(sorry about the blurry pics.)
Slacker here finally fixing interior air quality issues:
I suspected an upstairs toilet leak, and stopped using all plumbing except to run enough water to keep the p-traps full (which prevents sewer gasses into the house). Ran a lot of bleach with that and thought it good for a while. No evidence of leaking was found around toilet base and under sink.
The weird thing was the drywall continued to get worse...without any use.
I still suspect the PVC main vent stack is not glued, or the roof flange is leaking and dribbling down the stack. ( it "looked" fine).
When it rains I will check in the attic again.
Hey, all the cool kids on the internet gut their bathrooms.
Phase 1 is to open it up, bleach it all, run the fan. Rinse and repeat until no smell remains. That may take a while. Fix leak. There are "encapsulation" jug spray products made from sea shells which seal mold which I've used before. I'll get some test kits just to make sure before sealing it up
All kinds of shingle pieces, wood scraps, saw blades, etc were in there.
Free parts.
The exterior foam insulation from the 1950's was literally dust. There is another 1" layer under the siding.
Packing tape? Really?
The damage is pretty localized around the toilet area thankfully.
The steel tub was already chipped and rusting from the ex hanging too-heavy plant baskets and the finish was already crappy. I could have it re-painted but what I really would like is a walk-in shower with a nice sliding door eventually. The drywall should all be green board anyway. Insulation and plastic will keep it usable in the meantime. Broan has a high-flow/low-noise fan which will work fine when it's inside the shower area.
Upgraded the RadonAway fan from 140 to 145 (40V) and it now pulls .5 instead of .3.
Some PVC primers are clear but I'm going to plastic glue all the joints to be sure.
I need to grind the basement floor and slope it all towards the sump pickup before sealing it which should reduce any level further.
Forgot to add:
This outside installation is wrong. The motor is supposed to be offset to a condensation "wye trap" for moisture running down the stack. Easy fix.
Local code might require running the pipe inside through the roof which doesn't make any more sense.
I would love to see this city made culpable for the repairs I have already made.
The final issue was a beautiful carpet hand-me-down which had been cleaned because of dog pee several years ago. That guest room stunk and a 1st floor return vent near the furnace was circulating chemicals throughout the house. Opened the window w/fan outwards and vacuumed it again. Lots of fiber and dust. Smell improved. I covered most of the vent with a magnetic sticker to pull more flow from the upstairs. I want to use the Bissell carpet cleaner tool or perhaps a steam cleaner which uses little water but am nervous about that. More research needed.
(Great grand-father's bed. Still need to hang pictures.)
