High-rise condo odor problem

16 years ago

I live in a condo on the 27th floor of a 28-story high-rise building. I have a heat pump located in a closet in the apartment. Hot and cold water is supplied to the unit by the pipes that run vertically through each apartment on each line. The heat pump gets the supply air from the plenum (the space between the structural ceiling and the drop-down ceiling) and returns it through a single return vent to the same plenum. This plenum is not shared by other apartments. The hallway is also a separate system.

In the last couple of weeks, I have been getting an odor (not too unpleasant) that irritates my lungs and makes me cough. It's not a musty odor, more like a chemical or druglike odor. It gets concentrated in the A/C closet (when the A/C is off) and then gets distributed around when the A/C is on. It's intermittent, and not everyone can smell it for some reason.

Couple of things:

- When it's windy outside or when the hallway is positively pressured (when I open the front door, air comes into the apartment), the smell is much more strong. (This can be just a coincidence, of course.)

- A/C unit is new, clean, and definitely not the source of the smell. There are no leaks in the A/C closet.

- 3M Filtrete Maximum Allergen Filter can't stop the odor. I tried different combination of filters, and the only time I was somewhat successful was when I used "Odor Ban" Carbon Pleated filter with "Ammonia lock" filter together (puts too much stress on the heat pump of course).

- I'm not quite familiar with how the plenum for my apartment is connected to outside air, but I assume the air is supplied and returned by the compressors on the roof. Our building engineer says all the compressors seem to be working fine. There is no construction going on in the building. No toxic substances around. Hallway air is clean.

- There are elevator shafts behind the apartment, but our engineer says they can't be the source of the odor because they are isolated.

- We are pretty certain the source of the odor is not in my apartment (or plenum). It is leaking into my plenum from somewhere else. It can come from other apartments, but no one else seems to be having this problem.

Any ideas? Can this be an air flow issue in the building? (I have been living in the building for 10 years; this is the first time this has been happening.) Anything I or the engineer can check or test? Should I get outside help (consultant, etc.)? A friend of mine suggested the fire department, but that seems too much...

Thanks,

Matt

Featured Answer

garyg

16 years ago

There may be some location in the building or outside where cleaning chemicals are being stored near an air return vent for the building.

I am confused with your description of hot and cold water pipes supplying a heat pump. Is this some kind of chiller system? Not sure about large apartment buildings, but usually a split system heat pump has a condenser mounted on a roof or outside area that supplies refrigerant to a coil in an air handler located in the living space.

You say that the a/c unit is new and clean. Are you referring to the condenser or air handler/coil in the closet, or both parts of the system?

How well does the condensate water drain from this air handler? Any standing water? Where does the condensate water drain to? Could have mold somewhere in the condensate drain system. Is there a P-trap in the condensate drain system that prevents gasses from coming back thru the drain (like a sink or toilet has a p-trap).

You wouldn't happen to have a kitty cat peeing near the air handler closet?

Is there water leaking from a window or somewhere else where mold can be forming that is not related to your heat pump system? Same question for the person in the apartment above you.

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Comments (13)

mistral9999
Original Author
16 years ago
As far as I know, the A/C unit in my apartment is a water-cooled condensing unit (with a hot water heater coil probably). Building has a condenser that sends the chilled water up to each apartment, and receives the condensate water. There is also a cooling tower on the roof that the condenser uses to cool the returning water. I guess there is a separate circuit with a boiler for heat. So there are three pipes: for incoming chilled water, hot water, and for the condensate drain.

A/C unit is only a couple of years old. Coil is clean. No drainage problem, no standing water. There is a p-trap.

I don't have pets, but my next door and upstairs neighbor have dogs. There was a minor leak from the apartment above me from his A/C closet to mine, but the building engineer supposedly checked that. I will confirm this with him again. I'm not very sure how mold smells, but it's not a musty odor.

I'll ask the maintenance if there are any cleaning supplies near a vent.

Thanks a lot,
Matt
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dallasbill
16 years ago
Being a high rise, I'm assuming the structural floors are concrete. That being said, I once rented in a 2 story townhouse condo complex (all wood) where the person in the condo above me had 5 dogs. They pee'ed on a bedroom floor during the day. The plenum for my in-ceiling blower was near that room and sucked in the "sweet chemical" odor. It was awful.

