Fish Smell

[The Maid]

If anyone can solve this mystery, you will be declared a genius. We have been living here for two years, it's a 100 year old home which we completely renovated. We have the occasional smell (sometimes very strong) of fish...yes, FISH, in two corners of a room. It only last a couple of minutes and then then, that's it for maybe as long as a month or sometimes it'll happen twice in one day. I have been obscessed with finding the cause. We have paid electricians and plumbers to come in and after spending hundreds of dollars....the mystery istill remains unsolved. I even kept a weather and appliance and plumbing log for a few months to see if there was any type of pattern....nothing. The dead animal theory has obviously been ruled out.....what on erath can it be? It's not a gas leak smell, not a burning rubber smell, not a sewage smell and not a dead mouse smell either.
ANY suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.....

 

[Thermo]

check your light fittings. if you have old pendant ones then the material they used for them can smell of fish when they get hot (awaiting the bestowment of genius status as we speak)

 

[The Maid]

So sorry Thermo...can't award you the "Genius Award" yet. I had an electrician in already and he checked every light fixture, switch and outlet in the room. I also thought it could be that...after reading stuff on Google...but the whole house has been rewired. The problem is actually embarrasing because although it isn't continual, when we get blasted with the smell...it's so bad the dog runs from the room!
Is this weird or what? Please keep thinking for me.

P.S. Someone suggested we have a Priest in...

 

[JohnD]

as thermo says, fish smells are very common from overheated thermo-setting plastic (this is the sort that is hard, and doesn't melt again when it gets hot). If you've been rewired and you are sure there are no old brown electrical fittings, it can also be from an overloaded fitting, or one that has a bad connection in it that heats up. This is often a switch for a high-powered appliance such as a water heater, washing machine, drier etc. It can also be a junction box, if you have any. It can also be a lamp which has a bulb in it with a filament, as these get very hot. sometimes it is an electrical appliance with a heating element, but this is uncommon unless it is old or in poor condition. if your rewire re-used any old parts, or joined to them, they could be the source. Over here overloads are very rare due to our different socket wiring method.

Anything controled by a timer or thermostat might account for the irregular occurence. It might be something under the floor, including a ceiling fitting in the room below.

there is a faint chance that you might have something made with fish glue, such as antique furniture or leather-clad items, especially if they have got damp (which usually makes the glue fall apart). It is also found in occupation-era volkwagen beetles.

p.s. as an experiment, buy a cheap electrical switch or lampholder and put it on the stove until it chars, to see if that is the same kind of smell. It must be made of the hard glossy plastic.

 

[joe-90]

It's probably something that is leaking up from the earth under your house.

From Google:

Trimethylamine is a product of decomposition of plants and animals. It is the substance mainly responsible for the fishy odor often associated with fouling fish.

 

[Jasonb]

Got any MDF in the room that could be getting hot, when you overheat that while drilling, usually with a holesaw it smells of fish.

Jason

 

[The Maid]

John, Joe, Jason....you've all offered really interesting input. I've come to the conclusion that the whole electrical possibility has to be readdressed by an electrician (a better one, maybe). I've printed out your ideas to give to him in fact. The room has a computer at one end and a flat screen, wall mounted TV (wires inside walls) at the other end and the smell tends to be at both ends of the room but not right there (just in the area). I also went into the furnace room which is beneath the wall, not under the room but under the wall only, and noticed that there are some major wires that run in the ceiling which would be directly beneath the wall. But....if there were heating wires wouldn't the smell be continual versus occasionally? And one more thing...the wall was originally the outside wall of the house before the extension was built.
This room has no basement so the trimethylamine theory is also interesting but what would cause that from coming from the ground?
I have some MDF in the house but not in that room, Jason.

 

[pipublisher]

I had an occasional fishy/Copydex glue smell in an upstairs room for years, not there for weeks and then it would turn up but be impossible to trace - one of those cases of the harder you tried the weaker the smell, but if you were just passing through the room, the smell would be strong.

This is where it gets a bit far fetched....

A couple of years ago I was talking to a work colleague about the death of his grandfather and he mentioned that he and his wife had consulted a medium about a fishy smell in their house, and had been told that it was the spirit of his late grandfather who had been a keen angler, hence the smell. The way to get rid of it was just to tell the old man to go, which they did, and, bizarrely it had worked!

Anyway, to cut a long story short when the smell returned in my room I told it to go, and the smell has never returned.

Spooky or what?

 

[^woody^]

Spooky or what?

More cooky than spooky, IMO

Infrequent fish smells are most likely to be electrical fitting related. An electrician may not find a problem, as the circuit could be fine, but it is often due to a fitting heating up - especially older Bakelite or brown plastic ones.

It will have a non-specific location, and difficult to track to a specific area by smelling

Smells from the ground/rotting vegetation/animals tend to be more composty or rotting flesh flavour, and more persistant

 

[The Maid]

Thanks pipublisher for the spirit idea. Believe it or not, you are not the first person to tell me this. Listen...I'll try anything. I just hope it's a nice spirit and I don't offend him/her by politely asking him/her to leave.

I realize readers are now rolling their eyes...

Woody...forgive my ignornace, but what is a "fitting" in the electrical world? All my sockets, plugs, etc were checked...but maybe not the fittings. All the wiring is new, so wouldn't that eliminate the Bakelite theory or are they still used?

Coincidentally....we haven't had the smell for a couple of months. Yikes...touch wood!

 

[^woody^]

All your sockets, switches and light points etc are 'fittings'

Its the actual plastic of the fitting which heats and gives off the smell, not the cable. This is why it is random, and may not occur on every use of the fitting

Another clue is if the plastic is very discoloured.

 

[The Maid]

...thanks for the explanation, Woody. I've never observed any discolored plastic gizmos...but you've motivated me to reinvestigate this issue. One thing for sure...ghosts or melting plastics, I have to get to the bottom of this. Thanks for your help.

 

[roughcaster]

That's your accomodation booked up for the holiday to Canada ^Woody^, you'll just need the air fare and your'e off.

Roughcaster.

 

[The Maid]

...yes but wait a minute Roughcaster....before you offer to pay for his ticket....I may need someone who can deal with spirits in the house so Woody may not be my man. Thinking of calling a priest instead.

 

[roughcaster]

Hi Maid,
I've just cancelled the cheque for the air fair. Joking aside,are you serious about what you said about the priest?.... Look back amongst my previous posts to a reply I gave on Sat.5th January 2008. (page 11). Title:"Horrible Smell". I know these people that I refered to. He is in the RAF, his wife is a policewoman. Read it, it's an identical case.

Roughcaster.