Hi there,
I've a mystery smell that i'm hoping the forum can help me locate/understand. I'll provide a load of background to help (forgive the no. of words!)
I moved into a house last August(19) which has a brilliant EcoSpace studio in the garden. The studio was put up in 2012, but hadn't been used at all - evident by the pristine condition and the "new wood smell" inside. The studio has cedar cladding outside, and full Birch Plywood interior panelling on the ceiling and walls - one side is a big sliding glass door. There is a rubber type basic floor covering and underfloor heating.
The issue i'm having is that the "new wood smell" hasn't gone away. Since August, I've been in here most week days (home based worker). Everyday the windows have been open and during the past few months of heat, the big sliding doors have been wide open. Still, the smell persists. During the cold months, the smell is unbearable, windows open and heating does not make me happy.
I have assumed the smell is Formaldehyde - being surrounded by birch ply. But reading up, it should have off-gassed by now. Its a kind of acidic, almost silicone type smell. After hours in here, you can taste it at the back of your mouth. It doesn't make me cough or give me any irritation however. Others notice the smell too - but no one coughs or gets irritated by it physically.
I purchased a £150 air quality monitor from Amazon to check for Formaldehyde - I'm not sure it works well to be honest - most of the time, it suggests Formaldehyde is low and VOCs low. Some readings are high, but not consistently. I also got a cheap Formaldehyde test kit, that registered low too. I borrowed a VOC monitor from a university pal, again, no to low VOC's detected. This monitor doesn't check for Formaldehyde which requires some expensive equipment for precision.
Can anyone help? Is the smell just part of having Birch ply everywhere? was 8 years of not being used and sealed an issue for off-gassing? Can I test anything? All and any advice most welcome.
Cheers
I've a mystery smell that i'm hoping the forum can help me locate/understand. I'll provide a load of background to help (forgive the no. of words!)
I moved into a house last August(19) which has a brilliant EcoSpace studio in the garden. The studio was put up in 2012, but hadn't been used at all - evident by the pristine condition and the "new wood smell" inside. The studio has cedar cladding outside, and full Birch Plywood interior panelling on the ceiling and walls - one side is a big sliding glass door. There is a rubber type basic floor covering and underfloor heating.
The issue i'm having is that the "new wood smell" hasn't gone away. Since August, I've been in here most week days (home based worker). Everyday the windows have been open and during the past few months of heat, the big sliding doors have been wide open. Still, the smell persists. During the cold months, the smell is unbearable, windows open and heating does not make me happy.
I have assumed the smell is Formaldehyde - being surrounded by birch ply. But reading up, it should have off-gassed by now. Its a kind of acidic, almost silicone type smell. After hours in here, you can taste it at the back of your mouth. It doesn't make me cough or give me any irritation however. Others notice the smell too - but no one coughs or gets irritated by it physically.
I purchased a £150 air quality monitor from Amazon to check for Formaldehyde - I'm not sure it works well to be honest - most of the time, it suggests Formaldehyde is low and VOCs low. Some readings are high, but not consistently. I also got a cheap Formaldehyde test kit, that registered low too. I borrowed a VOC monitor from a university pal, again, no to low VOC's detected. This monitor doesn't check for Formaldehyde which requires some expensive equipment for precision.
Can anyone help? Is the smell just part of having Birch ply everywhere? was 8 years of not being used and sealed an issue for off-gassing? Can I test anything? All and any advice most welcome.
Cheers
