Burning Chemical smell from A/C vents

[admin]

What volatile organic compounds did the electronic nose identify othere than CO2? ... do you have a gas range? Furnace? You said the furnace was not intact? What about your water heater.

From http://coinet.org.uk/solutions/carboncalculations

CO2 in the home comes "Approximately half of from room heating, 20% from water heating and the rest is split up between washing (8%), cooking (8%), refrigeration (5%), lighting (4%), and other electrical products (5%). People usually underestimate significance of heating- how many people would guess that heating water for baths and showers over three times as much carbon dioxide as the entire iron and steel industry"

For the past several years houses have been built tighter & tighter to stop air infiltration and promote conservation by offering lower energy use. As a result the inside air is becoming more & more contaminated - I'm sure you've heard the term - sick house syndrome. Sources of CO2 would be burning fossil fuel, breathing and even plants. DO you have a lot of house plants ? Plants only produce o2 when they are getting light. when it is dark, they can release co2.

Do you have an aquarium ?


You say you are in a coal mine area ... From http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1222719

Besides "air," which is made up of primarily/approximately 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen (note: carbon dioxide constitutes about 0.03%), there are four main gases that concern workers in a coal mine. They are carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S).


From http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/eh/ChemFS/fs/ ... ioxide.htm

The amount of carbon dioxide in a building is usually related to how much fresh air is being brought into that building. In general, the higher the CO2 level in the building, the lower the amount of fresh air exchange. Therefore, examining levels of CO2 in indoor air can reveal if the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are operating within guidelines. CO2 levels are usually measured in percent (%) of air or parts per million (ppm). High CO2 levels, generally over 1000 ppm, indicate a potential problem with air circulation and fresh air in a room or building. In general, high CO2 levels indicate the need to examine the HVAC system. High carbon dioxide levels can cause poor air quality and can even extinguish pilot lights on gas-powered appliances.

WILL EXPOSURE TO CARBON DIOXIDE RESULT IN HARMFUL HEALTH EFFECTS?

Exposure to CO2 can produce a variety of health effects. These may include headaches, dizziness, restlessness, a tingling or pins or needles feeling, difficulty breathing, sweating, tiredness, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, coma, asphyxia to convulsions ....

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_air_quality

http://osstf.on.ca/Default.aspx?DN=083e ... c3a4d6bee6

http://www.inspect-ny.com/hazmat/CO2gashaz.htm

Your problem is not specific to manufactured housing. Id have a closer look at the Furnace and water heater and what is going on in and around your home... I would move out of the home 'till the problem was resolved..

[Evanesce]

Thank you so much. It means so much to me to check this forum and find that you have responded. I cannot get over how caring you are! And knowledgeable too!
The vapors were so bad on Wednesday, the only way I could breathe was to sit facing an opened window which I did until 4 a.m. while talking with a nurse at Poison Control. The nurse told me to try to get some sleep. I managed to sleep about 1 1/2 to 2 hours and when I awoke I could not think or form words to speak them very well. Finally, a friend called and offered to pick me up at 5 p.m. so I could stay at her house.
Around 1 p.m. the vapors were so bad I had to try to get out myself, even though I did not feel up to driving. I put my cat in his carrier, but could not function well enough to get him outside of the house with me. I noticed my neighbor outside and asked him (a healthy 30 year-old) to help me get my cat out. He took two steps inside my house and came out saying he could not breathe and his lungs were burning. We decided to take a deep breath out on the porch and while holding our breathe go in quickly to bring out my cat, turn off the fans, open an extra window etc.
I drove to a friend's house and kept smelling the vapors, even in her house. She took me to the emergency room and they did a toxic screen and gave me oxygen which brought back color to my skin and stopped the smell. The doctor thinks that I had so much chemical in me that my body was trying to throw it off when I breathed, thus the continuing smell.
I spoke with someone tonight who asked me where would I find toxic chemicals near my house. I knew the answer; we have a wet mat form fiberglass company that is also on the town's sewer system. He believes that the autovent in my kitchen may not be working and/or the roof vent at the other side of the house may be not functioning. In the past, this factory was caught and fined by the State Environmental Protection agency for dumping formaldehyde into the creek and he thinks they are now dumping it (and maybe other chemicals) into the town's sewer system and if my vents are not working, the chemicals are entering my house through the plumbing.
This sounds plausable to me. Please let me know what you think.
P.S. The CO2 levels of 700+ were taken when there was no noticeable vapors and the windows were opened. I expect to receive an Excel file with the results next week.
Again, thank you so much for being there and willing to help.

