House smells of weed... but no one smokes it?

(32 Posts)
Tau Fri 01-Mar-13 15:57:04

We are trying to sell our house, which isn't going well at all, and since a few days we have an added problem: the house smells very strongly of weed (aka pot, marihuana, cannabis). The smell comes and goes, and is currently the strongest in the main bedroom. Sometimes it can be smelled outside too.
We've had this happen every year, but I can't remember if it was always the same time of the year.

No one in our house smokes or grows it (Yes, I am sure my son is not the culprit - the smell is worst when he is in school anyway.)

I doubt it's the next door neighbours because the current neighbours are the third set we've had and they can't ALL have been heavy pot smokers! They don't seem the type anyway.

I've read that a plant called phlox can smell like that, but we don't have that plant and so far I cannot see it in any of the neighbours' gardens either.
To be honest it didn't bother us before, but now I fear that if we eventually get viewers this may put them off...

So, what could be causing this smell?

quoteunquote Fri 01-Mar-13 17:11:09

someone is growing nearby,

what type of house do you live in terrace, semi ?

CunfuddledAlways Fri 01-Mar-13 17:30:14

was going to ask if you had a teenager!! no idea otherwise!!

Agree with quoteunquote, someone must be growing nearby. My neighbour was growing for sure, he denied it when I asked him....funnily enough the smell has stopped

PigletJohn Fri 01-Mar-13 19:39:08

you might consider a powerful extractor fan, fitted to blow fresh air into the house to give it a slight overpressure and prevent the smell drifting in from neighbours.

There is a device called a Lofty that blows air in through the loft, but a neighbour's loft is a popular place for a plantation. Have you been up for a sniff?

Tau Fri 01-Mar-13 19:51:02

I live in an end of terrace. So only attached on one side, and I really don't think it is from those neighbours.. they have only just moved in, and they've been in and out carrying things so often that they wouldn't have had the time!
Besides, the smell was also here with two previous neighbours in that house. So it may be some neighbour, but not next door.
And I doubt that the very geriatric people who live further in the terrace are the culprits.. :-/

But yeah, maybe somebody is growing it nearby. Or is are those flowers... the smell is gone now, but I want to bet that it will be back tomorrow afternoon!

theborrower Fri 01-Mar-13 19:56:35

Are you sure it's weed??
I would also suggest that it's a neighbour. Have read several stories in the papers recently about people growing pot farms in houses and the stench gives it away. There was also an old couple that tended a massive plant of it in their garden, completely oblivious of what it was! So, you never know!

quoteunquote Fri 01-Mar-13 19:59:15

Does it have a sweet smell?

where is it strongest?

Have you ben in the attic?

quoteunquote Fri 01-Mar-13 19:59:41


In some terraces the loft space runs across all the houses - if this is the case it could be coming into the loft space from a house along the road and along through all the lofts then down into your house.

ChaChaDigregorio Fri 01-Mar-13 20:37:57

Bat poo smells like weed.

JaquelineHyde Fri 01-Mar-13 20:38:02

Hops can often smell of weed, is anyone home brewing?

Coconutty Fri 01-Mar-13 20:39:25

Is there a body in your neighbours loft?

GentlyGentlyOhDear Fri 01-Mar-13 21:43:33

We get this, but it is the neighbour's teenage soon and it comes in through the vents in our boiler cupboard and when we have the windows open. It's so bloody annoying so I feel your pain!!

GentlyGentlyOhDear Fri 01-Mar-13 21:43:46


I have had this in my sons room, turned out to be his school shoes, weird but true. Thrown them smell gone

earlyriser Fri 01-Mar-13 21:50:15

After painting our living room, there was a really strong smell of weed/ cat pee, especially when the sun shines. Have you painted recently?

lookoveryourshouldernow Fri 01-Mar-13 23:47:24

dietstartsmonday - funny you should say that we had exactly the same problem a few years back.

There was a vile smell of cat piss in the hall - very overpowering - we don't have cats. So I removed everything - steam cleaned the carpets, wash the walls etc etc etc etc - replaced everything but still the smell remained...

In the end we tracked it down to a pair of Nike football boots - which were on the shoe rack - they were rank.... a few months later I saw an article in a newspaper which mentioned that this was a known fault with the lining on these boots...

deste Fri 01-Mar-13 23:51:14

I had a strange smell in the kitchen, turned out it was hyacinth bulbs coming in to flower.

DreamingofNutella Sat 02-Mar-13 08:40:19

We've got this problem too but it definitely is our neighbours. It comes and goes in different parts of the house, depending on where they're smoking I guess. We're about to put the house on the market so any tips for overpowering/hiding the smell would be much appreciated!

WorriedMary Sat 02-Mar-13 08:43:21

My friend thought her neighbour was smoking weed because they could smell it in their bedroom.
It turned out to be a Seagrass (or similar) Basket in the bottom of the wardrobe. It was decaying.

Tau Sat 02-Mar-13 10:37:55

I am quite certain it is not coming from any of the neighbours in our four house terrace. Like I said, the ones next door are only just moving in, next to that is a VERY old man, and next to that a nice, polite, tidy family with four kids - of course they could be smoking weed, but they really don't seem the type!

We did paint the rooms, but that was very recent and we've had this smell before. There are bats here, so if bat poo smells like that, it could well be bats. If that's it, I don't mind. Quite fancy the idea of letting my attic out to bats!

No football boots here, and we don't keep shoes upstairs where the smell is.

We have a considerable amount of seagrass baskets, some are quite old... I guess I better inspect them.

I have not been in the attic. It is not solidly floored, and I don't really want to go up there... dark, wobbly, dusty and high ... all the things I dislike. But yeah, there could well be something up there left behind from the previous owners, that produces a funny smell. I'll try to persuade my partner to have a look... don't think he will fancy the idea!

umiaisha Sun 03-Mar-13 09:58:13

We had exactly the same problem when I was at work (Seconday School) and everyone blamed the students.

It was an Edwardian building which had issues with bats in the loft area so am now thinking they must have been responsible!

Tau Sun 03-Mar-13 19:11:39

Didn't smell anything today and almost nothing yesterday... so either this smell takes weekends off or it gets brought out by the sun (last two days have been very cloudy).

Tau Sun 03-Mar-13 19:16:39

On the other hand... my partner and I have both gone to town today, on separate occasions, and both smelled very the same thing in town. I presumed it were some youths nearby, but it was actually very strong for that, and I still smelled it after they were gone. My partner says he smelled it all through the main shopping street.

Is our little town a secret drug empire? Or could it be some obscure aspect of farming that we are misinterpreting??

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