Strange musty sweet smell in house

[kskipanst]

If you live in the country,,and have a septic system, you have drains in the hose, after time the water in the drains if not used much does start to smell as you stated, try putting baking soda in the drains, run hot water often to keep the traps clean, maybe help for your problem, but if you have septic system, that is what the smell is good luck
steve

[mike bielamowicz]

Your coil could be affected with DSS, Dirty Socks Syndrome. It is more common in Heat Pumps, but does occur is straight cool units in the summer.

[kingkayak]

Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr

Do you have a corn plant? Is it blooming?
You'd be surprised, if you have never experienced the fragrance of a blooming corn plant. It's just as you described it.

Thanks a lot. I too have been noticing a sickening sweet smell in my house for the last few days and my wife has not (no, it is not her). I have searched various responses on the internet, but when you mentioned the blooming corn plant, I remembered my wife told me that the our corn plan was blooming. And sure enough, when I get close to the plant, it sure is strong.

Thank you for saving me a lot concern about mildew, dead animals, smoldering house wiring, etc.

[twrenn]

Originally Posted by monkeygorilla

Does anyone have any idea what might be causing a strange musty sweet smell in our house? My husband barely notices it, but its driving me crazy!!!! Thanks.

You don't give enough info, I'm assuming you have a heat pump, need to know what kind, how old, the model, etc.

You say it is a "sweet smell", but the word "musty" brings up the red flag on "Dirty Sock Syndrome", which is an odor that comes when the heat pump goes into defrost mode in the heating season. Not all units do it. Mostly the higher efficiency jobs, like a 14 SEER or higher.

[my54ford]

Originally Posted by kskipanst

If you live in the country,,and have a septic system, you have drains in the hose, after time the water in the drains if not used much does start to smell as you stated, try putting baking soda in the drains, run hot water often to keep the traps clean, maybe help for your problem, but if you have septic system, that is what the smell is good luck
steve

Steves right, another thing to check is the roof vents. If you have lots of snow on the roof they may be covered forceing septic gas to seek other escape points....