Maybe something is happening with the neighbors that way. Even though it's concrete, there's chases, etc. all over the place for odors to get sucked through. Just an idea...
davidandkasie
16 years ago
There was a minor leak from the apartment above me from his A/C closet to mine,

you say a musty odor, AND you know there is a leak from above into the very closet the AC is in. i would say that needs to be checked closer. soemwhere around that point the water is stagnant and causing mold/mildew giving you the odor.
mistral9999
Original Author
16 years ago
It's not really a musty odor, more like a sickly sweet smell, which I guess can be mold also. Anyway, the building engineer was supposed to check the upstairs neighbor's A/C closet today...
ckmb5150
16 years ago
sickly sweet smell? kinda like anti freeze? water cooled condenser? cooling tower? chillers circulate a glycol/water (anti freeze) mixture.
not sure what you mean by heat pump but it sounds like you have a 4 pipe chilled water/boiler system. sounds like your building's chiller piping leaked in the apt upstairs and youre smelling glycol or maybe a combination of glycol and stagnant/moldy water. just a guess but thats what it sounds like to me.
ckmb5150
16 years ago
sounds like you have a 2 pipe chilled water/boiler system with a water cooled condenser to remove the heat in the REFRIGERANT in the chiller. condensate is probably piped to the open loop cooling tower for make-up water to keep city water usage down. if theres only one coil in your air handler it probably doubles as a hot water coil and uses the same 2 pipes for heat. supply and return.
Ive seen these in apt buildings where the owner pays the electric bill.
lindalinecm_yahoo_com
16 years ago
I have the same sickening, sweet, mildewy smell in my apartment!!! I can't get rid of it. I've tried dehumidifiers with no success yet. I live in a flat roof building that is leaking. Our landlord puts sump pumps on the roof instead of fixing it, and I'm sure there is mildew/mold growth between the roof and our ceiling (I'm on the top floor). However, who knows where this growth is. I was told our HVAC had no outdoor ventilation, so I assume it's drawing air from the area between the roof and the ceiling (the plenum?) which might be moldy? This problem only started a couple months ago, and we did have an unusually hot and humid summer. I'm guessing that, combined with the roof leaks caused a bloom in mildew that I'm now smelling. Do you think running the heater will as it gets cooler will make this smell stop? It's so gross I'm embarrassed to invite friends over anymore to what was once my nice, clean apartment. Ugh!
rfix
13 years ago
Hi Matt,

I am experiencing a problem that sounds identical to yours. I am the only one in my building who is having this problem and I am on the top floor (although it's on 3 levels). The smell is as you described and affects my lungs and causes allergy like symptoms.

I bought a carbon filter purifier which is the only thing that helps, and the smell is much worse some days than others. I have a heat pump in my closet and no mold or other problems were reported when I just had it inspected.

Did you ever find the source?? I thought it may be neighbors smoking, but no smokers are in my building. I'm hoping you can help since your post is from 2007...

Thank you for any help!!
Ronit
Donna Starkey
7 years ago
I live on the top floor (12th) of a condo building. I get a stink so bad in the unit that I cannot stay in the unit. The smell comes through where plumbing pipes come into the unit. I've tried everything to block up around them, but the odour still comes in.

It is worst just after rain, but lately it seems to be nearly every day. The smell only comes in the rooms that have plumbing in them - 2 bathrooms and kitchen - but we hardly ever smell in the laundry.

Please help - I am more and more having to leave my home because I cannot take the stink. I dont know if the smell has anything to do with migraines I have started having (I have never had them before).

Donna
ionized_gw
7 years ago
Is air being sucked into the home at that location when the HVAC blower is running?
nmnina
7 years ago
A San Francisco Millennium Tower resident has a news report on this subject. Inspectors cut openings in her outside walls and the unit below and discovered openings due to shoddy construction. Search Google for the video.

I live in an upper ranch condo with townhouses next door and a unit below. I have been smelling sewer, garbage,animal odors. For over ten years. Yes, I have reported the issues to the property manager and the HOA with no action on their part.

In the last two years , chemicals have been applied in my unit. The chemicals smell like smoke and also a mentholated odor which I suspect.Is a bug pesticide. The menthol and smokey smells are in two rooms, while.The sewer smell is all over my.Unit-2,000 sq. Ft.

I suspect the sewer pipes have been opened deliberately. I have contacted the state & local police regarding the smells, hacking and an opening in my attic floor.

Yes, some crook connected my ATT wifi wires to the townhouse next door and the unit downstairs. If you have an attic, make sure to inspect it thoroughly for wires and openings.
nmnina
7 years ago
Check out Deborah Goonan on flipboard.com. She has an abundance of articles on HOAs and condo life. I found the San Francisco Millenium article on her site.

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High-rise condo odor problem

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High-rise condo odor problem

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