna make sure I get the appropriate person like an inspector vs. a plumber vs. environment person. I'm a little on the larger side, so I can't just go in the crawl space with ease.

All I can recall, when the weather got hot, the scent started. I've lived in this house for 10 years and this is the first year I've smelled it. I can't seem to follow it. Still driving me crazy. HELP!!! lol.

dblmnt1x sorry for the slow response. We had a plumber, a CCTV camera survey of drains and a specific defect surveyor come round. There were two pipe problems. One in the pipe underground where it goes up into the house. Pipe will be patched. This is the foul sewer pipe which comes from our ensuite to ground. The second problem was with the soil pipe in the toilet not having an adequate seal into the main soil pipe that goes to ground.

Jane - if you’re still reading this threat .. I’d love to hear if you found the root cause if your smell problem. How you described it, is exactly what we would write! This sounds like what we are going through, except, I would also add to us it almost smells like some sort of gas? My husband has smelled every inch of the house and nothing. He smells appears in different spots of the house, entryway, doorway, bedrooms etc.. house is relatively new, 11 years brick construction. We did notice mostly in the summer . We can get a dehumidifier but feel like it would be putting on a bandait, rather than finding the root cause. Clearly the humid reacts with something causing the smell.

We had a roommate move out and mind you the house is brand new... can’t get this hamster cage smell out of his room. There was a body odor funk in the room and he smoked tobacco mixed with weed in a bong. We smoke weed in the house and that’s not an issue but what the hell is the ordor from that room?? I can’t get rid of it. no carpet either.

I realize this post is 9+ years old BUT I just googled searched the same exact “hamster smell” issue and came across this article. It was contained to my living room and driving me NUTS. I also read several other articles and low and behold- I figured it out! Turns out the smell is from my artificial boxwood wreath that I have hanging on the front door (and baking in the sun). Can’t believe that’s what the smell is from!!

I have a basement with an open sump pump in the floor. I run a dehumidifier 24/7. All year. This will add to your electric bill but there is no choice. Also if you do not use all of your tubs, showers and sinks regularly the P trap will dry out and sewer gasses will intrude. I live alone and have no reason to use all of the bathrooms. So I pour a full kettle of boiling water into each drain once a week. A dead rodent in a wall or a colony of live ones will also smell. Look for mouse droppings.

Hi everyone i am having the same problem. the smell is randomly in between my kitchen and living room. i live in a two family house and the same thing is happening in the other unit where my parents live. i had PSEG come here and test all the gas lines becayse i was leaning more toward a gas leak but nothing anywhere. its only the first floor that smells of each side and not in the badement nor the second floor or roof. i dont know how to describe the smell but it kind of smells like a very light rotten egg smell or hamster cage smell. it only comes out when its super humid. this is our first summer here and we did not smell anything at all all winter. have a humisity monitor set up and it reads between 45-50 every day. trying to find the source of this smell is killing me ! i spoke to a plumber on the phone and he said he doesnt think it has anything to do with plumbing but he will be here early next week to inspect. We do not see any leaks anywhere or mold growing anywhere. we always have a dehunidifer in the basement but again the smell is random on the first floor- normally between the kitchen and living room. No animal droppings anywhere and we regularly have pestiside control spray our house for preventative purposes.

any suggestions would be great!

I have a similar issue with a bedroom partially over a garage. The hotter the day the more it smells like b.o. I can tell by the wall temperature in winter in one spot they did not insulate it properly when the house was built. Not sure if there is mold too. Trying to decide on injecting insulation in the wall or to take down the drywall. If I take down the drywall I have to consider do I do this on the bedroom side or the garage.

Have the same issue in a complete renovation down to the studs. Although the house did have water damage issues and on a slab, it's close to air tight from anything old. I thought the AC was pulling wall cavity air or attic air but I've sealed everything. I'm at 59 percent humidity indoors even with air on. When I run the dehumidifier it's seems to eliminate it. Could also be the salt air because my clothes and car interior smell funny when I get to my other home. Weird

@Triad Do you have any concrete floors that may have had something get into them like pet pee? What does it actually smell like? Chemicals, mildew, dead things?

@HU-6141 - Late reply but a wall between heated and unheated space should have a vapor barrier on the inside, so you'd probably want to insulate it by removing the inside drywall rather than the outside. You could do some exploratory drilling through the drywall to find out where there is insulation and where there isn't any. I would be concerned about injecting foam when you don't actually know what's in there.JMHO.

The smell is hard to describe. Kinda like a bad primer smell mixed in with insulation and damp.. Hard to pinpoint. Not a musty moldy smell because I know what that is and EVERYTHING in this house is new. There is a vapor barrier under the concrete, I know because I cut through to add to the plumbing. I did put plastic down again and new concrete over. The concrete floor was painted with Zissner's sealer as well as all the wood floors prior to carpet. I thought it could be coming from the ground even through everything is foam sealed - but can't get every square inch. Having said that, just last week I added to gable vents at the peak of the front part of the house and I have noticed a change in smell. I think the insulation smell is gone. I believe the attic got so hot it began to come in around the recessed lights and other fixtures. Stupid contractor sided over the old gable vents. So when I walked into the house the other day when I arrived here, it smelled like dampness- water basically - 60% humidity. If I run the dehumidifier it seems to go away. This house is in a forrest although I had all my trees removed there are plenty of others. So dampness, rotting tree roots, leaves, etc is present all the time. I'm also a few miles from the ocean and the ground is basically sand. Tough to paint the real picture but I was just commenting because it is frustrating when you renovate an entire house and still get a sniff of something not right.

If there was a total reno, maybe one or more of the materials is giving it off. If so it will fade with time. And colder weather is coming so that should help too.