Is anyone awake?

[katespade]

-poof-

[NandaB]

In case you're still up, he's being a dick, but it's probably not even gas if it smelled like old milk. and even if it was shutting off the gas to the furnace would stop a leak, right? If you know you have a rodent problem it could be the food they are bringing into your walls that you smell. Which is gross, but not fatal.

[katespade]

ewall - I'm planning on calling the gas company as soon as H gets up for work. My hope is that they'll come out to let me know if there really is an issue (H doesn't think it's a leak, he thinks it's a pilot light issue) and then maybe they can recommend a company that would be able to come over and work on it on a Sunday.

[katespade]

ewall - We have a carbon monoxide detector, which is right next to where the smell was the strongest, and it hasn't gone off at all. The rational side of me recognizes that's a good thing, but I'm someone with severe anxiety so my irrational side is definitely winning right now.

[katespade]

ewall - I hadn't thought about sewer gas. H seemed very confident that it's the furnace, but if that all checks out okay that's definitely something to look at. I don't think we have a floor drain anywhere, so I'm not sure how we would check it...

-poof-

Of course, this also had to happen when it's below freezing and not having heat suuuuucks.

[katespade]

Also, it's 3am and I'm still awake. Happy last day of vacation for me. :/

[estrellita]

I'm sorry I do think he's being a bit of a jerk about it. I agree that it's probably not a gas leak but he shouldn't have dismissed your concerns like that. Definitely call the gas company just to be sure. Hope you can get some sleep!

[katespade]

-poof-

[katespade]

-poof-

[Deleted]

I would be pissed at him! I'm glad they are coming out. I'm wondering if it's mold in your furnace. It's can be more like a dead animal smell or like rotten food.

Smell can be a good thing since carbon monoxide is usually scentless. And if your detector isn't going off, I'm not too worried about that.

[katespade]

@emtmissy - The initial responder just left. He didn't detect any gas in the house, but went ahead and turned off the gas to the house just in case. Now, I wait 1.5-2 hours or so for the furnace guy, who will try to figure out what's going on with it.

Meanwhile, it's 60 degrees in my house, the dogs and I are huddling for warmth, and H has suddenly decided that he wants to be involved by texting me about things I've already done and/or taken care of. FFS.

At least I know that my house isn't about to explode. I'm very seriously considering a transition from gas to electric. The only gas we have is the furnace and water heater, and I know that the water heater will need to be replaced soon. We'll see what they say about the furnace today.

[travelbug]

I made myself a delicious breakfast and drinking some coffee to wake up! I am off work today, yes!! Already dropped hubs at work for the WHOLE day. I'm thrilled to have over 10 hours by myself! I have a detox appointment at 1, other than that I'll be relaxing, packing, cleaning and crafting in prep for our trip on Tuesday morning

[travelbug]

katespade Ugh! I would have been pissed. I'm glad everything is turning out like it's not the gas, I hope you figure out what's wrong!

[melsamoony]

katespade can you make yourself some tea/coffee to help warm up?

[katespade]

melsamoony - Unfortunately, my tea kettle is in the dishwasher. I'm expecting the furnace guy in the next hour or so, though, so it should be fine. I have blankets and layers and dogs. My biggest problem is how to stay awake. I'm so tired from being awake all night.

[melsamoony]

katespade (hugs) hopefully this is a quick fix and you can snuggle in and sleep soon.

[katespade]

travelbug - Yeah, I feel relieved to know that there doesn't seem to be any gas leaking into the house. There's definitely still something going on with the furnace, but at least it's not that.

[amaranth]

katespade I would've been so angry too. At least ask nicely if you could take care of the issue while he works. A little politeness goes a long way.

I hope the furnace guy finds an easy resolution.

travelbug what is a detox appointment?

