Overheard a client in Cincinnati say they never use their fireplace because of the smell

I was cleaning up after a job and the homeowner mentioned they only light a fire once a year due to a weird, damp odor the rest of the time. I checked and their chimney cap was totally clogged with leaves, which was trapping moisture. What's the most unusual cause of a chimney smell you've found?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicec8626d ago

Oh man, clogged caps are classic. Ever find a chimney that smelled like a dead animal? I had one that turned out to be a squirrel nest packed with old walnuts. The whole thing was basically rotting in the flue. The smell was so bad the family thought their basement drain had backed up. Took forever to clean all that mush out.

the_susan26d agoMost Upvoted

Dead animal smell is a bit dramatic. Could just be some old leaves and damp.

elizabethwhite24d ago

Trust me, you KNOW when it's a dead animal. Leaves and damp don't make you gag from three rooms away. My own house once had a smell so foul I was convinced a rat died in the wall. Tore up the floorboards only to find a single, very old potato that rolled under the fridge. Felt like a real genius that day.