For the past three weeks or so, almost every night starting around 11 PM, a thick, nasty smell has drifted in from outside. It’s something like an over-chlorinated indoor pool, with an overtone of corn chips. Basically like concentrated locker room funk. You can still smell it around dawn but then it seems to dissipate quickly.
Anyway, it’s really noxious and making us feel like crap. Itchy eyes, short of breath,etc. It’s hard to get to sleep, too. I was thinking that maybe our water was getting shocked with chloramine or whatever it is they do out here, but a quick look at the town website wasn’t helpful.
We live in a small city in Indiana, if that’s helpful. Right near downtown, not right by farms or anything. The only thing like this in the past that we’ve experienced is that there’s a Purina plant that operates in full-bore once a year or so, and then you get a lovely smell of dog food for a few weeks. :rolleyes:
Any ideas? Can I…call somebody and ask about it, without sounding like that lady?
The Inidana EPA might be a place to start. I grew up in a city with a bunch of chemical plants, and the state EPA was who got the calls when there were noxious odors.
My first guess are the trees that we affectionately call “cum bushes” because they reek like semen (and a bit like chlorine) - but that’s very seasonal.
I may try that, but I was hoping for something more local.
It’s been happening just a few weeks. I know what you mean, though…in my old place we had some ornamental pears (I think) that were really (ob)noxious, but this is much worse. Also, this only ever stinks at night and it’s like clockwork. It did not smell Sunday night, though.
Ha! I thought of that, and looked it up right after I posted this. Oddly enough, a house just blew up across town last month due, apparently, to meth manufacture. I wouldn’t rule it out, but this isn’t exactly the odor I would expect. Not that I am an expert chemist. But who knows?
Sadly, there is a lot of that sort of thing out here.
Your description did make me think of Callery/Bradford pear trees, but it’s the wrong time of year for that particular reek.
Have you noticed a prevailing wind shift between day and night? It may be something that’s producing the smell all the time, but the wind direction keeps it away from you during the day. That would at least give you a direction to start looking for the source.
It hasn’t been particularly windy lately, but I’m not one who would be aware of wind direction. I could look on the weather website though. Good thought, thanks.