with a new black one to match my black trim. Well, when I took off the plate i noticed a strong smell. A rusty musty smell was coming from the inside of the wall. That wall is the only wall i did not build. The wall was installed by the previouse owner. I can see that they used that insulation that is covered with plastic all around. the wall was also primed with killz2 ( i know this because i found a can in the basement. The basement is bone dry and there is no evidence of any water ever leaking in. I just recently bought a dehumidifier not because of any smell because there never was no smell in the 4 yrs ive lived there but because i wanted peace of mind. The smell comes from that white outlet on the right side. there is another outlet further back and there is no smell coming from that one.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2548/4109595460_5f64f566da_b.jpg

Is there any evidence of moisture apart from the smell. Do the wires look corroded?

If someone used Killz2 you can betcha there was a reason for using it. While the plastic keeps moisture away from your drywall, it locks in whatever moisture is between the plastic and foundation wall.

Wires are perfectly fine. No water anywhere. I did notice kilz was used only on that side of the basement only and not the other side. Its weird because the basement has never felt damp or anything. Before i put the floor in the floor was perfectly dry with no water stains anywhere. Im confuzed. Maybe I am overeacting, but its got me pissed cuz i just finished the theater.:mad:

I would tear a hole in the wall and see what you find. It sucks to do that, but its better than mold spreading and making it worse in the future.

Yes, I should tear a hole in the wall at least behind the acoustic panel so you can't notice the patch. What makes things worse is that the paint is a Faux ragging technique which is hard to re-blend.

Yes, I should tear a hole in the wall at least behind the acoustic panel so you can't notice the patch. What makes things worse is that the paint is a Faux ragging technique which is hard to re-blend.

If the drywall is a single thickness, you should be able to cut a very neat opening using a utility knife completely through the drywall between a couple of studs. When you go to repair the wall, glue a couple of pieces of wood across the opening and glue the removed piece to the wood pieces. Then you can fill the seam with spackling compound (or painter's caulk) and touch up the seam with an artist brush and paint. If you are careful and take your time, the patch may be almost unnoticeable.

So the insulation that is on the wall in question is those builder grade insulation blankets that have like 1" of fibreglass wrapped in poly that only go half way down the wall? If so, those aren't intended to be closed up behind a wall. If it's something else, then my apologies.

Can you get your hands on one of those Ridgid See Snake thing a ma jigs? You would only need to drill a small hole to insert the probe. Just an idea.

Good luck and hopefully there isn't a majot problem back there.

The insulation is actually R13 poly encapsulated insulation which is covered all around with plastic on both sides. Im going to try and look for one of those snake camera thingy's and see what happens.

http://www.specjm.com/images/products/comfortthermrolls.jpg