My finished basement smells like "garage". Help!

[lmdbww]

We have a tri-level house (dont know all of the regional terms for it, but the main entry is on the bottom level, one flight of stairs up is the living area/kitchen, and then the 3rd floor is bedrooms.)

Anyway, on the entry level is the 2 car garage and a finished "basement" area (living space). The basement is fully drywalled (even ceiling) and the floor is wood laminate. The garage is fully drywalled (walls and ceiling) but the concrete floor isn't sealed. We only moved in like 3 weeks ago but we are now parking in the garage. We haven't used anything "chemically" in the garage at all (no spray paint or paint or anything).

The finished basement area smells like "garage" (you know that smell, like chemicals/lawn mower gas/whatever). I can smell it when i'm about halfway down the stairs and then in the entire lower level. We keep the garage door shut at all times. There is only one teeny window down there and i'm not sure how much that would help ventilate the room anyway (plus we have the AC on). Everything has been cleaned and we already have furniture down there.

What can I put down there to clean the air? I have used air purifier machines in the past to help DH w/his allergies but I felt like they made the air smell metallic almost and it bothered me (I am very sensitive to smells).

It doesn't have to be a plug in unit, would something like this help?
www.staples.com/Bright-Air-Super-Odor-Eliminator-Air-Freshener-Cool-Clean/product_327142?cid=PS

[thewop]

Have you thought about leaving out bowls of vinegar? That's supposed to help eliminate odors.

[thewop]

Also, have you changed the furnace filters?

[lmdbww]

Jun 19, 2012 8:50:06 GMT -5 thewop said:

Have you thought about leaving out bowls of vinegar? That's supposed to help eliminate odors.

We have changed our furnace filters (but I thought if it was that, that it would smell everywhere in the house, no?)

I would rather die than use anything with vinegar. The smell of vinegar is literally choking to me. (I never lost my bionic sense of smell from pregnancy. I can smell something from a mile away.)

[johnohfs]

You may want to consider a dehumidifier as well... it will eliminate any musty smells or odors by removing the excess moisture in the air.

[mrsbird1129]

Jun 19, 2012 9:02:02 GMT -5 @johnohfs said:

You may want to consider a dehumidifier as well... it will eliminate any musty smells or odors by removing the excess moisture in the air.

This was going to be my suggestions as well.

[wawa]

A dehumidifier is a good call.

But I'm kinda curious how much air flow you're getting from the garage into the living area of the house. I'm wondering if a vent or intake was improperly installed.

[FoxInFiji]

Yes try a dehumidifier first. Humid air carries smells better so drying out the air should help with that. We have a similar layout with our garage attached to a finished basement and our dehumidifer down there is running a lot this time of year.

[lmdbww]

Jun 19, 2012 10:04:16 GMT -5 wawa said:

A dehumidifier is a good call.

But I'm kinda curious how much air flow you're getting from the garage into the living area of the house. I'm wondering if a vent or intake was improperly installed.

I have actually thought of this and I think it's coming in through the half bath. The sellers added a half bath when they finished the basement and made the exhaust fan vent into the garage. I think the smell is coming in through there.

The fan is a combo unit with a light so when the fan is on, the light is also on (so I can't leave it on all the time).

[wawa]

Jun 19, 2012 10:18:19 GMT -5 lmdbww said:

Jun 19, 2012 10:04:16 GMT -5 wawa said:

A dehumidifier is a good call.

But I'm kinda curious how much air flow you're getting from the garage into the living area of the house. I'm wondering if a vent or intake was improperly installed.

I have actually thought of this and I think it's coming in through the half bath. The sellers added a half bath when they finished the basement and made the exhaust fan vent into the garage. I think the smell is coming in through there.

The fan is a combo unit with a light so when the fan is on, the light is also on (so I can't leave it on all the time).

Interesting. Maybe check the damper where the vent comes out and make sure it's actually closing when the fan isn't blowing? Though I'd not be terribly happy about all that hot damp air blowing into a drywalled garage. How far is it to an outside wall? Could you extend the vent to the outside?

But regardless a dehumidifier is a good idea.

[FoxInFiji]

Jun 19, 2012 10:18:19 GMT -5 lmdbww said:

Jun 19, 2012 10:04:16 GMT -5 wawa said:

A dehumidifier is a good call.

But I'm kinda curious how much air flow you're getting from the garage into the living area of the house. I'm wondering if a vent or intake was improperly installed.

I have actually thought of this and I think it's coming in through the half bath. The sellers added a half bath when they finished the basement and made the exhaust fan vent into the garage. I think the smell is coming in through there.

The fan is a combo unit with a light so when the fan is on, the light is also on (so I can't leave it on all the time).

Eeek! That's not good at all. The walls between a garage and an occupied space must be fire rated. Unless they have a spring actuated fire damper in that duct (highly doubtful) that is completely against code. You can ell if their is a damper there because there should be a separate access panel to reach the damper at the wall. Did you get the house inspected? They should have definitely caught something like that in addition to the building inspector catching it when they added that bathroom (that is is if they pulled permits).

[lmdbww]

Jun 19, 2012 12:57:25 GMT -5 FoxInFiji said:

Jun 19, 2012 10:18:19 GMT -5 lmdbww said:

I have actually thought of this and I think it's coming in through the half bath. The sellers added a half bath when they finished the basement and made the exhaust fan vent into the garage. I think the smell is coming in through there.

The fan is a combo unit with a light so when the fan is on, the light is also on (so I can't leave it on all the time).

Eeek! That's not good at all. The walls between a garage and an occupied space must be fire rated. Unless they have a spring actuated fire damper in that duct (highly doubtful) that is completely against code. You can ell if their is a damper there because there should be a separate access panel to reach the damper at the wall. Did you get the house inspected? They should have definitely caught something like that in addition to the building inspector catching it when they added that bathroom (that is is if they pulled permits).

No permits or inspections are required in our township to finish a basement. It's possible that they already had the bathroom plumbed during construction and then just did the rest themselves but they didn't need any inspections.

The inspector during our home sale didn't say anything about the vent.