| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Musty muddy smell | 11/22/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: Like Rashmi, one of your previous correspondents, I Iive in Bahrain. It is a new-build townhouse by ...
A: Well it seems that HVAC engineering in Bahrain isn't all that great, lol. Based on what you & the ...
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| odor in older home | 11/19/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: My daughter is pregnant and has moved out of her home due to an odor that makes her sick. She has ...
A: I rarely recommend products, but a air cleaner that also filters down to at least .3 microns ...
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| odor in older home | 11/18/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: My daughter is pregnant and has moved out of her home due to an odor that makes her sick. She has ...
A: OK, another thing to find out is to know if there's a dead small animal in the duct system, or in ...
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| odor in older home | 11/17/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: My daughter is pregnant and has moved out of her home due to an odor that makes her sick. She has ...
A: Well the odor can come from a wide range of sources and may be from more than one. I need more info ...
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| Mold in attic | 11/15/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I and my parents live in SE Texas in a one-story home that is about 40 years old. About two months ...
A: Well it appears that you & your family have done a lot to get rid of this problem. And, I'm glad ...
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| Home insulation | 11/13/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I have one of the four bedrooms on the upper floor losing heat big time. I believe the culprit is ...
A: You'll need to view this as investment choices, what will give you the best return on your ...
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| Odor in Basement | 11/10/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: We have recently bought a house and moved there in July/09. During the initial showing, we noticed ...
A: It is possible that heated air, and sometimes cooled air will hide odors. To eliminate this or not, ...
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| Fresh make up air needed | 11/5/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I have been updating the windows/doors/insulation in my ranch house, 2000sqft inc. unfinsished ...
A: Yes, I would recommend a HRV, because it's doing both, helping dehumidify, and helping bring in ...
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| Odor in Basement | 11/4/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: We have recently bought a house and moved there in July/09. During the initial showing, we noticed ...
A: By what you're describing to me, sounds like it's most likely in the duct system. Being the case ...
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| Puzzling wall vent with dust | 11/1/2009 | Val Riedman |
Q: I put a fiberglass screen behind the fins of a wall vent in my living room. It is @ 1' - 2' from the ...
A: I think the vent down low is probably the return vent to the furnace and AC coil. It can be ...
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| gas furnace | 10/27/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: we recently purchased a 20 yrs old home and the furnace might be same age, not sure if previous ...
A: If it is just one HVAC system & not two HVAC systems, then most of it is probably due to the duct ...
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| crawl space odor | 10/16/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I live in a 2 story home (2200 square ft.) built on a 3 foot tall crawlspace. There is a "musty" ...
A: Duct tape does not seal air tight. In time, the adhesive will wear off. Mastic is what you need. ...
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| crawl space odor | 10/14/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I live in a 2 story home (2200 square ft.) built on a 3 foot tall crawlspace. There is a "musty" ...
A: Well there's a few things you need to do. That heavy black plastic that you mentioned, make sure ...
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| apartment air | 10/13/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: Why are my eyes always itchy. Live in 1 bedroom . no aircondiioning, baseboard heat in winter,(not ...
A: Well, I'm going to need some more general info & some questions answered, so that I can better ...
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| Odor from Vents | 10/6/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: We have stumped everyone so far, hopefully you can help. Some background - last year this exact ...
A: As far as I know plugging the floor drain shouldn't hurt anything. But, I would want it there as a ...
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| Dusty smell in 40yr old home | 10/4/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: We just purchased a 40yr old house. The sellers were apparently covering an intense dusty smell with ...
A: And, I'll be a little more specific on what you asked about, OK. The rock-wool should be removed if ...
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| Cold air blowing from vents | 10/1/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: Why would cold air be blowing from our furnace? It is freezing out %26 we have 4 children. We ...
A: Sorry to hear about this, and I understand especially since I have 4 kids myself. There could be ...
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| Dusty smell in 40yr old home | 10/1/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: We just purchased a 40yr old house. The sellers were apparently covering an intense dusty smell with ...
A: That's an interesting question you have there. And, yes the rock-wool insulation could be the ...
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| Odor from Vents | 9/30/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: We have stumped everyone so far, hopefully you can help. Some background - last year this exact ...
A: Let me start off by saying...WOW! Sounds liked you've been working a while crossing off on your ...
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| Mildew odor in upstairs room | 9/30/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: One of our upstairs bedrooms (actually used as a dressing room/office) has had a mildew odor for the ...
A: Well, by what you have described, I'd suspect that there has been some sort of water intrusion via ...
