What might be causing the "perm" smell in my laundry room in the basement? How

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   Marty82posted 13 years ago

   What might be causing the "perm" smell in my laundry room in the basement?  How do I get rid of it?
   
   I have a "perm" smell coming from our laundry room in the basement.  What might it be and how do we get rid of it?  We have city water and sewer if that helps.

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2. 60

   peterxdunnposted 13 years ago

   If by 'perm' smell you mean a peroxide or ammonia type stink then it could be the urine of cats or (shock horror) rats/mice that is causing the odour. Look for points of entry and droppings along the skirting at the bottom of the walls.
   
   Another possibility might be a leak in an interior drainpipe - check any joints in pipes that run down through the basement.
   
   Then there is the washing machines themselves. These will be fitted with filters that remove fibres from the water when the machines empty and go into the spin cycle. This prevents blocked pipe-work. Along with the fibres there will also be an accumulation of skin scales that could be rotting merrily away -and causing a stink - if the filters haven't been cleaned out on a regular basis.

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3. 57

   faucetman886posted 13 years ago

   As many of my articles point out unpleasant smells eminating from plumbed areas usually involve sewer gas seeping back into the room because of faulty traps, leaking drain lines or an accumalation of mold. These smells usually take on a sulfur or rotten egg smell or simply smell of urine or defecation. "Perm" smells smack of ammonia to me which would normally indicate a urine leakage from somewhere. I would begin by checking you "p" traps in the laundry room to make sure they have water in them. if you have a floor drain in the laundry room you should be able to see water in it keeping methane gas from backing up. If those sources are ok I would inspect the gaskets around the washing machine door for bacterial growth, check above the laundry room for leaks from plumbing fixtures above, i.e. if there is a bathroom above the laundry room I would suspect a leaking toilet. Please refer to my blogsite for many other articles that I have written regarding smells and hopefully you will find a better understanding of what types of things cause smells and how to fix the problem.

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