We have lived in this house for many years, and in this past year I have increasingly been noticing a sort of musky, chemically smell, and I cannot figure out the source.
We have a lot of wool rugs, and one of them is a shag, so maybe that is the source. My house is usually pretty clean, so I just can't figure out where this is coming from. Plus, my husband has been having some allergy problems the past year or so, that tend to act up in certain areas of the home. I
Is it possible that something could be growing in the air vents? We have never had them cleaned. Has anyone heard of them cleaning the vents and finding something terrible in there?
Also, how do they clean vents? My understanding is that there is some kind of pipe system that runs under the house, so I don't understand how they actually go about cleaning them. We have a pretty old heating/air conditioning system.
Thanks for any ideas. .
You could have roof damage and not realize it. My mom does not go into one of her back rooms that is a play room and did not no till my brother was over sniffing around that there was water damage in the roof of the room and there was lot of mildew and beginnings of mold.
A few years ago we noticed a musky odor in our office. After several weeks we realized it was due to water damage. It had leaked into the carpet slowly so we couldn't tell it was actually wet and then had started to mold. My husband has mold allergies so those picked up as well. I would check for leaks in pipes or in the roof for a musky odor.
I don't know much about air duct cleaning except to get it done and done correctly it can be a little pricey but it will last somewhere between 5 and 10 years.
If you are serious about getting your duct work cleaned, make sure it is a professional that knows what they are doing or you will just make things worse. You can visit the website of the National Air Duct Cleaning Association http://nadca.com/ and get a referral from someone in your area that will use proper methods. Doing it right is not cheap, but with my allergies I do it about every 5 years. In between my hubby sprays things down with Vital Oxide (http://www.allergystore.com/vitaloxide-disinfection-spray...) to help keep things smelling fresh. Dust mites and such don't really live in your ductwork, it is more a place for mold to grow because it is dark and sometimes damp. If your husband is more sick in the bedroom, it is probably dust mite allergy. If he is more sick in the room that is the closest to the air handling unit, it is probably the duct work. Have the company that is going to do the work scope the ductwork with a camera and you can see if there is mold. If you have allergic people in the house carpet is not a good idea. I finally got the last scrap out of my house and it makes a difference. Of course if you just closed up the house because you turned the heat on, that can also make your house smell musty. In addition to doing all the standard things to make my home allergy-proof, I also use HEPA filters in my bedroom and those help keep down smells.
When I read your post, my first thought was that you have something dead living in your walls or basement or attic. Even a tiny mouse can set up a pretty bad smell in your house - something bigger could be pretty powerful.
Hope you're able find out what it is soon!
I would closely check the attic and basement areas for water issues.
You definitely need to find out what's causing this problem. If it is mold growing somewhere in your house, you could be subject to all sorts of health issues. I would find someone with the professional know-how to come in and find it.
I don't know if they have one near you, but a Company called Stink Inc. came out to a home in Colorado to figure out an issue for us. It turned out to be a small gas leak that the gas company could not find it.
Other possibilities: Mold growing somewhere in your house. Look for rotted window frames inside and out. Do you have houseplants? Sometimes it can be house plants. Is the smell worse after a rain? This might indicate a leak or again, rotted wood being re-offended. If it is mold it could absolutely cause allergies. My mother lived in a home and mold was growing under the foundation (not slab). She became ill with allergies and had to move. A dead animal could cause a bad odor but one would presume it to get pretty bad.
I agree with the posters that this sounds like a water issue. :( Hate water issues!!
When you have a company that cleans out ducts, they come in and drill holes in places in your ductwork, and put high pressure air through them to blow what's inside them into a container of sorts. The container has a big filter in it. They will identify every return in your house and use it as well.
It cost me over $700 to do my house. It was over 20 years old and had never been done. There was a lot of "stuff" in the vents, including dog hair from the previous owners' pets. I'm glad I got it done, but it won't need to be done again for a very long time.
I would say that it's worth doing if your hubby is having allergy problems, but this musty smell is most probably NOT coming from your vents. You do need to figure it out, though. The worst thing that can happen is to start seeing mold - then it's the tip of the iceberg and you end up pulling out an entire room! (That happened to my mom when the water heater leaked because of improper installation. Bad stuff!!!)
Dawn
We moved 15 months ago and rented our house out. Since then, we have chased a "bad smell" that the tenants have complained about--replaced wood, checked vents, under the house, etc., etc., etc. We finally found the source...a light bulb of the wrong size put into the light fixture...it gave off a bad chemical smell. Don't know if this is your problem, but give it a check.
