What makes a house smell like pee?

GoingUp

Lifer
Jul 31, 2002
16,720
1
71
So I'm doing some cleaning here, and I pull a vacuum out of a closet at the top of the stairs to notice, holy hell, what is that smell. It smells like someone pissed at the top of the stairs.

I have no pets. I don't pee on my carpets either. There are no marks on the ceiling indicating water or pee leakage. My neighbor came over and concurred with me on the smell. The one who lives below me doesn't notice any smell.

I've flushed all the toilets, ran the showers and the sinks. I don't notice the smell anywhere else except the top of my stairs in about a 6x6 foot area.

There were 4 small droplets on the carpet in the area, that to me, looked yellow/brown, kind of pee like. They were dry and I didn't notice any pee smell when I bent down to smell them. I cleaned them with some carpet cleaner. I wonder if maybe somehow I got some mice in my place.

Anyone have any idea what could cause that smell to occur all of a sudden?

Edit: Now 2 hours later, the smell is gone... makes no sense.
 

irishScott

Lifer
Oct 10, 2006
21,562
3
0
Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
So I'm doing some cleaning here, and I pull a vacuum out of a closet at the top of the stairs to notice, holy hell, what is that smell. It smells like someone pissed at the top of the stairs.

I have no pets. I don't pee on my carpets either. There are no marks on the ceiling indicating water or pee leakage. My neighbor came over and concurred with me on the smell. The one who lives below me doesn't notice any smell.

I've flushed all the toilets, ran the showers and the sinks. I don't notice the smell anywhere else except the top of my stairs in about a 6x6 foot area.

There were 4 small droplets on the carpet in the area, that to me, looked yellow/brown, kind of pee like. They were dry and I didn't notice any pee smell when I bent down to smell them. I cleaned them with some carpet cleaner. I wonder if maybe somehow I got some mice in my place.

Anyone have any idea what could cause that smell to occur all of a sudden?

So it smells like piss in the air, but not on the carpet? :confused:
 

GoingUp

Lifer
Jul 31, 2002
16,720
1
71
Originally posted by: irishScott
Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
So I'm doing some cleaning here, and I pull a vacuum out of a closet at the top of the stairs to notice, holy hell, what is that smell. It smells like someone pissed at the top of the stairs.

I have no pets. I don't pee on my carpets either. There are no marks on the ceiling indicating water or pee leakage. My neighbor came over and concurred with me on the smell. The one who lives below me doesn't notice any smell.

I've flushed all the toilets, ran the showers and the sinks. I don't notice the smell anywhere else except the top of my stairs in about a 6x6 foot area.

There were 4 small droplets on the carpet in the area, that to me, looked yellow/brown, kind of pee like. They were dry and I didn't notice any pee smell when I bent down to smell them. I cleaned them with some carpet cleaner. I wonder if maybe somehow I got some mice in my place.

Anyone have any idea what could cause that smell to occur all of a sudden?

So it smells like piss in the air, but not on the carpet? :confused:

Correct, which makes no sense.

Edit: And if I walk 8 feet away from the area, I no longer smell it.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,544
924
126
Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
So I'm doing some cleaning here, and I pull a vacuum out of a closet at the top of the stairs to notice, holy hell, what is that smell. It smells like someone pissed at the top of the stairs.

I have no pets. I don't pee on my carpets either. There are no marks on the ceiling indicating water or pee leakage. My neighbor came over and concurred with me on the smell. The one who lives below me doesn't notice any smell.

I've flushed all the toilets, ran the showers and the sinks. I don't notice the smell anywhere else except the top of my stairs in about a 6x6 foot area.

There were 4 small droplets on the carpet in the area, that to me, looked yellow/brown, kind of pee like. They were dry and I didn't notice any pee smell when I bent down to smell them. I cleaned them with some carpet cleaner. I wonder if maybe somehow I got some mice in my place.

Anyone have any idea what could cause that smell to occur all of a sudden?

Okay, how long have you lived there?
 

compuwiz1

Admin Emeritus Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
27,111
926
126
Could be some bacterial growth in the vacuum bag, where the smell escapes into the air.
 

GoingUp

Lifer
Jul 31, 2002
16,720
1
71
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Could be some bacterial growth in the vacuum bag, where the smell escapes into the air.

Bagless Vacuum, and I opened the canister and smelled to check. Nothing.
 

GoingUp

Lifer
Jul 31, 2002
16,720
1
71
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
So I'm doing some cleaning here, and I pull a vacuum out of a closet at the top of the stairs to notice, holy hell, what is that smell. It smells like someone pissed at the top of the stairs.

I have no pets. I don't pee on my carpets either. There are no marks on the ceiling indicating water or pee leakage. My neighbor came over and concurred with me on the smell. The one who lives below me doesn't notice any smell.

I've flushed all the toilets, ran the showers and the sinks. I don't notice the smell anywhere else except the top of my stairs in about a 6x6 foot area.

There were 4 small droplets on the carpet in the area, that to me, looked yellow/brown, kind of pee like. They were dry and I didn't notice any pee smell when I bent down to smell them. I cleaned them with some carpet cleaner. I wonder if maybe somehow I got some mice in my place.

Anyone have any idea what could cause that smell to occur all of a sudden?

Okay, how long have you lived there?

Lived here almost 2 years. Didn't notice the smell at all yesterday and I was in the area several times for sure. Don't remember noticing it at all earlier tonight until I went to go get the vacuum.
 

Squisher

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
21,204
66
91
This is an apartment/duplex? You said you had a neighbor below you. Do you have one above you? If yes, it could be the wax seal on his toilet. Get on a ladder and see if the smell is stronger at the ceiling.
 
Jun 4, 2005
19,723
1
0
I have a heating vent right to the left of my toilet. I remember missing the toilet one morning and pissing into it a bit. Turning on the heat brought about a horrid smell. Could this be the case for you?

But speaking of inexplicable pee, I could smell skunk piss in the basement, very faint, but I couldn't smell it anywhere else (outside, around the house, etc).