New home came with lingering odors. Help

[Crab Luv]

Just use laquer thinner.Get 5gallons and mop the place down. Ceilings
,walls,floors, windows. Get a small container filled with vinigar and set it
inside the return air vent. Turn the fan onbefor you use the thinner. Open
all doors and windows.

[Morac]

"I-zheet M'drurz" <diespammer@icubed.com> wrote in message news:<Xns941DC0B654D8Ftomicubedcom@130.133.1.4>...
> On the other side of the wall from that "panel" - your bathroom
> by any chance? (and probably specifically your tub/shower?)
>

Actually yes, the other side is a bathroom where the broken venting
fan was. I'm guessing that's where the shutoff valve is. I'll look
inside when I get a chance. BTW even with a new venting fan, it
doesn't seem to vent very well. After showering the room stayed humid
for quite a while. Very strange for a fan that is so noisy.

> Wetness. Would you recognize sewer gas if you smelt it? But
> that's not necessarily it. Rain much in your town? If so,
> you might have a big old roof leak around a vent stack and be
> catching a lot of outside water making its way down into the
> house and eventually mildewing. Or it could be the fixtures
> in that bathtub leaking bend the wall. You might want to
> start by pulling that mystery panel and having a look/smell.

I'm quite sure it isn't sewer gas and it hasn't rained for a few days.
I didn't really smell it today, but then my nose is kind of stuffed
up. I did take a cold tablet which helped and I still didn't smell
anything. It's also gotten much colder (going down to below freezing
at night). With winter coming, it may be hard to find the source
since the humidity tends to go down a lot and odors are harder to
detect when its cold. I also ran the central fan 24/7 today. I'm
hoping maybe it will go away on its own over the winter, but I'm not
holding my breath.

I'm going away for a few days. If my cold is related to the house it
should go away or diminish, if it doesn't than it could just be a cold
(though I suppose it could still be stress and its been a very
stressful week). I may also just be alergic to dust (the place was
just cleaned and had tons of dust).

BTW the odor (when I smell it) isn't overpowering and I don't consider
it overly offensive, but it definately shouldn't be there.

[BonnieJean]

I would be super pissed off with the inspector.

[Vox Humana]

"Morac" <morac99-usenet@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c9758464.0310232123.2d8d0556@posting.google.c om...

>
> I'm going away for a few days. If my cold is related to the house it
> should go away or diminish, if it doesn't than it could just be a cold
> (though I suppose it could still be stress and its been a very
> stressful week). I may also just be alergic to dust (the place was
> just cleaned and had tons of dust).

Colds go away in 7 to 10 days whether you treat them or not. Therefore, if
you leave and your cold goes away it means nothing. On the other hand, it
you stay and it never goes away you are probably having an allergic
reaction.

[chatty]

"Morac" <morac99-usenet@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c9758464.0310231115.1ba69a4e@posting.google.c om...

<snipped>

> Yesterday there was a damp dank smell to the place which seemed
> strongest in the basement and the master bedroom closet. It went away
> partially after opening all the windows and letting the house
> temperature go down to about 50 degrees F. I also left one window
> open last night.

Since you specifically mention the basement and master bedroom closet, I
strongly suspect moisture problems (current or past) causing the smell.
Water damage isn't always visible. You can have mold growing behind walls
which can release a "musty" smell. The panel you mention in the master
closet is possibly a plumbing access panel. Is there a bathroom on the
adjoining wall. Open the panel and sniff in there. If it has the same
musty smell, there may be or have been water leaking from the shower/tub. I
don't have experience with basements but I know moisture problems are not
uncommon. How about having someone (a contractor) check the walls with a
moisture meter next time it rains. They will be able to tell if there is an
elevated amount of moisture in the basement walls. Good luck!

[sijka]

I suggest unfortunately--replace ALL carpet and pain all surfaces.
I would clean the floors under the old carpet (before installation of new)
with a bleach and water solution. You can save a lot of $ by ripping up
your own carpet. YOU should wear a mask of some type!!!!!

Paint all the walls-yes, you need to at least wash them down with bleach and
water.
I would use a good quality paint.

In the basement-use a paint that is a water sealent. If the floor is
concrete you will also need to seal that!!

Make sure you vacuum every little nook and crany-I know you had a cleaning
service in but there are those "little places that are missed.

When cleaning the floors before recarpeting them, I would steam the
baseboards--with something like a steam buggy or something like that! It
helps to flush out all the dirt--use a brush also.

What about the kitchen--paint inside the cabinets-wash them first.

Check all the walls in every closet with a "work light" by your side--one of
those hallogen ones. If there is a wall that you don't like the looks
of--replace it-or at least cover it.

Good luck--it's too bad you didn't insist on all this BEFORE the
sale--unless you got this as a REAL bargain!!

Good luck--and if you need advice about specific stains and products-holler
at me!!