[travelbug]

amaranth To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I've never done it. But from what this lady does, it's a foot soak that removes toxins from the body through your feet. It takes 30 minutes, then she "reads" the nasty water and tells you what organs etc in the body need improvement. It's all natural. I work with her at my job, so I am getting a super good deal. Apparently, it makes you feel really good after. But, again, I am not sure if it's just Mumbo jumbo haha! I'm excited to try it out!

[amaranth]

Dec 18, 2016 11:38:43 GMT -5 travelbug said:

amaranth To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I've never done it. But from what this lady does, it's a foot soak that removes toxins from the body through your feet. It takes 30 minutes, then she "reads" the nasty water and tells you what organs etc in the body need improvement. It's all natural. I work with her at my job, so I am getting a super good deal. Apparently, it makes you feel really good after. But, again, I am not sure if it's just Mumbo jumbo haha! I'm excited to try it out!

Sounds...farfetched. lol. But if it's relaxing then who cares

[katespade]

Verdict - Leak in the furnace and a dead animal somewhere in the ducts. The leak isn't major, so she left the gas on and gave me the okay to use it. Now I've got to figure out how much it's going to cost to get the furnace serviced, the leak fixed, and the dead animal found/removed. But at least I know we aren't in danger and it doesn't have to happen today.

[estrellita]

Glad you figured out the cause of the smell and that it's nothing serious! Hope you're able to figure out how to get rid of it quickly!

[katespade]

I'm going to get some recommendations from the gas company, and then I'll start calling around tomorrow morning. Hopefully I can find someone who can come out this week to take care of everything. I don't know how reasonable that timeline is, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It's a good thing we haven't done much Christmas shopping yet. I have no idea how much this is going to cost.

[awick14]

katespade- I'm glad you got it figured out. Could the person you had come out to look at your furnace not give you a quote to fix it?

And in regards to getting the dead animal out of there you should be able to get the furnace company who fixes the furnace to clean your ducts for you and in the process they should be able to get the animal out.

Then call an exterminator and see if they can help with the rat problem.

[grover]

While the smell and thought of a dead animal are gross, I'm glad that's all it is. We had dead birds in our bathroom vent at the townhouse that H removed. Just make sure to have whoever removes the animal figure out how they got in there and seal it off- H and FIL put up one vent cover, and the damn birds figured out how to get around it so we had round two of dead birds.

[wanderingenough]

Hugs katespade! Glad it's not a major deal.

I survived 24 hrs with my inlaws. Highlights. My MIL still likes to "help" clean up the counters by then leaving soaking wet paper towels in my kitchen sink for me to then have to fish out of the bottom later. She has also added throwing goldfish cracker baggies and coke cans in there to her repertoire. Trash can? Anyone? Anyone?

[katespade]

awick14 - The person who came out was with the gas company, so their goal was to make sure that the furnace was safe to be running. They don't do any actual repairs, so she was able to give me some ideas about cost but not an actual estimate.

H is reaching out to his brother to see if he would be willing to crawl under the house, just in case the companies we call tell us it will be a bit of a wait for an appointment.

You make a really good point about the exterminator. I hadn't thought about that, especially if we can't find an obvious way that they're getting under the house.

[katespade]

-poof-

[awick14]

katespade- that makes sense.

With the exterminator they can also help you find ways that they are getting in. The furnace company can help you figure out how they are getting into the ducts and fix that problem but it won't solve how they are getting into the house.

And your H needs to apologize. I would be pissed if I was treated like that.

[krystee]

Dec 18, 2016 12:07:45 GMT -5 katespade said:

Verdict - Leak in the furnace and a dead animal somewhere in the ducts. The leak isn't major, so she left the gas on and gave me the okay to use it. Now I've got to figure out how much it's going to cost to get the furnace serviced, the leak fixed, and the dead animal found/removed. But at least I know we aren't in danger and it doesn't have to happen today.

We just had the exact same thing happen! The cost was $500, but it may have been high because we needed to fix it immediately (it's our rental house with tenants in it), so we didn't shop around.