Buying a flat, damp smell, help!

Toptenor

Lets be logical about this you've got a good flat there. Don't throw it away.
You smell damp, your mother smells damp.
1. First, lift the carpets (not just one corner). Check the underlay to see if its damp. Don't just feel the top side of the carpet.
From the smell you describe I would not be surprised if that's where the problem lies.

2. If that's where the smell is coming from we then have to establish where the water is coming or where it came from. Could be a leak in a central heating radiator or accidental spillage from whatever.

3. If the carpets are all dry invest in a moisture meter. I have used the "Seally" which definitely shows the difference between dry material and wet, be it masonry or wood.
Check round all the walls, floors and ceiling.

Don't pay some guy a fancy fee to tell you you've got smelly carpets.

Lets know how you get on.

DieHard

I have been so busy I haven't had time to respond to all the helpful advice I have received in this thread so I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to reply.

Obviously the weather conditions have been really bad. The flat is on the ground floor and there is a wet patch on the outside wall starting at the bottom of the outside wall and going in a semi circle, stopping about half way under the kitchen window. I thought it was where the snow had been resting on the wall but the snow has now gone but the wet patch is still there. It only affects the wall outside my flat (it is the wall outside the kitchen). It doesn't effect any of the other the ground floor flats (although they are in a different position) and it does not effect the walls on the first and second floor of my building.

The guttering is now broken (because of the snow). It is still there but it is now twisted. I am not sure if this wet patch is due to the guttering being broken or because of the position of that side of the building, because the guttering is twisted in other places as well but my flat is the only one that has a damp patch on the wall. At best I am hoping it is a combination of the guttering being broken and the position of that wall. I looked at the brickwork and it is good but the cement between the bricks is crumbling very slightly at the bottom and the damp proofing (I think that is what it is it is like a black plastic material) is now slightly exposed on the cement one brick up from the ground.

This part of the wall is the only part where you can see this black material on the whole building. it is not exposed very much maybe a millimetre at the most. The extent of the crumbling is very fine, it is just very light at the moment. Could that have been causing the damp smell? How long is it safe to leave this damp patch on the outside wall. Does it do more damage the longer it is allowed to seep in? How long would it take to effect the internals of my flat?

I don't even know if the two things are connected, would it be possible to smell damp in the hallway because a wall was wet on the outside?

I found out what the wet dog smell was. I spoke to a neighbour and they did have a dog! A bulldog. Every time I went to visit there was no evidence of a dog what so ever. I now think the smell I could smell is independent of the smell my dad could smell. I only started smelling this when the weather turned worse. I couldn't smell it when I first went to see the flat in the summer where as my dad could smell the wet dog smell right from the start.

What does everyone think, does the flat have damp? There are still no internal signs of damp.

olibrofiz

Just a thought, and I'm not an expert, but a crescent shaped wet mark on the wall may signify something leaking/dripping continuously from above - possibly guttering? Or maybe an overflow pipe?

A black line to indicate the DPC is normally visible in a line across all the brickwork isn't it? Not just becoming apparent as the cement between the bricks is crumbling. There should also be a brick & half to two bricks clear between the DPC membrane and the ground, right along the line, minimum.

I'd definately get an independant DPC company out to have a look at both the damp on the external wall, the DPC membrane and any signs of damp inside.

As for the wet dog smell, the first thing that came to mind was that they probably had a dog but hid it away as per 'how to sell your house' guidelines - probably why they had the windows open too

DieHard

Thanks Olibrofiz, I think it is the guttering. It is not the overflow pipe because there is no one there. I know that you can sometimes see the DPC sticking through the cement because I have seen it before, but it is only visible here where the patch is and it is quite a long section of wall. Where there is no damp patch you can't see the DPC along the same line, I am fairly sure some of the cement has crumbled away - not much kind because I think it the DPC is close to the cement but a tiny bit. I am getting a DPC company out, so cheers for the advice.

Toptenor

[QUOTE

I'd definately get an independant DPC company out to have a look at both the damp on the external wall, the DPC membrane and any signs of damp inside.

[/QUOTE]

Call in that DPC company and I would be very surprised if they didn't tell you you needed a new DPC!!

If you can't find any evidence of dampness inside what are you worrying about. Its not rocket science. You will probably see sooner or later what's causing the damp patch outside.

DieHard

I found out what was causing the damp smell. It was the sink in the kitchen. I took apart the pipes and they had this horrible black lining of slime. When I smelled the pipes they had an overpowering smell of foist/damp. I cleaned the pipes and the smell went. Problem solved.

I got the management company to fix the guttering and the damp patch on the wall outside disappeared so that problem was solved as well.

Unfortunately one problem still remains - the wet dog smell.

Since I moved in the smell has got worse, I think the reason for this is because I have the heating on and obviously hot air rises making the smell more noticable.

I have tried everything to get rid of that. I have used Borax, Bi carbonate of soda, Enzemye sprays, Fabreeze nothing is making a dent in it.

The bicarbonate of soda gets rid of the smell when it is down but the minute I vacuum it up the smell is back, when makes me think all it is doing is stopping the smell from rising from the carpet when the heating is on.

I feel quite lucky overall because it could have been a real nightmare but this wet dog smell is a real problem, it also smells a bit like sweaty feet. I don't think it will be a major problem when the summer comes because the heating will be off and the windows will be open, but I want to be sure of getting rid of the smell before then. Also, it doesn't affect the whole carpet it is only in specific areas.

Anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of it short of ripping up the carpets? I have already had it preofessionally cleaned and that didn't work.

Errata

Good to hear things have turned out well for you. The wet dog smell from the carpets may be coming from the underfelt and continually rising up into the carpets. No professional cleaning of the carpets or hoovering will get rid of it.

DieHard

Thanks Errata.

I am starting to think the same thing - that it is in the underfelt.

It will be a shame if I have to rip up the carpets because they are still pretty new and obviously it will cost to get new ones put down. The other thing that is bothering me is that I have moved my stuff in now so I will have to move it about to get new carpets fitted which I am not looking forward to, which is why I want to exhaust every possibility before doing it.

It would have been much easier to get new carpets done before I moved in properly.

The thing with the pipes has taught me that you have to destroy the cause of the smell. I don't think any amount of sink unblocker or similar products would would have worked on that sink. I needed to physically clean the inside of the pipes and I think it might be the same with the carpet.

poppysarah

DieHard wrote: »

Thanks Errata.

I am starting to think the same thing - that it is in the underfelt.

It will be a shame if I have to rip up the carpets because they are still pretty new and obviously it will cost to get new ones put down.

And what if it's in the floorboards?

olibrofiz

Good to hear you got the damp sorted DieHard :T

Doggie smells can be hard to eradicate. I bought a house where they'd had dogs and my dogs wouldn't touch any food if it fell on the carpet :eek: I ripped it all up and lived with bare concrete & floorboards for a while rather than put up with the thought of what had been on/under the carpet.