Its conditioned space now. You should have a hvac vent in the space or at a very minimum keep the door open. Although I dont know if that is your problem.
Smell after crawl space encapsulation
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Its conditioned space now. You should have a hvac vent in the space or at a very minimum keep the door open. Although I dont know if that is your problem.
A couple of things based on what you said so far:
Would be interesting to know how they fixed it. If it was just a cleaning, the mold likely returned. Moisture + any type of impermeable liner sounds like a recipe for re-curring mold. Possibly they did something to ventillate, though?
...but you said you didn't have the smell in the crawl space, correct? ...only the rooms above? - so THAT is where you should be doing the testing.
Anything special about that one room? Since this is a fire/hearth forum, is there a stove, heater, fireplace, or other combustion appliance in there? Does that room have any extra HVAC vents, no HVAC vents, higher ceiling, lower ceiling, anything which might make if different?
You might have to go into a bit more detail... organic like musty? organic like compost/forest after a rain? organic like old trash? does it smell 'nasty'? or sharp/acrid? or sort of 'trippy' like paint thinner / gasoline, etc? does it smell chemical 'like' anything else...vinegar? ammonia? chlorox bleach? etc?
Ideally a radon system would pull air from a space above the soil and below a liner. This is where radon would be concentrated. If you're just pulling air out of the whole space, you have to pull out a lot more air. So if it is installed correctly, it might not help the problem at all if you suspect the smell is coming from 'inside' the space..not up from the floor. Though if installed 'incorrectly' and evacuating air from the whole crawl space, it somewhat supports the following theory - and might even make it worse.
So, another consideration, since you don't seem to smell it in the actual crawl space... is it possible the smell is/was always present in the house, but sealing the crawl space meant the smell could no longer dissipate? ie- the smell is not necessarily 'from' the crawl space, but sealing it meant the smell can no longer escape or be diluted with fresh air? Are there any old/disused chimneys which might now backflow instead of pulling air through the crawlspace? gas appliances? a woodstove / fireplace where the flue might backflow? This would be especially important if you have any large exhaust vents ...range hood, shower vents, attic fan, clothes dryer which might have been able to pull air through the crawl space - but with it sealed, they now pull air back through some other opening.
Either way, if you've sealed one portion of the house and are still pulling air from another portion, that air has to come from somewhere...musty attic, old flue, fireplace, sewer vent, etc - so it might be be worth a look around the strongest smelling room... especially if you can pinpoint the strongest odor in that room.
Would be interesting to know how they fixed it. If it was just a cleaning, the mold likely returned. Moisture + any type of impermeable liner sounds like a recipe for re-curring mold. Possibly they did something to ventillate, though?
...but you said you didn't have the smell in the crawl space, correct? ...only the rooms above? - so THAT is where you should be doing the testing.
Anything special about that one room? Since this is a fire/hearth forum, is there a stove, heater, fireplace, or other combustion appliance in there? Does that room have any extra HVAC vents, no HVAC vents, higher ceiling, lower ceiling, anything which might make if different?
You might have to go into a bit more detail... organic like musty? organic like compost/forest after a rain? organic like old trash? does it smell 'nasty'? or sharp/acrid? or sort of 'trippy' like paint thinner / gasoline, etc? does it smell chemical 'like' anything else...vinegar? ammonia? chlorox bleach? etc?
Ideally a radon system would pull air from a space above the soil and below a liner. This is where radon would be concentrated. If you're just pulling air out of the whole space, you have to pull out a lot more air. So if it is installed correctly, it might not help the problem at all if you suspect the smell is coming from 'inside' the space..not up from the floor. Though if installed 'incorrectly' and evacuating air from the whole crawl space, it somewhat supports the following theory - and might even make it worse.
So, another consideration, since you don't seem to smell it in the actual crawl space... is it possible the smell is/was always present in the house, but sealing the crawl space meant the smell could no longer dissipate? ie- the smell is not necessarily 'from' the crawl space, but sealing it meant the smell can no longer escape or be diluted with fresh air? Are there any old/disused chimneys which might now backflow instead of pulling air through the crawlspace? gas appliances? a woodstove / fireplace where the flue might backflow? This would be especially important if you have any large exhaust vents ...range hood, shower vents, attic fan, clothes dryer which might have been able to pull air through the crawl space - but with it sealed, they now pull air back through some other opening.
Either way, if you've sealed one portion of the house and are still pulling air from another portion, that air has to come from somewhere...musty attic, old flue, fireplace, sewer vent, etc - so it might be be worth a look around the strongest smelling room... especially if you can pinpoint the strongest odor in that room.
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