Cleaning and yard work continued

Weed growing out of corner trim

I cleaned the baseboards on either side of the french doors on the west side, and the air seals below the doors on Friday May 18.  On Sunday May 20 I continued the process of cleaning the baseboard on the north side.  I plan to clean the baseboards on south and west sides, and possibly more, on Memorial Day.  I've been thinking of using pledge on the white painted shelves instead of, or in addition to, cleaning with mild sodium bicarbonate.  All in the name of removing VOC's and the remaining smell, which is the aspect of the project which now bothers me the most.

The biggest improvement so far may have been cleaning the bottom door seals, which left my cloth and sodium bicarbonate solution light brown.  I think the smell has improved slightly, it's still noticeable when you enter the room, but goes away quickly if you keep the door open.  After awhile you can close the doors and stay in the room.  I notice no kinds of allergic reaction and I think the smell is probably harmless.  Currently plan is to get VOC air filter either from Austin Air or IQAir.  Doing that, I won't bother doing VOC testing, which costs nearly half as much as the actual air filter.

Weeds had grown up all around the building because of rain in early May, and I trimmed those weeds again with my new weedwacker and then used mower to mow all around the back, except near the house where there are hoses and stuff.  One thin weed grew up and behind the corner trim piece, erupting out from the trim edge about 4 feet up.  I could hardly believe that a plant could do that, forcing itself into the caulk-sealed gap.  I pulled the weeds below the trim but was unable to pull the weed out of the trim, the bottom just broke off.  A small bit still remains now poking out of the top.  When it dries out, it should be easier to remove and then the tiny hole in the caulk repaired.