Hey All, I have a question that maybe some one could answer. I have a client that has a smell simlar to new carpet offgassing but the carpet is 3 yrs old. Is there any known cause such as cheap padding or cheap carpet? What do i test?
Unless you are trained in doing “environmental testing” I would not go into the pool, especially on the deep end. We don’t do any of them and for good reason. Note the odor in the report and defer it to someone trained and QUALIFIED to do the testing. Not within the scope of a home inspection. Home Inspectors need to learn to say, “i DONT’ KNOW”. Hell, it could be a thousand different things that is causing an odor in the house from fresh paint to someone has been sniffing glue in the next room.
If you was trained, I would say start with testing the air for VOCs.
Get some fruit flies and see if they survive in the room. Canaries are too expensive. LOL
This might help http://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/Learning-Center/Paints-Coatings-LC/IAQ-and-Your-Health-A-Deeper-Look-at-VOCs-and-Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde, itself, does not put out an odor but can make people sick.