# Strange smell in my dorm -- what could it be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516 "2003-10-09T18:48:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/1 "2003-10-09T18:48:50Z")
It’s the OP vaporizing! Run away! ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/2 "2003-10-09T18:48:50Z")
It could be a dead squirrel in the walls. It could be your bathroom, which hasn’t been cleaned yet this year. It could be a gas leak from the furnace. It might be you. Have you showered today? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/3 "2003-10-09T18:54:27Z")
1984 pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/4 "2003-10-09T18:55:41Z")
Victory. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/5 "2003-10-09T18:57:34Z")
Teen Spirit. ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/6 "2003-10-09T18:57:49Z")
Damnit. Very funny, y’all. The hamsters eat my post and everyone jumps out to mock it’s crumbs. Hah hah hah. Anyway, I was trying to say that everyone in my dorm suite has been driven out by the odd, almost chemical smell. If you stay in there more than a few minutes, you get a headache and your throat starts itching. Management is perplexed but they say it’s not natural gas. Any ideas??? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/7 "2003-10-09T18:58:08Z")
Teen spirit. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/8 "2003-10-09T18:59:22Z")
Aargh! I’m a loser, baby… ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/9 "2003-10-09T19:05:21Z")
Since it’s a dorm, you can rule out cleaners. Oh wait, that’s only true for the boys’ dorms. Has anyone been cleaning stuff **Nichol**? Some cleaners can be pretty noxious in small spaces. Even worse, has someone been mixing cleaners? ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/10 "2003-10-09T19:07:47Z")
I’ve found that my life is much simpler if you always assume, until proven otherwise, that monkey feces are somehow involved. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/11 "2003-10-09T19:10:48Z")
Ah, it’s a 1920’s style “Roach Spray”. ---
**Author:** ![peri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@peri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peri)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/12 "2003-10-09T19:25:06Z")
Was new carpeting installed this semester? New finish or paint on furniture or walls? Do you have a stove or furnace with a standing pilot light? Many materials in the home produce vapors when new. Add a small flame to the mix and it’s instant asphyxiation time. None of the above applies? Midterm angst. ---
**Author:** ![Wyatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@Wyatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyatt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/13 "2003-10-09T19:25:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rue DeDay \* > \*\* Even worse, has someone been mixing cleaners? \*\* _steps up behind the bar_ OooooKay… it’s mixed cleaners for y’all, on **Rue’s** tab! What’ll ya have? seriously… I’d be checking the exhaust venting on heaters and stuff … then look for badly applied bug spray … or do you have a roomie with a cologne addiction? ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/14 "2003-10-09T19:40:58Z")
Any art students working on a project in your dorm? Some of the chemicals used in art projects can be pretty potent. ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/15 "2003-10-09T20:33:32Z")
I’d go with mixed cleaners too. …or perhaps bugspray… …or a rotten watermelon (which is still stinking up my room after over a week of being gone and cleaned out)… …or perhaps an unemptied garbage disposal. Nah. It’s Teen Spirit. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/16 "2003-10-09T20:35:45Z")
Your feet? ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/17 "2003-10-09T20:55:14Z")
Angst. And semen. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/18 "2003-10-09T20:56:31Z")
Your pits? ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/19 "2003-10-09T20:57:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EddyTeddyFreddy \* > \*\*Ah, it’s a 1920’s style “Roach Spray”. \*\* Are those the kind that resemble 1910-style Tire Pumps? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516/20 "2003-10-09T21:00:29Z")
Re: Strange smell. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nichol\_storm \* > \*\*Management is perplexed but they say it’s not natural gas. \*\* Ummmm… is this something they monitor? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-smell-in-my-dorm-what-could-it-be/206516.md?page=2)