After months of keeping my workshop open to the outdoors to maximize outgassing of VOC's out of the building, I can still smell something chemical and not entirely pleasant.
In more than two weekends of work, I also hand sealed around all the electrical boxes and panel with non-toxic acoustical caulk, including the large gaps around the base plate for the ceiling fan (which also required duct seal for the tiny holes in the baseplate itself). Those were the only visible gaps in the interior wall structure. It was a lot of work, but doesn't seem to have made any difference.
I re-washed the floors several times with Borax. After the final rinse in clear water, the tile floor was dried with a towel by a friend.
I still do plan to wash the baseboards with a mild solution of baking soda, and possibly the doors and walls as well. But I'm no longer holding out hope that will fix the problem.
One thing I sometimes think I'd like to do would be to remove the baseboards and fill all the area behind them with caulk. I know there is a gap behind the baseboards, and I think it is air flowing into the room from there somehow, probably from underneath the baseboard, is where the current smell is actually coming from. The space behind the baseboards acts like a sink to gather smells from the exposed tile adhesive and site-mixed polyurethane wall foams and other building materials, then that "sink" leaks the smell out into the room with a tiny stream of air flowing underneath the baseboards.
But removing the baseboards (which are so nicely done now) and filling the space behind with caulk...is at minimum a huge hassle, and probably something I'd want another professional contractor for, and wouldn't be cheap. I might try this with ONE baseboard on ONE side of the door just to see how it goes. I've seen online pages describe how to remove baseboards nicely...it isn't easy.
I could also caulk at the bottom edge of the baseboards. It seems there may already be caulk at the bottom of the french doors (which would be one of the places most suspect for leaking air).
I'm very disappointed, I never imagined last year that I would have a chemical smell problem, but I must move on, not knowing if any particular remediation effort will be fruitful. Two things I can do in any case: test for VOC's and filter them.
The best VOC test kits give you some kind of sampling device which you return to a lab for analysis. Here's one sold for $245, the list of chemicals tested for is impressive though also still obviously incomplete. A more typical test which is much cheaper simply measures formaldehyde as a proxy for everything else. The cheapest test cards have strips that turn color...those obviously can't test for much or be very sensitive. There are also numerous tests for mold, allergens, particulates, and so on, which I don't think are a problem yet.
Other VOC test kits:
The HomeAirCheck for VOCs and hidden mold: $79, supposedly tests for 400 chemicals, but the report provided only gives total level of VOC and lists chemicals found (but not how much of each).
The best looking VOC filter is the IQAir GC Series. It comes with one of 4 optional chemical filters. I'd have a hard time choosing which filter to get, but it looks like they are all pretty good. Possibly the best for me would be the GC VOC filter, which gets the highest rating for VOC's generally. Also the GC Multigas filter looks very good, and it uses both activated carbon and alumina filters to get a broader spectrum of compounds. Price is $1199 for either the VOC or the Multigas options. It has a 6 speed fan and is said to be inaudible in its slowest mode. An onboard computer tells you when the filter(s) need changing. The GC series has only two reviews. It is the less expensive IQAir Healthpro Plus which gets the most reviews and the highest editorial recommendations. But it only has a 5 pound charcoal filter, as it is not intended for those with the most serious MCS. Most of the reviews are 5 star, but one suggests the GC series is better for those with specifically chemical sensitivity issues.
Other machines include the Aurpura C600 for $849, the Allerair 5000 MCS Supreme for $899, the Austin Air Healthmate Plus for $649, and the Austin Air Bedroom Machine for $765.
Reviewing these machines, it seems you generally get more for more money, though there is nothing obviously wrong with the Austin Air Healthmate Plus, which features a 15 pound carbon filter infused with zeolite and potassium iodide; that's actually a heavier chemical filter than the one used in the IQAir GC series. Well unlike the IQAir machines, you simply have to guess when to replace the filters in the Austin Air.
In more than two weekends of work, I also hand sealed around all the electrical boxes and panel with non-toxic acoustical caulk, including the large gaps around the base plate for the ceiling fan (which also required duct seal for the tiny holes in the baseplate itself). Those were the only visible gaps in the interior wall structure. It was a lot of work, but doesn't seem to have made any difference.
I re-washed the floors several times with Borax. After the final rinse in clear water, the tile floor was dried with a towel by a friend.
I still do plan to wash the baseboards with a mild solution of baking soda, and possibly the doors and walls as well. But I'm no longer holding out hope that will fix the problem.
One thing I sometimes think I'd like to do would be to remove the baseboards and fill all the area behind them with caulk. I know there is a gap behind the baseboards, and I think it is air flowing into the room from there somehow, probably from underneath the baseboard, is where the current smell is actually coming from. The space behind the baseboards acts like a sink to gather smells from the exposed tile adhesive and site-mixed polyurethane wall foams and other building materials, then that "sink" leaks the smell out into the room with a tiny stream of air flowing underneath the baseboards.
But removing the baseboards (which are so nicely done now) and filling the space behind with caulk...is at minimum a huge hassle, and probably something I'd want another professional contractor for, and wouldn't be cheap. I might try this with ONE baseboard on ONE side of the door just to see how it goes. I've seen online pages describe how to remove baseboards nicely...it isn't easy.
I could also caulk at the bottom edge of the baseboards. It seems there may already be caulk at the bottom of the french doors (which would be one of the places most suspect for leaking air).
I'm very disappointed, I never imagined last year that I would have a chemical smell problem, but I must move on, not knowing if any particular remediation effort will be fruitful. Two things I can do in any case: test for VOC's and filter them.
The best VOC test kits give you some kind of sampling device which you return to a lab for analysis. Here's one sold for $245, the list of chemicals tested for is impressive though also still obviously incomplete. A more typical test which is much cheaper simply measures formaldehyde as a proxy for everything else. The cheapest test cards have strips that turn color...those obviously can't test for much or be very sensitive. There are also numerous tests for mold, allergens, particulates, and so on, which I don't think are a problem yet.
Other VOC test kits:
The HomeAirCheck for VOCs and hidden mold: $79, supposedly tests for 400 chemicals, but the report provided only gives total level of VOC and lists chemicals found (but not how much of each).
The best looking VOC filter is the IQAir GC Series. It comes with one of 4 optional chemical filters. I'd have a hard time choosing which filter to get, but it looks like they are all pretty good. Possibly the best for me would be the GC VOC filter, which gets the highest rating for VOC's generally. Also the GC Multigas filter looks very good, and it uses both activated carbon and alumina filters to get a broader spectrum of compounds. Price is $1199 for either the VOC or the Multigas options. It has a 6 speed fan and is said to be inaudible in its slowest mode. An onboard computer tells you when the filter(s) need changing. The GC series has only two reviews. It is the less expensive IQAir Healthpro Plus which gets the most reviews and the highest editorial recommendations. But it only has a 5 pound charcoal filter, as it is not intended for those with the most serious MCS. Most of the reviews are 5 star, but one suggests the GC series is better for those with specifically chemical sensitivity issues.
Other machines include the Aurpura C600 for $849, the Allerair 5000 MCS Supreme for $899, the Austin Air Healthmate Plus for $649, and the Austin Air Bedroom Machine for $765.
Reviewing these machines, it seems you generally get more for more money, though there is nothing obviously wrong with the Austin Air Healthmate Plus, which features a 15 pound carbon filter infused with zeolite and potassium iodide; that's actually a heavier chemical filter than the one used in the IQAir GC series. Well unlike the IQAir machines, you simply have to guess when to replace the filters in the Austin Air.
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