[Evanesce]

Sorry, I didn't answer your questions. My house is all electric -- no gas or gas hookups. The 4-year old furnace is heating oil. I have a lot of plants. The house is located over a room and pillar mine begun in 1992 and since closed. It is 200 feet down.
Also, venting the house with an exhaust fan and opening all of the windows does not now help, although it used to get rid of the smell quickly. However, opening and closing the windows does have an effect on the vapors. It is hard to describe, but seems to either increase or decrease the vapors. Could this be a house pressure thing? Somehow changing the pressure changes the vapors?
My symptoms were headache, confusion and very slow speach.
If I could, I would move out immediately, but there is no where to go and I have to be here to call in people when the vapors are evident to find out what the problem is. If I leave there would be no way to solve it.

[admin]

I'm sorry but I have no idea what to tell you. Our special interest area here is manufactured housing and seems apparent that your problem is not MH specific. There are so many possibiities.. located over a coal mine, toxic dumping into your local sewer system... it is just impossible to tell from here.

I doubt that your looking at a pressure problem. The smell increases when the windows are open because whatever it is trapped in the house. You need some serious professional assistance. You might start by taking a copy of your hospital record to the local health department.

You have no idea what the long term effects of breathing the vapors might be. If inhaling them has already sickened you to the point where you needed hospital attention you should not spend any time at all in the home 'till the problem is totally resolved. Forward your phone to a friends house, get out and stay out

[Evanesce]

Sorry I was so wordy. My question is what is the best method to address the issue of the autovent and house roof vent not working? Is there a way to test for the vents not working? Someone mentioned pouring water down the roof vent. Do you agree? I believe if I can have the vents fixed the vapors will not enter my home.
I certainly agree with you about leaving, but I need to fix the problem too. Thank you very much.

[rmurray]

I agree with admin 100%....

A clogged roof plumbing vent would not cause smells in the house...Its symptom is plumbing in the home would not draining properly...Smells come from sewers through open sewer lines...If traps are full of water no sewer gas can get in...I had the sewer gas problem after my daughter moved to her own apartment...Her bath went unused for months and water in the trap must have evaporated.(at the beginning I wanted to blame an auto vent but there was no smell in that area). The source of the problem was not really hard to find...I treated her bath tub with bleach and filled lines with water...Now I run water in all unused fixtures on a regular basis...Auto vents if stuck open could well allow sewer vapor in...It would be easy to identify them as the problem...The small would be much more intense in the area of the vent...Vents are easy to change, but from your posts it looks like you should have a plumber to take on this project...I like admin believe if it is making you doctor level of sick, you should get out and have professionals determine the problem and the cure...

[Evanesce]

Thank you for your answer to my question and for your patients. I certainly agree that I need a professional plumber and your response is certainly appropriate under normal conditions, but regrettably, I do not live in normal conditions. Our 75 year old sewer system flows between 30,000 GPD and 500,000 GPD due to inflow. The pressure on the system is so great that often toilets will not flush, sewage backs up into peoples homes, runs down the street, manholes constantly surcharge, and sewer gas, which is very common, can bypass traps and bubble up out of toilets. There are no State building codes and very little regulation on anything. We don't even have mail delivery or street addresses. Everyone here fixes their own problems and a professional plumber would starve here. I moved here from the Big City and am still in culture shock. One good thing is that I know my manufactured house is built to HUD code, unlike many of my neighbors who built their own houses and have no idea what code is.
I guess it would not hurt to replace the autovent and see what happens from there. Again, I really appreciate your input.

[Evanesce]

I thought I would get back to you with an update. After checking out every possible cause within the house and consulting with numerous experts, we have narrowed the problem down to two possibilities:
1. Subsurface vapor intrusion
2. The coal mine under the house is on fire.
The government is going to do further testing and I am still trying to find a place to stay while the vapors are invading the house.
Again, thanks for your help in eliminating the causes -- there was nothing left to check but vapors from under the house.
P.S.
If this sounds strange check out MacAdoo, PA for toxic vapors and Centralia, PA for underground mine fires.

[rmurray]

Good Luck....

[cabledad65]

Having read the above posts, I have a couple of questions, the smell in my home directly relates our heating system. Is it possible the furnace filters could be causing some of the problems. Also since the smell started, my wife and daughter have experienced multiple health problems. We have lived in our place for about a year and a half and the smell only started about 6-8 months ago during the time the A/C was operating and since the onset of winter and the heater being utilized, the smell has continued as well as gotten worse. The A/C unit is separate from the heating unit. Is it possible the the filter or duct system could be the cause of some of these problems? Additionally the smell is not so much burning electrical as it is burning chemical. Any advise or experiences shared would be helpful.A/C & Heating system are both electrically powered.

Thank you