Reply to BettyCv
BettyCv,
Thank you for your post. I've been out of town for the past week so I haven't been able to respond.
I've reread your recent posts and will respond in order.
We had an electronic air cleaner installed because the folks who sell the add-on's said it was a good idea. I wouldn't have done it if I had know that they created ozone. Lennox makes a comprehensive unit that I would have installed instead including UV lights that will kill mold particles in the air.
I've definately researched multiple chemical sensitivity. I would say that I have had sensitivity to it in the past but I could always leave. Now my home seems to be the problem causing me headaches (the kind that hurt one's head) and a teensy bit of respiratory irritation. Watery eyes as well.
I smell glue on occasion when I come into my home. None of my neighbors seem to have this problem. I'm male and I have a very strong sense of smell. The manufacturers tested the paint and the drywall. The builder wouldn't give me the results but said there were no problems.
Does the closet that smelled the worst backup to a bathroom? Just wondering if the concrete drywall in the bathroom might be permeating from the back.
You mentioned that the air quality expert suggested you seal the sump pump which is below the room that's below the smell room. Does the room below the smelly room have hardwood floors? Perhaps the smell is going up through a wall cavity and escaping?
You mentioned you had your carpets cleaned, we replaced our carpets and sealed the floors with safe seal before we had them put down. Still headaches.
We don't have yellowing of the drywall.
Let me give a complete review of the situation for everyone reading and for any one else in the world that may have this problem.
In July of 2006, we moved into a brand newly constructed home. I had checked on the home many times during construction.
After about 2 weeks, I noticed a strange smell coming from my oldest son's bedroom. We moved him out of the room and called the gas company. The gas company came in with their tester and reported no gas. The smell was like sulphur. My wife said it smelled like bleach. The flue runs right next to that room so we had the HVAC installer come back and double check everything. He said it all looked good.
The very interesting thing about all this is that the smell got worse on sunny days. I'm still not sure if it's just the sunlight or the heat associated with the sunlight but I almost think that there is a direct correlation with the sun.
I went online and found this interesting article:
http://web.bsu.edu/ien/archives/2002/092602.htm
(For those who don't want to read the whole thing, it discusses bad paint and a smell it emits. The suggested remedy is repainting.)
I sent this article to the builder. The builder had the painter and the paint manufacturer come to the home. They smelled the smell and insisted that it wasn't the paint. I gave them a copy of the article and sent them on their way. They interestingly paid to have 2 rooms (the smell was now going on in 2 rooms) painted with a low-voc primer and low-voc paint. The sulfur smell was gone. That was probably in September when they repainted. (Periodically however, I smell a plastic smell in the rooms on sunny/hot days.)
Prior to painting, the builder opened up the drywall and looked inside the walls. They looked and smelled fine. The drywall had an almost sweet smell to it. (?)
The builder had some air quality tests done. Sulfur compounds, VOC, mold, formaldehyde. All came back negative. I performed a Radon test which came back negative.
That sulfur smell from the drywall got me thinking. A little research shows that when drywall breaks down, it gives off a sulfury smell. Interesting correlation.
We had the ducts cleaned - no improvement.
So I have headaches. There seems to be a direct correlation between hot days and the level of my headaches.
We have powerlines and a cell tower near our back yard. We have the electric company coming later in the month to test our levels of EMF near our home.
It seems to me that I get headaches sometimes when I'm standing outside in my front yard where there would be plenty of ventilation. I should mention that my exterior paint has a latexy smell. (Paint doesn't use real latex, so you can't get an latex reaction to paint.) Exterior paint could be the culprit. The soil could be the culprit. I seem to smell strong crawl space odors coming out of the vents.
One of the closets had a chemically smell. I repainted the closet and haven't had a chemical smell since then.
I think I mentioned that I can smell the glue from the wood products on occasion. The headaches don't seem to be related.
I almost think that it could be a gas from the earth if it wasn't for those rooms smelling. Is it possible that a gas is the catalyst causing the drywall and other products to smell?
The bathroom/shower that everyone uses has a strange smell in it. Not a moldy smell but something obvious. Almost smells like plastic. I'm half tempted to rip out the drywall and see if replacing it makes a difference.
I also found this technology interesting:
http://www.thermapure.com/index.php
(Heat your house to 140 degrees to burn off the VOC's, kill mold and other pests.) Not yet available in my area.
So I'm at a crossroads. I'm emotionally done with this issue. I'm about ready to move. I will lose some (a lot) of money if I do this because of market conditions. What I want to do, is to remediate the problem and stay here until the market get better.
I could repaint, I could redrywall, I could reroof (one lady I ready about got headaches during the day because of a gas coming off the roofing material), I could redo the siding. I could put in different cabinets. I could put in one of those radon systems in the basement. I could do a thermapure treatment. I could replace the insulation behind the drywall and in the attic. I could easily spend lot's of money that I don't have and still not fix the problem.
It seems reasonable that an air quality test should be able to determine what substance is in significant quantities is causing me headaches. I just don't think the experts involved have taken as analytical approach as necessary. I need someone who can really diagnose this problem correctly and someone who really cares about my health.
I would like to have a list of everything that could be off gassing (mold and VOC). Then do the tests to look for all that stuff and the connect the dot's with the result. I can't believe that this is that complicated.
I've had the HVAC guy here today. Perhaps the best solution is to just exchange the air often enough to alleviate the problem. I want to fix the problem - not just remediate.
It seems reasonable that someone else on this planet has had a similar experience to mine, but my web searches have proved unable to find anyone.
If anyone can provide me with some direction, please let me know.
Thanks for listening.