Gross plaster smell still in studs, after plaster removal

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

TL;DR: Unable to cope with the oppressive odor in a 1920's house we just bought, we ended up demo-ing all of the plaster and lath, since we discovered that IT was the source of the odor.

Unfortunately, that was several weeks ago and the smell is better, but not gone.

A closer sniff reveals that the "old house" scent seems to be *embedded in* the wooden studs. Makes sense, since we're talking almost 90-year old plaster / wood. It's all been wide open for about 4 weeks now, and it's not getting better!

My contractor says that once we put new drywall up, it will cover the smell. But to me, it's a huge risk if it doesn't work, since honestly we won't be able to live in the house if the scent doesn't go away (it's not that we're overly-sensitive / bratty; friends and family we've brought to the house have all immediately commented on the smell. My mom even held her nose.).

So far, I've tried spraying Concrobium (because I wonder if part of the smell is mildew / mold in the wood?) on both the studs and the ceiling. It seems to have helped a little... but not enough to justify the hundreds of dollars I spent buying 15 gallons of the stuff. :(

Is my contractor right, that drywall + paint will cover the odor?

If not, what should I try next?

- More concrobium?

- Borax?

- Vinegar?

- Or go straight to a sort of shellac / "Zissner Mold Killing Primer"? / "BIN" primer? It will be a huge pain to paint studs and of course I won't be able to get to all of the surfaces, but... even if I can get 75% of it, that will be a huge help.

- Should I hire an odor company to come and use an ozone thingee?

I was trying to find "DIY" solutions, but at this point, I'll pay just about anything / do just about anything because the scent -- while better now that it was -- still punches you in the face when you walk in, and *clings to your clothes* so even a few minutes in the house, and my clothes smell like the house the rest of the day. (Hopefully this helps convince you that it's a strong scent! OTHER PEOPLE can smell it on my clothes, hours later! Uggghhhh....) :(

Thanks in advance for any suggestions -- I'll honestly use a voodoo doll, do a dance to the mold-gods in the woods, ANYTHING! :) (I will even post a video of myself doing aforementioned dance if anyone here can solve this, ha ha) :)

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Comments (5)

cleo
4 years ago
I would also recommend exploring other more usual sources of odor in old houses than dry studs. I have never heard of dry plaster having a smell.

For example, wax rings around toilets will need to be replaced periodically and may cause toilet water slow leaks around the toilets.

Also, drain pipes in areas with low use may have the p trap dried out, allowing sewer gas to pervade the house. This is a general bad smell that is hard to source. I have 2 laundry areas, one of which is not in use now and the trap dries out every few months and it starts to smell. Do you have any drain traps that may just need a cup of water added to them?

The previous owners to my own house noticed a terrible smell and it turns out that my house's sewage pipe had not been connected and years of blackwater were draining into a pit under my house. This is obviously extreme but just an example.

Did you check the attic area for evidence of bat guano, raccoon nests etc. These can get pretty smelly, especially the bigger animals will cause soaking of the wood/insulation or paper facing of the ceiling below with urine.feces.

I am sure others will have other suggestions of hidden sources of stink.
weedyacres
4 years ago
Musty smells often come from the basement or crawlspace. There could be a small plumbing leak or standing water that's not draining properly, or something similar that's causing mold/mildew. Have you checked all those possibilities?

In my experience with 2 old houses, both in need of renovation/restoration, when we first walked in, they smelled musty. After occupying them for a while, using the HVAC, getting some ventilation, and fixing plumbing, the mustiness went away.
Callie L thanked weedyacres
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Lee M
4 years ago
If there are no basement or crawl space issues, drywall and paint should encapsulate the odor. We had a similar situation (an abandoned 1903 cabin that had been home to many happy mammals for ten or twenty years) and we tore out all wood products - cabinets and doors. The smell was unbearable. Once we dry walled and painted it was fine. A few years later we were renovating and opened one of the old walls - the old, awful smell was still there. It seemed encapsulating worked for our situation.
Callie L thanked Lee M
User
4 years ago
Our 1890 house in Alabama had horrible odors when the walls were opened. Bat guanno is the WORST! I sprayed and Zinnser etc .

When the walls were closed with new sheet rock and everything painted the odor was gone and never returned.

BUT… and this is a big BUT… in the unfinished attic space where we still had access due to the heat pump placement the rafters etc still smelled horrible especially on a high humid day. The finished part of the attic that we sheetrocked was fine but the other part remained terrible until we sold the house 15 yrs later. I will say right before we sold we had a new roof vent fan put over that area and it made a huge difference. It was very quiet and had a temperature sensor on it so turned on /off with the chosen settings. Good luck! c
Callie L thanked User
Callie L
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you SO much, everyone! This really helps put my mind at ease -- just in case someone in the future stumbles upon this post, I know that it might seem like a basement issue, but that wasn't the case for us (we had professional mold remediation in the basement, replaced / updated all of the plumbing so no leaks, and also did the "multiple family members sniff test" and the basement is odor-free, but get right up next to the wood and... P.U.! The smell gets stronger the closer you get to the wood, and it's enough to fill a lot of the first floor (and like I said, it even lingers on clothing afterwards!)

I'm *so* relieved to hear that drywall / paint should encapsulate things! I was starting to worry I'd have to do something crazy like paint over every beam (yiiiiikes)! Thank you!