Re:Does Smell indicate Mold or just VOC's?

[Guest guest]

Barb,

Obviously, you are not going to cover the wood wiith plastic if it is damp.

You can check it with your moisture meter first!

Radiators can be a big source of alleregens (but not musty smell). Don't

brush the dust here or on the frig coils.

Use a 3-foot long crevice tool available from Mid America Vacuum Cleaners:

http://www.vacuumstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD & Product_Code=4

100 & Category_Code=CV-ATT

Don't clean radiators or coils with anything else. For $17.00, item #4100 is

a miracle. It is about 1/4-inch wide and it fits between radiator and frig

coils.

Then clean the radiators with steam vapor using the nozzle tool. All work

should be done under quasi-containment conditions, as you don't want to take

chances with the dust spreading around. This means having an exhaust fan in

the room you are working in and having furniture covered.

If you don't get a HEPA vacuum, and use your current vacuum, put it at the

window exhaust (or outside!)and buy several lengths of hose extension for

the vacuum. These are available from Home Depot but you may have to use

adaptors and duct tape to get from one size hose to another. Remember to

replace the vacuum bag before using the vacuum again inside.

C. May, M.A., CIAQP

May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

1522 Cambridge Street

Cambridge, MA 02139

617-354-1055

www.mayindoorair.com

www.myhouseiskillingme.com

Re: . Does Smell indicate Mold or just VOC's?

Posted by: " barb1283 " barb1283@... barb1283

Date: Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:07 pm ((PST))

I noticed there is quite alot of dust on radiators so some smell can

be coming from there also, so will clean radiators well, which won't

be easy since areas seem to be very hard to reach. I'm learning so

much about the pitfalls of the different ways to heat and cool

homes. I thought radiators were perfect but they are hard to get

clean. I'm going to get a brush used to clean under refrigerator

and see if I can get at the dust and dirt that way. I don't think

the vaporizer could get in there due to clogs of dust. However,

wood floor is still not good and I think I will use plastic over

whole floor and then once a month take it up, clean floor and put

down new plastic. That should hold me until I decide where to go

next. I would work on this until it was better but noise here will

make it impossible to stay. Thanks for the advice everyone.

[Guest guest]

Dampness accumulates over time beneath plastic. Best to heat up the rooms

several times and air them out.

Jeff May <jeff@...> wrote: Barb,

Obviously, you are not going to cover the wood wiith plastic if it is damp.

You can check it with your moisture meter first!

Radiators can be a big source of alleregens (but not musty smell). Don't

brush the dust here or on the frig coils.

Use a 3-foot long crevice tool available from Mid America Vacuum Cleaners:

http://www.vacuumstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD & Product_Code=4

100 & Category_Code=CV-ATT

Don't clean radiators or coils with anything else. For $17.00, item #4100 is

a miracle. It is about 1/4-inch wide and it fits between radiator and frig

coils.

Then clean the radiators with steam vapor using the nozzle tool. All work

should be done under quasi-containment conditions, as you don't want to take

chances with the dust spreading around. This means having an exhaust fan in

the room you are working in and having furniture covered.

If you don't get a HEPA vacuum, and use your current vacuum, put it at the

window exhaust (or outside!)and buy several lengths of hose extension for

the vacuum. These are available from Home Depot but you may have to use

adaptors and duct tape to get from one size hose to another. Remember to

replace the vacuum bag before using the vacuum again inside.

C. May, M.A., CIAQP

May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

1522 Cambridge Street

Cambridge, MA 02139

617-354-1055

www.mayindoorair.com

www.myhouseiskillingme.com

Re: . Does Smell indicate Mold or just VOC's?

Posted by: " barb1283 " barb1283@... barb1283

Date: Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:07 pm ((PST))

I noticed there is quite alot of dust on radiators so some smell can

be coming from there also, so will clean radiators well, which won't

be easy since areas seem to be very hard to reach. I'm learning so

much about the pitfalls of the different ways to heat and cool

homes. I thought radiators were perfect but they are hard to get

clean. I'm going to get a brush used to clean under refrigerator

and see if I can get at the dust and dirt that way. I don't think

the vaporizer could get in there due to clogs of dust. However,

wood floor is still not good and I think I will use plastic over

whole floor and then once a month take it up, clean floor and put

down new plastic. That should hold me until I decide where to go

next. I would work on this until it was better but noise here will

make it impossible to stay. Thanks for the advice everyone.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Good point. Maybe wood would take awhile to dry since it has those

big crevices so maybe just dry clean with a swiffer and put new

plastic down. Plastic say to take it up before 6 weeks. I guess if

down too long it could stick to surfaces. I know that can happen

with other things with sticky surfaces.

