Forum Archive: Odor

Hi All,

We live in the first floor of a corner Brownstone in Brooklyn. We also have a finished basement which is 100% below grade. We have spent considerable time and money to turn the basement space into a home theater and office.

There was initially a wooden subfloor covered with engineered wood in the basement. We had this ripped out after the basement flooded a few times and a musty smell suggested, and later confirmed, the presence of mold. This floor was replaced by a new concrete slab with a beautiful, glossy painted and sealed finish.

I have taken some measures over the years to prevent future floods (serviced an ancient back flow trap that was allowing sewer water to come out of the basement toilet and shower) and the basement hasn’t flooded for a few years. A humidifier is constantly set for 60% humidity.

But the musty smell has persisted and the most likely source is a wall in the basement.

The suspect wall is dry wall and studs that covers a foundation wall made up of Manhattan Schist. There is no insulation in the wall and the foundation wall is covered with efflorescence. The wall is 24′ and runs along a side street so it is very susceptible to run-off and ground moisture.

Four or five years ago a leak came out from under the drywall. I removed the drywall in that area, sealed the leaking portion of the wall with Quikrete Hydraulic Water-Stop cement and Drylok paint and repaired the drywall. But I suspect the wall is leaking small amounts water fairly regularly.

I’m concerned about mold and mildew, especially with kids in the house. I poked some exploratory holes (12″ x 6″) in the drywall and found no visual signs of mold. The bottom of the cavity is filled with about 1″ of dirt that has crumbled from the wall and it is dry to the touch.

I see two plans of attack…

1. Rip out all of the drywall, clean and Drylok the wall and leave it exposed so that it can be easily maintained as the moisture and efflorescence inevitably reappears.

2. An architect suggested the solution of putting vent holes (12″ x “6 covered with return vents) along the top and bottom of the wall to vent the space. But will this just create more airflow for mold and mildew spores to spread to the rest of the house? Will warm air flowing against the colder rocks create more moisture leading to more mold and mildew?

I would appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks,

Mike

Anyone have a cleaning service they can recommend which can rid an apartment of dog smell? I am trying to assist someone (with limited means) to prevent being evicted from her apartment because of a dog urine smell. Any advise very much appreciated.

Every time it rains, my apartment gets a slight musty smell that requires opening most of the windows to get it out. We don’t have any leaks (that we know of, at least), and when we opened the walls to renovate in December there wasn’t any evidence of mold or leaky pipes in the walls. The building is old (almost 100 yrs) but there doesn’t seem to be any water damage anywhere. Any ideas? The smell is the worst near the bathroom sink, in the coat and linen closet, and in a small section of the bedroom.

We have a smoke smell in our bedroom apartment that we think is coming from our neighbors. We’ve put plastic on the window, but it hasn’t solved the problem. Any advice? New window? Air purifier? Is there someone to consult?

My parents have an antique (circa 1910) wardrobe that has gorgeous inlay. It belonged to my great-great grandparents and has been passed down in my family. My parents have offered it to me and I’m excited to take it, but there is one problem: mothball odor!

My parents and grandparents have used the wardrobe for storing winter clothes for the past 60-odd years. The entire armoire REEKS of mothballs.

I am a 20-something guy and, while the odor of mothballs brings up happy memories of my grandparents, I’m afraid that if I put my clothes in this thing, they will come out smelling like Grandpa (minus the Ben-Gay).

My parents have not used mothballs for about 15 years (so they say) but it still smells.

Is this an odor that I can get rid of by simply airing the piece out? Or has the smell so permeated the wood that the piece is essentially ruined?

The piece is still at my parents’ house, so I’m not going to go through the hassle of moving it to my apartment if the smell is going to be a problem . . .

Thanks!

Help! We’re in a Victorian in Ditmas with a semi-finished basement. Carpet is bone dry but the smell of mildew is overwhelming. I want to get someone in to figure out where it’s coming from. Any ideas who I would call? Thanks!!

Hi, am new here and moving back to Brooklyn in one month. We found a great apartment but it’s two floors above a restaurant and I am worried about constantly smelling like Asian food. The bedroom is in the back where the food vents are. Any suggestions on how to neutralize the smells?

I live in a large pre war tenement apartment building in Williamsburg with about 30 units. My neighbors are doing SOMETHING very smelly (god knows what!). We share a wall with their laundry room and stale smelly feet/dirty laundry odors seep through into our bedroom somehow. Does anyone have any suggestions how to neutralize these odors or prevent them?

I live in a coop. The resident in the apartment beneath mine occassionally smokes cigarettes in his apartment and the smell rises into my apartment. Are there any reasonably measurers that can be taken to prevent cigarette smoke from rising into my apartment?