hardwood floor & musty odor (window, refinishing, smell, bathroom)

[Dea13]

We have a crawlspace under part of the house and a full basement under the rest. This summer we had really heavy rains and I noticed a musty smell in the basement that seemed to come from the crawlspace.

I have allergies and have been pretty miserable so we ended up putting in a vapor barrier in the crawlspace about a month ago. Problem is I am still smelling that musty smell in our bedroom. I had thought it was coming up through the vents but the smell when I go into the basement has now pretty much gone away.

The smell seems to be coming from our hardwood floor. If we smell the floor (which my daughter walked in on us doing and thought we had truly lost it!), the smell seems to come right out of the wood. I've tried oil soap, distilled white vinegar solution and nothing is working. I can smell the musty smell as soon as I get to the bedroom doorway.

I believe the floors are all red oak and would have been put in around 1970. They have wear areas but otherwise appear to be really nice. Any ideas how to get rid of the odor?

Thanks.

Dea

[SuSuSushi]

Hmmph, all I can think is that maybe the wood itself has mold or mildew that is causing the odor? I'd call a wood floor refinishing expert and get their opinion on it. Maybe there's some sort of treatment they can do? My guess would be that if there's anything they can treat it with, that the underside of the floor will need treatment as well.

[Dea13]

Thanks for the reply SuSuSushi.

We've been in our house 13 yrs and never had a problem with water in the basement or crawlspace that we know of but the smell did start after all the rain we had over the summer. My neighbors walkout basement flooded but we had no issues.

I'm hoping it's not mold. I read horror stories about that. If so, I'm thinking they would have to pull up the floor and possibly replace the subfloor. UGH! I'm imagining lots of $$$$ and stress.

So, you think any floor refinisher would be able to tell me? Would I need to find someone special that deals with possible mold/mildew?

Thanks!

Dea

[SuSuSushi]

I'm just guessing with what I've told you. The residual odor in the floor might or might not be fixable. I know there are products on the market for cleaning odors from surfaces, I just don't know if they'd penetrate to wherever your floor's odors are coming from. A reputable floor refinisher has probably seen all sorts of damage and they're who I'd ask first. Chances are you can get a free estimate.

[pitt_transplant]

Would flood or water damage house insurance cover something like this?

[texdav]

Unless you pay extra most insurnace now days only covers sudden water leaks not long term problems that cause mold. Look at your policy and you will see if it covers mold caused by other problems.Flood insurance only covers rising water flood damage;Not a normal moisture problems.

[M3 Mitch]

What kind of ventilation on the crawl space?

Are you *certain* you don't have a small leak somewhere in a fixture or pipe?

[Dea13]

Thanks for the posts. I called today to get a new copy of my ins policy. I'm not sure I have all those amendments they send out.

M3 Mitch,
The crawlspace has a small opening from the basement, about 2' x 3' and there's ductwork running through there. Other than that opening, we don't see any other ventilation. We had a window replaced in the crawlspace at the same time we had the vapor barrier put down. The basement and crawlspace smell has almost completely gone away with the barrier & window repair.

Husband crawled around the crawlspace yesterday from end to end and the joists, etc weren't wet at all and he couldn't see any visible mold/mildew. The odor we smelled in the crawlspace originally had seemed to come from the dirt but the vapor barrier really did the job there.

There's no plumbing running through the part of the crawlspace under our bedroom. Bedrooms & a bathroom were all added onto the house and that's where the crawlspace is under. Neither of the other 2 bedrooms or the bath have the odor. We can't see a leak but I'm still wondering about a leak in the adjacent bathroom and whether it could be running through the subfloor and just not leaking enough to make it through to the crawlspace. Looked like tarpaper? showing through the space in boards looking up from the crawlspace.

I'm going to call 2 flooring refinishers tomorrow night (if I get home from work early enough). I'm leery of calling one of those mold remediators. IMHO the whole 'toxic mold' thing has blown into a huge scare tactic. I'd really have to ask around to find someone trustworthy.

Thanks.

Dea

[Keeem]

Originally Posted by pitt_transplant

Would flood or water damage house insurance cover something like this?

Most flood or water damage is only covered if it's declared a disaster by FEMA or local officials (in the case of flooding) or as a result of fire protection (ie: putting out a fire). My basement always floods, Statefarm doesn't offer any additional protections. They did try to sell me earthquake protection, though... because the midwest is so prone to those :P

[cstleddy]

Make sure all the seals (usually tape or caulk) used around the HVAC vents, plumbing and electrical lines that go between your crawlspace/basement are sealed so that there is no "musty air exchanged". We've learned that sometimes the seals come lose or the adhesive degrades as the years go by and that musty odor creeps in to the living spaces.