Sijka




"Morac" <morac99-usenet@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c9758464.0310231115.1ba69a4e@posting.google.c om...
> I just moved into a 10 year old townhouse. I found out from my home
> inspector that the previous owners were very untidy people. They
> hardly ever cleaned (I'm guessing they didn't at all) and they never
> changed the furnace air filter in the 5 year they owned the place (the
> thing looked like a giant dust ball). The vent fan in the master
> bathroom was broken, but my home inspector said he saw no signs of
> mold or mildew in the bathroom. The fan was replaced. There were
> lots of other little problems and a few major ones (garage door was
> rotting and sliding door seal broken and moisture got in).
>
> The previous owners must have been using an air freshener (I think
> they had scented candles) because the moment I stepped into the door
> after they moved out I smelled a strange musty smell throughout the
> whole house. It's kind of hard to explain, kind of an "old dingy
> closet" smell. In addition the bathrooms had a "soap" smell to them,
> most likely because of all the soap scum on the tub. The water in the
> place has a mild taste/odor to it but not bad enough to explain what
> I'm smelling in the whole house.
>
> The first night there I noticed my nose started to get stuffed up and
> my snot was slightly bloody. Over the next few days I've started
> coughing a lot and have had a runny nose. Today I feel somewhat weak
> as if I have a cold or flu (though I'm not coughing as much).
> Getting sick might have been a coincidence or due to stress, but I'm
> beginning to doubt that.
>
> The previous owners had a tiny little dog (it didn't seem to smell)
> and a baby so I had the carpets steam cleaned with a truck mounted
> device. They put down deodorizer and use detergent and hot water.
> They did not use any sanitizing agent such as bleach or the like.
> Even after doing some areas twice the carpet was still discolored. I
> was told it was worn out and that it would have to be replaced.
>
> I then had a cleaning service come in and do a rather thorough job of
> cleaning the place. They didn't wash down the walls or ceiling
> though.
>
> Finally I spray Fabreese all over the house.
>
> The smell went away (or was masked) for about a day and then returned.
> It seems worse in certain places like the master bedroom closet
> (there's a panel in there going somewhere, not sure where), one of the
> guest bedrooms and the storage closet in the finished basement (which
> raps around under the stairs and is partialy carpetted). The stairway
> down to the basement also smells, but that smells more like motor oil
> since the door to the garage is halfway down the stairs. The basement
> has carpetting and a "cardboard" tile ceiling (like you see in office
> buildings). I saw no sign of water damage at all, but the place was
> very dirty and the air intake vents were filthy.
>
> Yesterday there was a damp dank smell to the place which seemed
> strongest in the basement and the master bedroom closet. It went away
> partially after opening all the windows and letting the house
> temperature go down to about 50 degrees F. I also left one window
> open last night.
>
> I was told I can spray diluted bleach on everything, but that sounds
> drastic and has a potential to damage things. I've also been told I
> should get an allergenic (carbon) air filter for the furnace and to
> just run the fan.
>
> My question is what can I do to get rid of these odor(s)?
>
> Should I have my ducts cleaned out since the previous owner never
> changed the air filter?
>
> Any ideas?

[Barbecue Bob]

In article <c9758464.0310231115.1ba69a4e@posting.google.com>,
morac99-usenet@yahoo.com (Morac) wrote:

>
> The first night there I noticed my nose started to get stuffed up and
> my snot was slightly bloody. Over the next few days I've started
> coughing a lot and have had a runny nose. Today I feel somewhat weak
> as if I have a cold or flu (though I'm not coughing as much).
> Getting sick might have been a coincidence or due to stress, but I'm
> beginning to doubt that.
>

I was gone a few days during damp, mild weather. When I returned, the
house smelled moldy enough to make me cough.
>

>
> Yesterday there was a damp dank smell to the place which seemed
> strongest in the basement and the master bedroom closet. It went away
> partially after opening all the windows and letting the house
> temperature go down to about 50 degrees F. I also left one window
> open last night.
>
Airing didn't help me, either.

> My question is what can I do to get rid of these odor(s)?
>
Noting where the smells were strongest each time I came in helped me
solve it. There was a sulfurous moldy smell in the living room. Some
of the ceiling had a mottled appearance, although the paint was in good
shape. I don't know if the problem was chemical or biological, but
washing with borax stopped the odor.

Another musty odor came from the kitchen. I discovered that a rarely
used potholder on the wall was damp and looked moldy. To be damp, it
must have picked up some salt at some time; salt absorbs water from
humid air. Soaking and drying the potholder stopped the odor.
--
Barbecue Bob serving family-style roast bunny
at convenient restaurants
from Montana to New Mexico

[Nan]

On Wed, 29 Oct 2003 13:45:18 -0500, Barbecue Bob <bunny@nospam.com>
wrote:

>Airing didn't help me, either.

Soap and water in the shower or bath usually works better, Bob
;-)

Nan