Dr. Bailes,
According to a report written by an investigator working for my insurance agency, my home experienced depressurization combustion reentry. An air quality test disclosed high levels of VOC’s in my basement when the boiler was running.
Now its nearly four years later, and I continue to have problems…once the heat goes off my basement is so moist that the fluorescent lights won’t go on unless i run a fan and two dehumidifiers. The moisture somehow travels through my house and my clothes and bedding are completely damp. At times, my ears block up…like I just got off a flight.
I believe there is negative pressure in my home…could this be caused by a gas leak in the street migrating to my sump pump….this is most of the moisture is?

We have a direct vent gas furnace/water heater and a radon mitigation system in the basement. We have five heat zones in the house (2 basement that are mostly kept low), 2 on the main floor and 1 upstairs (also that we keep off during the day when we’re not upstairs).

The fireplace smell comes and goes, but definitely when the dryer is running. We’ve taken to opening some windows by the dryer when we run it, and that helps. Our damper is closed, too, so maybe it’s leaking? We’ve been recommended to get a top closing damper at the top of the chimney as well. I’ve told my husband (half-joking) that I’m ready to just take the whole thing out LOL.

Anyway, I’d like to figure out what we can do to stop the fireplace smells from coming in. Frankly, it’s pretty annoying, and I’d like to not have to open a window during the winter when we run the dryer.

We have not checked the top floor for leaks (though based on the comments here, that should be something we do). We were on the schedule for a blower door test before COVID happened, so we’re in a bit of a holding pattern right now. Any other thoughts as to what we can try?

Hi Roy,
Hi Roy,
Thank you for your suggestion. I had done that last week but didn’t smell anything (admittedly, I only smelled in the front). Also, my handyman who came on Friday said he didn’t smell anything around the toilet and he felt whoever installed it did a very good job (he didn’t think it could be the toilet).

But yesterday 2 different handy men from my building came back and confirmed this is definitely sewer smell. I had the bathroom exhaust vent covered/sealed off and the door closed for 2 days, so they would have no way to miss the smell. So that smell is sewer gas and John’s hunch all along, was correct.

And seems the source is, in fact, my toilet which they said is not properly sealed. They were not able to lift the toilet to check the wax ring (seems they require a plumber in fear they could break something-it is stuck on very well?) but they noticed an air gap where the screws are located and when they put their nose to that area, they smelled the odor more…so they caulked around the screws as a temporary fix. Until a plumber can come and remove the toilet to then properly re-install it. For now, I have my windows open.

The other handyman who said he didn’t smell anything must be desensitized to the smell, because although I had all the windows open the day he came in last week, a subtle smell is always there. He smelled along the base of toilet, including the back and said he didn’t smell anything.

I am hoping the caulk keeps the smell contained. I kept my windows open overnight now knowing it was sewer gas to be cautious. I’ll make decisions on when the best time to call in a plumber….
And I will look into ways to bring fresh air in without bringing dust into the HVAC system….

And I’ll mention to my building that all residents who have left should allow the staff in to fill their ptraps to also avoid sewer gas smells from empty apartments leaking into other apartments where people are residing.

Thanks so much for all your help.

John, your support and answers to even my small specific questions, has been so appreciated as I was home trying to educate myself. And rule things in/out. I can’t thank you enough.

Robin

If nothing else seems to help
If nothing else seems to help, and you are still pretty sure that it is sewer gas, I would sniff around between the toilet and the floor, especially if it has not been caulked there, to see if the wax ring under the toilet might have lost its seal.

Hi John,
Hi John,
Thanks for your always organized and informative answers. You hone in to the most important things I mentioned, your support is very appreciated.

I have been reading up a bit so when you return in a day or so, I will be better able to understand your answers.

Thank you, I now understand that when I leave the window open, I dont have to be concerned that the traps will dry out faster. I appreciate that info!

Regarding did this smell start as covid got traction and people left the building. Its hard to say. Uniquely, I wanted to tackle a “smell” in this bathroom for a years. It’s my master but I dont use it because there was always a subtle smell and at times it was stronger than others. I was never 100% sure if the smell was from dirty grimy drains left by previous resident and/or by dried ptrap (because was the bathroom I dont use daily, I left it to the women who helped me clean weekly to handle drains and also pouring water into each ptrap in the bathroom. In past, she would tell me there was a very bad smell (she said “too much” and the clean clothes she hung in there to dry from the week before would need to be rehashed). But since I was not the one pouring water in each ptrap, I could never be 100% certain the smell she described was because she let the Ptrap dry out. However. the past few months it has my responsibility to clean…I do smell something so I would leave the door open and sometimes closed. But
during covid, I decided to clean the drains and tackle this so that I could have peace of mind. And I can say 100% that during Covid, I have poured water in each ptrap daily and the smell is consistently there daily and yes, it is stronger when the door to bathroom is closed (like right now). Before covid, I rarely smelled it from the bedroom or living room…but now I do, however, I am beginning to think that is because the Return for my HVAC is directly outside this bathroom door and I have covered the vent in the bathroom and kept the door closed and I also opened all my windows which I believe has caused this smell to go into my Return (right outside the bathroom door as I try to air the room out by leaving the door open sometime) and from the Return, I think the smell has been redistributed through my HVAC vents into my rooms. That is the only Return in my apartment. I am not 100% sure the answer….maybe there are 2 issues going on at once….pre covid scent and during covid.

Its definitely something though. Since I wasn’t overseeing the ptraps myself 100%, I was always unsure if dry Ptraps were the underlying cause then left a lingering scent (I rarely aird out my apartment in past because we have no screens and I wasnt sure if outdoor air brought in dust etc). And so, I was lax on bringing in plumbers or HVAC contactors to help me identify the smell. My handy man came in the past and said he didnt smell anything. When he comes Monday he will smell it but I still don’t know if it is sewer gas…I think he will know that for sure since he is familiar with the smell of sewer gas.

Thanks again and I hope you’re having a nice day.

Robin: I have to run and so
Robin: I have to run and so it will be a day before we can continue this discussion. One quick thing is there is essentially no difference in how long traps stay with enough water in them to block sewer gas whether the windows are open or closed. Another item Are you saying this started when COVID19 got traction and people left their condos for other locations?