Charlie:
Jolynn in Bay Oaks. She writes: “About three weeks ago my bedroom closet and bathroom started smelling like maple syrup. We’ve looked in the attic, checked for bees, but there’s nothing. We’re at a lost to know where it began, and the smell seems to be getting stronger.”
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Tom:
They could have bees in the wall. It could be honey. Who knows? I would make sure that IHOP didn’t open up down the street first, and I would make sure that she doesn’t have a secret pancake eater in the house that is hiding …
Charlie:
That could be it.
Tom:
… with the syrup. I don’t know, but it could be bees in the wall. You looked in the attic. That doesn’t mean they’re not in the wall.
Charlie:
That’s true.
Tom:
Usually, they do get in the wall, and you don’t know it. You’ll just see one or two little bees hanging around, and there’s 40,000 of them making honey inside your wall. You have to-
Charlie:
I would think you’d hear that.
Tom:
Not necessarily. They leave in the morning. They come back and sleep at night, all the worker guys. How they make the honey, I don’t really know, but we eat it, so it must be okay.
Charlie:
It’s good for you.
Tom:
They say so.
Charlie:
Especially local honey. There’s a difference between local honey and-
Tom:
Absolutely, but as far as that goes, I’d investigate the walls. I don’t know why something would smell like maple syrup in a house that is constructed like it is.
Charlie:
Well, it’s the bedroom-
Tom:
Those smell questions are tough.
Charlie:
Yeah. The bedroom, the closet and the bathroom, so it’s something in that area.
Tom:
Right, but she said she checked the attic for bees.
Charlie:
Who would you call for something like that?
Tom:
There wouldn’t be … I don’t know. People ask me that. Charlie, it’s the toughest question we get. “I have this smell in my house.”
Charlie:
That’s why I shared it. See, my dad taught me, do the toughest thing first, so here we are.
Tom:
Yeah. I don’t know if there’s a smell detector company.
Charlie:
There is. Yeah. SmellCo. Call.
Tom:
SmellCo. I don’t-
Charlie:
A division of ACME.
Tom:
It’s a matter of just trying to run down the smell. Who knows what it is? It could be something very odd.
Charlie:
What about calling a bee… person to come out and determine if there’s possibility. They may be able to see where they’re coming and going.
Tom:
I guess you could, but …
Charlie:
Might be an idea.
Tom:
… I would do a little more investigation in the wall themselves first, because just going in the attic, you’re not going to see bees in the attic. They get into those wall cavities.
Charlie:
Maybe look for an apron, because it could be Aunt Jemima hiding somewhere in there.
Tom:
Okay. Mrs. Butterworth has moved in.
Charlie:
There you go, or one of the other. Depends on your neighbor.
Tom:
No. Those questions are tough, and I don’t know.
Charlie:
Jolynn, we’re sorry we couldn’t be of more help to you.
Tom:
At least it’s a pleasant smell.