On Sunday afternoon I cleaned the tops and sides of all built-in shelves using detergent and baking soda. I also cleaned the bottom in certain areas, but will have to complete cleaning the bottom sometime later.
I really had high hopes that this cleaning would be the turning point in smell reduction. The big shelf in back was especially covered with brown grime. I vaguely one of the builders told me he would clean that except the paint wasn't ready to be cleaned. It could have had dust from the Flexbond or colored grout, which would explain part of the smell. The shelves were pained with a relatively high VOC oil based paint provided by the builders, instead of the low VOC paint I provided. Last Sunday two friends specifically identified the shelves as being the source of the worst smell.
I also removed the parts from the canopy (many of which were rusty or dirty) from the shelves and moved them to the garage (which gets some ventilation). I also moved a pile of 6 spare tiles for the floor. The spare tiles did have the annoying smell.
Sunday night I was reveling in the new smell-less building. It really did seem like the smell had been eliminated. I was enjoying how the breeze blows into the doorway from the gap between my house and the neighbor's house. With the french doors and casement window open, there is usually excellent cross ventilation. From the doorway, which is a very nice place to sit, I can see the eastern half of the nighttime sky.
On Monday morning I closed the doors in anticipation that a neighbor would resume roof repair operations. On Monday afternoon I had the opportunity to check the smell in the late afternoon after having the doors closed for more than 6 hours. The best test for smell is in late afternoon after the doors have been closed all day. Higher temperatures cause more smell to be released, and the closed doors trap the smell inside.
Unfortunately, not only has the smell not been eliminated, it's not even clear it has been reduced.
I really had high hopes that this cleaning would be the turning point in smell reduction. The big shelf in back was especially covered with brown grime. I vaguely one of the builders told me he would clean that except the paint wasn't ready to be cleaned. It could have had dust from the Flexbond or colored grout, which would explain part of the smell. The shelves were pained with a relatively high VOC oil based paint provided by the builders, instead of the low VOC paint I provided. Last Sunday two friends specifically identified the shelves as being the source of the worst smell.
I also removed the parts from the canopy (many of which were rusty or dirty) from the shelves and moved them to the garage (which gets some ventilation). I also moved a pile of 6 spare tiles for the floor. The spare tiles did have the annoying smell.
Sunday night I was reveling in the new smell-less building. It really did seem like the smell had been eliminated. I was enjoying how the breeze blows into the doorway from the gap between my house and the neighbor's house. With the french doors and casement window open, there is usually excellent cross ventilation. From the doorway, which is a very nice place to sit, I can see the eastern half of the nighttime sky.
On Monday morning I closed the doors in anticipation that a neighbor would resume roof repair operations. On Monday afternoon I had the opportunity to check the smell in the late afternoon after having the doors closed for more than 6 hours. The best test for smell is in late afternoon after the doors have been closed all day. Higher temperatures cause more smell to be released, and the closed doors trap the smell inside.
Unfortunately, not only has the smell not been eliminated, it's not even clear it has been reduced.
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