My mother’s house is a 12 year old, one story frame construction home with forced air central HVAC. Squirrel cage HVAC fan runs 24/7 to circulate air through the house. The siding is masonite 12″ lap. Her bedroom, closet, and bath room are on the north wall of the house. No windows, doors or openings on the north wall. Bedroom and bathroom are wall paper, closet is latex paint. Wall material, from inside to out, is wallpaper (or paint), 1/2″ sheetrock, poly sheeting, 2×4 framing with batt insulation, OSB boxing, masonite siding, Benjamin Moore latex paint.
The bedroom and closet have developed a musty/mildew odor. There is no visual evidence of mold or mildew either inside on the sheetrock or outside on the siding. A vornado fan blowing on the wall for a few minutes seems to remove the odor for a while. No odor in bathroom, no odor in finished basement below, no odor anywhere else in the home.
Any ideas on what’s happening and/or how to eliminate?
Replies
What is your climate?
What is the moisture level in the house?
Is the problem a summer or winter problem?
To basic causes. One is that there is a water leak getting into the walls.
The other is that moisture is condensing in their. That moisture can be coming from the inside out or outside in depending on the climate and when this occures.
The house is in Wichita, KS. The problem just started.
Well that leaves it to either a leak, in the roof or siding.Or moist air leaking from the outside through the siding and condensing on the cool poly. And it can't dry out so it soaks the insulation and framing.That is why poly is not recommend in any climate except the very coldest.http://www.buildingscience.comAnother though. What kind of foundation? and how far up off the ground in that area is the foundation.
Bill, the foundation is poured concrete with drain tile inside and outside the footings. The top of the foundation is about 18" above grade on the north side. Drainage around the house is so good that there has never been any water in the sump pump.
Is there any remedy for the odor, short of removing drywall, insulation, etc, etc??
Not really.You need to find the cause and fix it.
Off topic, are you from Wichita and did you used to own an airplane?
Yes. 182 and 210. And you??
Based at Jabarra?
Never owned one but I may have taken care of your 210.
Edited 9/11/2005 3:40 pm ET by rasconc
Yes, Jabarra. Who and what are you doing now??
Mom's house is in Tallgrass East, just south of Jabarra.
Edited 9/11/2005 4:20 pm ET by bhendrix
Hi there Bill, Bob Smith here. Small world. I will e-mail you so we can get off this thread.
Tried to e-mail you through this forum and it bounced, tried direct using your first name.last at cox.net and it bounced.
Send me your address to:
[email protected]
Appologies to all but it is his thread.
The house I had about 3/4 mi west of your mom gave me a similar problem and it turned out to be a bad valve in the humidifier (dripped all the time when fan was on) and a build up of crud on the A/C evaporator. I did not smell it all over the house but surprisingly fairly localized. Turn the fan to auto and see if you only get it when a/c comes on.
Got your msg and replied.
For all, this guy was one of my best customers when I was in the aviation business. Class act.
This may jsut be some rambling thoughts, but here goes anyway...
You mentioned the wall construction, and did not mention two things that should have been done. There should be some sort of house wrap between the OSB and the siding. And the Masonite should be painted (at least primed) on the back and ends.
But even if the siding is rotting from the back side, you probably would not smell it from the inside, since there is a poly vapor barrier.
On the other hand, mildew and mold can be fairly pervasive odors. I think I'd try punching a few small holes in the wall in the closet, and maybe in the ceiling in the closet, and probably in the ceiling in the finished basement too.
And here's another thought -- what kind of bath/shower is in the bathroom? If it's a built in place ceramic shower base, I'd be suspicious of a slow leak there.
Oh, and you might want to check to see if the sink overflow, and the tub overflow, are crudded up with soap scum and other stuff. If so, that can get to be pretty stinky.
As others have said, you really need to find the source of the moisture, and therefore the odor. It could be a potentially serious problem.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
If it is like the ones with similar construction here the Masonite siding it rotting from the inside out. Use a ice pick, awl or thin screwdriver to probe the siding. Also check the drywall. Sometimes you can actually feel the dampness. Sometimes dropping the cover plates on the receptacles will tell you something. A musty smell and, if your lucky, mould may be visible.
If cooling ducts are in the attic, then condensation in/on the cooling ducts is a possibility. Another possibility is a bathroom vent duct that terminates in the attic or has become disconnected somewhere in the wall or attic. Various plumbing leaks are a vague possibility, but unlikely from the sound of things.
(Actually, one form of plumbing leak is a good possibility -- a crummy shower tile job where moisture's leaking through the tile and into the adjacent wall.)
If not one of those then it's almost certainly a roof leak, or wind-driven rain leak. Normally at 12 years a roof leak would be improbable, but she could have gotten some of the bad batch of Certainteed shingles, eg. (Check the roof for obvious curling, cracks, and spots where the granules have washed off.) Also check where the bathroom plumbing vent pierces the roof (if it does anywhere near the problem area) -- they started using those rubber-collar jacks about 15 years ago, and they aren't nearly as reliable as the old-fashioned telescoping metal units, especially if poorly installed.
(Well, squirrels or some such is one other possibility, if they could have gotten into the walls.)