the invincible dusty smell

17 years ago

We just moved to a new city and bought a large 100-year-old house. Unfortunately, my wife and child have turned out to be allergic -- either to the city or to the house, we aren't yet sure. While we are working with the allergist to sort this out, I am trying to remove potential sources of allergens in my house. Here's the disaster:

The room that we thought would be a good children's room has a strange dusty smell that is impossible to eradicate. And boy have I tried. The smell hits you when you walk into the bedroom as a tingle in your nose. It doesn't smell bad, but it does smell like there is something in the air. It sometimes makes me sneeze a little, and I am not allergic. So...

I washed everything.

I tried airing the room out. This makes the smell harder to detect, but only while the windows are open, and this is not practical in our climate.

I removed the drapes and threw them away, replacing them with those spring-loaded rolling shades that collect less dust.

I removed the carpeting, now it is hardwood floor.

I washed everything again.

Someone told me that the smell might indicate termites. I had a termite inspection. (No termites.)

I installed a new extre-large $350 sharp plasmacluster high-capacity HEPA air filter with an impurity sensor. It gives the room a "green" rating, but everyone agrees it smells dusty in there.

I've tried to control the humidity and the temperature in the room, keeping both down with a/c and a dehumidifier (humidity is now 45%).

I got rid of the bed in case it was harboring dust. I replaced it with a new mattress with an allergy cover.

There is one ceiling a/c vent. Just in case, I have scheduled a professional duct cleaning for the a/c system but honestly the vent looks pretty spotless now. If anything, we all think the dusty smell is BETTER when the a/c is running.

I moved my child's stuffed animals.

There is radiator heat. I washed the radiator very thoroughly.

You can see I'm getting desperate now.

I removed everything from the room.

I removed the fixtures and outlet covers and vacuumed them out and looked around for dust. (No dust, nothing unusual.)

I washed the walls and floors with trisodium phosphate.

I am planning to paint, but as far as I know this is unlikely to do the trick.

The smell is entirely localized to this room.

Does anyone have any ideas? This is REALLY driving me crazy. Obviously.

niftyc

Featured Answer

pjb999

17 years ago

I think the sealer's a good idea, maybe Kilz primer?

I don't know how the air filter has an 'impurity detector' - but air cleaners are fine.

I think you can be fairly certain you've narrowed it down to the room, cleaning your ducts is still a good idea, but the room smelling better when the a/c is on suggests it IS the room, because you're replacing the air in the room, hence it smells better.

Maybe put one of those UV air cleaner/steriliser things in your furnace air return (they go before the filter) - they're not that expensive....

Inspect your ceiling cavity for signs of mould - is there any? Is this room on the upper floor, under the roof? You might have bats or something, bat/rat messes can smell 'dusty' - make sure roof cavity is adequately vented - install a whirlybird or fan or similar, and make sure the roof itself is in good condition, a leaky roof might cause some of these issues too.

Hope you get to the bottom of it.

Sealing walls and sealing would be a good start.

As for the cuddly toys, my daughter had dust issues when she was small, still does but the allergy specialist wanted her to throw out all her fluffy toys which of course she didn't want to do, so the alternative is to vacuum them with a high efficiency HEPA type vacuum, then put them in the freezer overnight, in a plastic bag ( you can wash them too of course, but not before you put them in the freezer!) - the cold will kill dust mites.

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Comments (13)

peterbog
17 years ago
Purely guesses based on limited experience with old houses:

Ceiling - is it plaster or a painted fiberboard? What is above the ceiling?

Old cellulose insulation or paper lining in the walls could be a source. Both the fiberboard and cellulose is basically paper and paper breaks down to dust. (I've taken some down where the insides of the walls were lined/stuffed with newspapers....)

When I've torn out old walls and ceilings I have been amazed at how much natural dust has collected in these cavities just through years of infiltration when the wind blows dust around outside. (100 years old....its lived through lots of dust storms. This room could have more than others just due to some small openings and direction of the wind.)

I'd certainly paint before I tore out walls and ceilings...Maybe use a sealer under the paint.
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sharon_sd
17 years ago
Sealing with paint isn't going to seal what is inside the walls. For that you need caulking. It will work best if you remove the baseboards, caulk and then reinstall them, but you can caulk with the baseboards in place. Don't forget to seal around any other openings in the wall such as electrical outlets (use gaskets and plugs), window trim and air ducts.
K.K Singh
4 years ago
I know it’s 13 yr old thread. Was it resolved and what resolved it.
HU-509302882
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I’d love to know too, as I have the issue in a bedroom
untitled C
3 years ago
What is this dusty smell? Ours seems to permeate one room and disappear when we open a window in another room. I cannot find the source. Sometimes I think oh it's stronger here and then my nose automatically adjusts and I can't register it. It's like a dusty, sharp, chemical smell. Would love to know if any posters found an answer?
Michelle Gaissert
3 years ago
I am following too...our house was built in 1963 and there are times that it smells of dust, however, I am the only one it seems to bother. We have changed the filters and it does not help. This happens for a few days and then goes away until it comes back for another few days. Thanks!
Cindy Myerly
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I’m following this as well. Have a similar issue. Anyone ever find out more? I am the only one affected in the house.
HU-864596907
3 years ago
I have same dusty smell issue with my new 2018 speck house .I moved in Oct.2019 ,I just started noticing it a couple of months ago with my burning eyes and irritating nose.
prateek bhardwaj
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Hi I am having the same problem, I am also trying to repaint the room as a final option but not sure if paint is the root cause of it. Very strange. It's disturb our sleep air is never fresh and smell very dusty even when everything is cleaned.
HU-76084568
2 years ago
Similar issue but here its only when the patio window is open and right by the door, but not able to smell/detect in the garden/on the patio itself. Infuriating. I'm wondering if it could be brick dust!? Or roof dust!? Smells almost like a vape or something similar... Builders dust!? Whatever it is, it drives me crazy and, yes, nobody else is bothered.... Gaaaah!
charissawest
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Did anyone ever come up with solutions to this? Our home is 100 years old and the finished attic smells like this, especially the room with newer drywall. I think the previous homeowners just drywalled over the plaster. I do plan to caulk and paint, but it’s a big project. I’ve been cleaning the room all day so I can use it as an office, but even with a ductless AC running in fan mode 24/7 and an air filter, the dust smell/sensation in my nose is so awful. It doesnt matter how clean the room is. There’s no difference. As soon as I walk downstairs I can breathe free and clear again. It’s such a refreshing difference. We have the original plaster walls downstairs too, and it smells fine down here. What type of service provider could I have assess the situation?
HU-61255817
last year
For anyone else that is still dealing with this issue, I may have found a solution. If you have noticed your room smells "dusty" it may actually be a piece of furniture. We purchased a couple of brand new end tables off of Amazon several months ago and set them up in the room. About a month or two later we started smelling that dusty odor everyone is describing. We spent several months trying to figure out where the smell was coming from in the room. We even thought it may have been mold so we had it checked by a professional. Turns out it was the tables all along! They appear to have been dipped in some very strong chemicals during the manufacturing process that don't go away over time. If anything the smell gets stronger over time. The thing is that they were the last thing we would think we would smell since they were BRAND NEW. Anyway, hopes this helps anyone else that may stumble onto this thread.

the invincible dusty smell

pjb999

Comments (13)

peterbog

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