I didn't know about the crevice tool. My crevice tools are not long

enough to get between radiator fins so I couldn't think of anything

but a refrigerator coil brush but I was picturing the dust and dirt

flying during the process.

>

> Barb,

>

> Obviously, you are not going to cover the wood wiith plastic if it

is damp.

> You can check it with your moisture meter first!

>

> Radiators can be a big source of alleregens (but not musty smell).

Don't

> brush the dust here or on the frig coils.

>

> Use a 3-foot long crevice tool available from Mid America Vacuum

Cleaners:

> http://www.vacuumstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?

Screen=PROD & Product_Code=4

> 100 & Category_Code=CV-ATT

>

> Don't clean radiators or coils with anything else. For $17.00,

item #4100 is

> a miracle. It is about 1/4-inch wide and it fits between radiator

and frig

> coils.

>

> Then clean the radiators with steam vapor using the nozzle tool.

All work

> should be done under quasi-containment conditions, as you don't

want to take

> chances with the dust spreading around. This means having an

exhaust fan in

> the room you are working in and having furniture covered.

>

> If you don't get a HEPA vacuum, and use your current vacuum, put

it at the

> window exhaust (or outside!)and buy several lengths of hose

extension for

> the vacuum. These are available from Home Depot but you may have

to use

> adaptors and duct tape to get from one size hose to another.

Remember to

> replace the vacuum bag before using the vacuum again inside.

>

> C. May, M.A., CIAQP

> May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

> 1522 Cambridge Street

> Cambridge, MA 02139

> 617-354-1055

> www.mayindoorair.com

> www.myhouseiskillingme.com

>

>

[Guest guest]

Humidity in house now is only around 30 percent, so imagine floor is

pretty dry. The plastic has to come up every 6 weeks anyway, so I can

air out floors then, maybe for a week. It's bound to help me to keep

allergens down most of the time. I could do it in bedroom and keep

door closed. If it helps there, I could do other areas I use alot. I

have very little furniture here, as I took everyone's advice and

didn't bring anything from home, except my clothes which I washed a

couple times with ammonia in detergent. I bought an air bed and I am

using plastic storage crates, stacked one of top of the other to make

a desk and a couple stools, etc., so not much.

--- In , jane mosher <janeannmosher@...>

wrote:

>

> Dampness accumulates over time beneath plastic. Best to heat up the

rooms several times and air them out.

>

[Guest guest]

,

I'm wondering if I could do more with this flexible crevice tool on

same page as one you posted:

Have you ever tried this flexible crevice tool?

>http://tinyurl.com/yxgjq6

>

> Barb,

>

> Obviously, you are not going to cover the wood wiith plastic if it

is damp.

> You can check it with your moisture meter

[Guest guest]

You still don't get it. If it stinks, it needs to be cleaned well and aired.

barb1283 <barb1283@...> wrote: Humidity in house now is only

around 30 percent, so imagine floor is

pretty dry. The plastic has to come up every 6 weeks anyway, so I can

air out floors then, maybe for a week. It's bound to help me to keep

allergens down most of the time. I could do it in bedroom and keep

door closed. If it helps there, I could do other areas I use alot. I

have very little furniture here, as I took everyone's advice and

didn't bring anything from home, except my clothes which I washed a

couple times with ammonia in detergent. I bought an air bed and I am

using plastic storage crates, stacked one of top of the other to make

a desk and a couple stools, etc., so not much.

--- In , jane mosher <janeannmosher@...>

wrote:

>

> Dampness accumulates over time beneath plastic. Best to heat up the

rooms several times and air them out.

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Jane, Apartment, not floor, smells a musty when I enter it,

something that I can only smell when I enter apartment and a minute

later cannot smell it, get used to it that fast, so I don't know

where musty smell is coming from. I don't know if floor smells or

not. Anyway, part of floor that MAY be dirty is BETWEEN the slats

of floor ONLY that I cannot reach except perhaps vaccumn, certainly

not with a wet rag and due to the separations in boards it would not

be a good idea to put water on floor that could get down in between

the cracks. I could use slightly damp sponge if careful not to be

so wet that water would run between. However FLOOR is not dirty, it

is very shiny and clean. Landlord cleaned it before I moved in a

three weeks ago and I swiffer dust it daily. It is between the

floor boards that may be creating smell, so it is YOU who are not

getting it, ie. what I have posted, you can review it.

Anyway, this is getting silly. Just mentioned that I am

disappointed in condition of floors that are not the nice smooth

solid surface, easy to keep clean, that I had hoped for. I don't

really need help in figuring out how to clean a floor or anything

with a damp rag but thanks anyway.

Humidity in house now is

only around 30 percent, so imagine floor is

> pretty dry. The plastic has to come up every 6 weeks anyway, so I

can

> air out floors then, maybe for a week. It's bound to help me to