House Noises Explained

With Halloween a little over two weeks away, I thought it would be a fun idea to take a moment to discuss some of the strange and “scary” noises your home might be making. Before you go and call an exorcist or priest – or better yet, Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd – try giving this article a read. Not every knocking sound you hear is due to an apparition. In fact, odds are, it’s a simple problem any home improvement professional could fix. So go on and read this haunting blog post!

Having been in the business for so long, I frequently hear of complaints regarding strange noises in the home. I even hear tales of disembodied smells rising up from seemingly nowhere to haunt a homeowner’s olfactory senses. Door knobs rattling, footsteps, voices and even opening and closing doors are all so common that it would make you think every home in America is haunted.

Today, I am going to attempt to explain some of these eerie sounds and smells using a little home improvement knowledge and logic. Will I be able to convince you by the end of this article? I think I stand a ghost of a chance!

Strange Sounds in the House: Footsteps

Do footsteps on the ceiling above your bed keep you lying awake at night? Do you have to keep a night-light on at all times in case whatever it is that is running around in your attic decides to come down and get you? Instead of pulling the covers over your head (everyone knows that’s the best way to protect yourself from monsters), consider this: there might well be something crawling around above you after all. Just not a ghost.

If you have an unfinished attic, odds are those footsteps you hear come from some rowdy ducks, mice, a cat or even a wily raccoon. Maybe they are looking for food or – perhaps – to escape from becoming food. Or maybe they are looking for an easy route inside your home. Either way, if you hear footsteps in your attic or on your roof, I would assume you have animals up there and take some steps to prevent them from getting inside of your home.

Hiring a home improvement professional to check that your roof and attic are properly sealed is a great first step that will not only help protect your home, but that can also save you money in energy bills each month.

If you want to try to prevent these midnight ramblings, try to make sure there is no easy way to access your roof. Cut back any tree branches rodents can use to climb up and never leave ladders against the house. This is just an invitation to a whole different type of intruder!

Phantom Odors in the Home Explained

Strange sounds aren’t the only spooky sensory stimulation you might find yourself experiencing in your home. Phantom smells are a common complaint as well. Odors such as rotting flesh, smoke and even candy are all thought to be caused by some ghoul vying for your attention. Maybe an 18th century little girl with pockets of candy wants to scare the beejesus out of you, or maybe there is a zombie waiting for you up in the crawl space. What else could possibly explain these ghostly scents?

Foul smells such as rotting flesh or something “dead” can often be attributed to less sinister causes, such as old meat in the dish disposal, old milk containers that fell behind the garbage can, or a leaky refrigerator.

In more dire cases, that smell may actually be a leaking gas line – natural gas suppliers add a pungent additive to the smell of natural gas (it is usually odorless) in the event that there is a leak. If you have a gas stove, water heater or other appliance, and you smell such a smell, leave the house immediately and call your gas company to send out an inspector.

If you have any other concerns or questions, give us a call or learn more about Our Design Services .

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