Inspected a large home about 3 weeks ago. Buyer moved in and after a couple of days noticed what they called a kerosene/citronella smell in the basement mechanical area. The mechanical area contains the water heater, furnace, sewage pump, and new radon mitigation system. I went back to the home at the request of my client to investigate. There was an obvious smell when I opened the mechanical room door. The smell is nowhere else in the house. The buyer isn’t upset because we were together during the inspection and the smell was not present. Hoping someone on the forum may be able to give some insight.
List of facts:
Smell (kerosene/citronella) is only on the 8’ x 10’ mechanical room in the basement.
Radon mitigation system installed in mechanical room but smell wasn’t present until 2 to 3 days after installation. (smell definitely wouldn’t be caused by radon gas as there is no odor)
There are no gas leaks.
Furnace is gas. No heating oil systems or oil storage present.
Buyers are painting home but only on the 1st floor.
Any thoughts? If you have questions, I can provide more data.
Inspect the Radon System: Check the sealant, caulk, and fan for any chemical odors. Maybe, contact the installer to confirm what materials were used and whether they could off-gas.
Open the door and drive air out with a fan, see if it gets better or worse.
Actively run the furnace, see if it gets better or worse. Same with the sump pump.
You need to see if the smell is in the room or getting pulled into the room. Bring a woman along. They have better noses than men. Seriously, they do when it comes to anything that stinks. Maybe they just bitch about it more though
Hi Robert,
It is a gas water heater.
There was no back drafting when I did the inspection.
Citronella ants - had no idea. Thank you for this!
I’m going back on Monday evening and will look for this.
Kerosene is used to slow the decomposition of body tissue and can be used for humans as well as animals. Citronella is used as a repellent for insects that are attracted to decomposing remains. Being this is in a basement I suspect there is a cadaver stored there out of site the prior owner was trying to hide.
Or it could just be the smell from where they stored their old Tiki Torches which also used kerosene and citronella.
My first guess would be the sewage pump. it’s possible that there’s a combination of smells that you’re smelling, but I would start with the pump system and check for any pin hole leaks in the pit and plumbing including the vent.
This should be an unlikely cause, but possibly a buried fuel tank that has leaked over the years, now the radon mitigation is pulling in the odors from the ground. Again, that should be unlikely, as the radon system should be completely sealed. How old is the home?
My bet would be on an accidental spill of something during move out from prior owners. I liked Mark’s idea about ventilating the space and seeing if it gets better. If you can open some windows and add some fans, does it improve over time?