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| Odor coming from intake air vent and stale smell in general | 9/29/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I have noticed a smell coming from the intake air vents in the house, as well as the floor vents, ...
A: The flex ducts that have been used only a couple months should be fine. Just need to visually check ...
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| Peculiar odour in air | 9/29/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: ..I am really troubled by my airconditioning system I live in 2 bedroom flat entire air condition ...
A: Well, having a HVAC system in the bathroom area is not an ideal place, in fact not good at all. One ...
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| Odor coming from intake air vent and stale smell in general | 9/29/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I have noticed a smell coming from the intake air vents in the house, as well as the floor vents, ...
A: By what you have described you may have a few things going on. I go over the duct system, the ...
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| Air condition ducts/asbstos | 9/26/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I laid a black jacket by a air condition vent in a 1973 mobile home with central air and in the ...
A: This dust that you mentioned could be asbestos or just some other dust particles. Neither are good, ...
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| odor coming from air ducts | 9/11/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: We live in a community of older houses just outside of Chicago. We moved into a house three months ...
A: Yes it does sound like a lot going on up there. But all of those mentioned are just symptoms of a ...
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| Odor Elimination | 9/8/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: A non-smoker, I've lived in my 2nd floor condo (1250 sq ft) w/no one above me for the last 10 years. ...
A: If the HVAC system is being replaced then I would wait. But, my question to that is...will it ...
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| Crawl space/indoor air quality | 9/2/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: Can you recommend a vapor barrier to use to seal off the dirt floor in my crawl space? I read your ...
A: Sure I'll do that. First clear out all debri, rock, bricks, etc, to smooth out as best as possible. ...
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| Odor in apartment | 9/1/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: A year ago, my landlord had the roof replaced. Shortly after, rain began leaking in from the top of ...
A: That's a possibility. I do have a question for you that will help point us both in the right ...
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| Condense water on air grill | 8/31/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: Could you please help me to eliminate the water condensate on the cold air grill on the false ...
A: By what you have stated, I will mention some things for you to eliminate. If most or if all the ...
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| Radon | 8/31/2009 | Val Riedman |
Q: We are considering buying a home with summer radons level of ~4pCi. Is a mitigation system ...
A: Chances are very good that with a radon mitigation systems installed your home will have the lowest ...
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| Radon Extracton | 8/30/2009 | Val Riedman |
Q: Why wouldn't a roof mounted wind turbine work to assist a passive radon system?
A: I think it may help, great idea. I can't say for sure but with a radon monitor installed in your ...
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| duct problems, mold, and smells | 8/29/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I live in an older house wood frame house that was converted to apartments many years ago. The ...
A: Great & challenging question with detailed information! Well it sounds like this has been an never ...
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| Condense water on air grill | 8/29/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: Could you please help me to eliminate the water condensate on the cold air grill on the false ...
A: Sorry about your situation. To address your question in the best possible way, I'll need you to ...
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| air duct cleaning | 8/16/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I live in a condo with central a/c and I'm told that what some say are water stains around 2 of the ...
A: I'm so glad to be of help to you! As far as a Mold Inspector, that wouldn't hurt, and the HVAC ...
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| "dusty" smell from air conditioning system | 8/16/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I live in a condo - about 40 years old. It has a forced air system that can be used for both heating ...
A: Well this is a very interesting situation you have here. The best way to tackle this is by going ...
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| air duct cleaning | 8/15/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I live in a condo with central a/c and I'm told that what some say are water stains around 2 of the ...
A: The sections that will be sheet metal & insulated will be the return side plenum, the supply side ...
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| air duct cleaning | 8/15/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: I live in a condo with central a/c and I'm told that what some say are water stains around 2 of the ...
A: Well, in my professional opinion you'd be wasting your time & money trying to clean fiberglass duct ...
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| high moisture content in attached garage | 8/12/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: My home is a single story w/attached garage & is approx 1 1/2 yrs old. I'm currently experiencing ...
A: Yes, I would imagine it's possible for a chemical reaction to occur and accelerate the problem. ...
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| cold air return | 8/10/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: we rent a duplex and we have mice so one day i watched a mouse come right out of the vent on the ...
A: Yes ducting is suppose to be on all return & supply vents. If mice pop their head up through the ...
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| high moisture content in attached garage | 8/9/2009 | TJ Nichols |
Q: My home is a single story w/attached garage & is approx 1 1/2 yrs old. I'm currently experiencing ...
A: I've added to the top of my original answer, so just disregard the bottom part. By what you are ...
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