Tenant complains of foul smell

[Pero Konjevich]

I recently rented out a house to a couple that lost their house due to fire. It’s been constant nitpicking (he’s an engineer) the house was a complete rehab; nothing wrong with it. He called me this morning complaining of a foul smell that it is unlivable. He’s got an ozone generator working. I was just there- all I smell is ozone. I’m making an appointment to see about duct cleaning and have picked up some ozonium. Any suggestions? I’ve been around many smelly places and have no idea what the issue is here or if he’s using this as ammo to get out of his lease. Suggestions please

[Account Closed]

We recently had a similar issue at a vacation rental we remodeled.

There was a wafting sewer smell that couldn't be anything other than "hint of poop."  Yuck.

After calling a plumber, he discovered the washing machine drain (recently added) didn't have a P Trap.

If you can access the crawlspace make sure all your drains have a P Trap and they are full of water.  Otherwise sewer gas can creep up and get into the house.  

If the tenant is looking to get out of his lease, you should encourage him to go.  Get a new tenant and say bye to the headache!