Hello! I've torn out the floor in the basement room due to odor, etc. Everything underneath reeked. Pressed planks that were nailed into the concrete slab.
Now we're continuing to investigate where the smell is coming from, did an ozone treatment, but the smell came back after 2 days. It gets into clothes.
I've taken some samples here and there and smell in a bag. What definitely smells is samples from the concrete at the floor surface. It's painted with some kind of black paint.
Should I sand off the black with a concrete grinder or can it be treated with chlorine or something?
 
  • A basement with removed flooring showing a dark-painted concrete surface, scattered tools, and a snow shovel on the ground.
J Jens5 said:
Hello! I've torn up the floor in my basement due to smell, etc. Everything underneath stank. Pressed planks that were nailed into the concrete slab.
We are now continuing to investigate where the smell is coming from. We did an ozone treatment, but the smell returned after 2 days. It clings to clothes.
I've taken some samples here and there and put them in a bag. What definitely smells are samples from the concrete at the floor surface. It's painted with some kind of black paint.
Should I sand away the black with a concrete grinder, or can it be treated with chlorine or something?
Ozone treatment only removes odors in the air and volatile substances on surfaces. So you definitely need to remove the source.
Pressure-treated wood against uninsulated concrete is a problem area that appears in houses from certain time periods. But "the black" - isn't that typically asphalt? Could the smell from the treated sill have absorbed into it?

It's doubtful you'll remove, for example, cold asphalt with chlorine, though - scraping is likely what you'll need to do :/
 
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When we had torn out our flooring construction (which admittedly was not treated, but didn't smell good anyway...) Ocab used this product. The smell disappeared in a few days.

Container of Penetrox solution for disinfecting porous surfaces, used to eliminate odors and microbial growth after floor structure removal.
 
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klaskarlsson klaskarlsson said:
Ozone treatment only removes odors in the air and volatile substances on surfaces. So, you'll definitely need to remove the source.

Pressed against uninsulated concrete is a problem area that appears in houses from certain time periods. But "the black stuff" - isn't that typically asphalt? Could the smell from the pressed sill have absorbed into it?

Doubtful that you can remove something like cold asphalt with bleach though - scraping might be necessary :/
Okay, no, the idea was to remove the smell. But now I'm leaning towards rolling up my sleeves, renting a concrete grinder, and grinding away the mess!
 
B BearTheFear said:
When we had torn out our floor construction (which admittedly wasn't treated, but didn't smell good anyway...) Ocab used this product. The smell disappeared in a few days.

[image]
Okay, yes we actually had Ocab here who did a visual analysis of the recreation room. The 2 who were here seemed quite novice and unfortunately didn't give any concrete advice. Leaning towards sanding away the crap.
 
BigR
Bitumen, tar, svartlim, it doesn't matter which. The black must be removed along with some of the concrete.
 
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BigR BigR said:
Bitumen, tar, svartlim, doesn't matter which. The black substance must be removed along with some of the concrete.
Okay, what do you mean by some of the concrete?
 
BigR
as deep down as necessary to remove odor contamination.
 
BigR BigR said:
as deep as needed to remove the odor contamination.
Okay, let's hope that a little will suffice; I don't even know how thick the concrete is.
 
BigR
No, not entirely easy to estimate. Compare the work and final result between, for example, milling the concrete or chipping out and casting a new floor.
 
J Jens5 said:
Okay, yes we actually had Ocab here to do a visual analysis of the family room. The two who were here seemed quite novice and unfortunately didn't give any concrete advice. Leaning towards sanding off the crap.
It's unfortunate to contact a company and get that response... unprofessional! I hope it gets resolved.
In the worst case, you'll have to tear up the crap and redo everything. But then you'll probably need to redo your drainage, as it's adapted to the current floor height. I missed this and had to redo everything. The project ended with a divorce and personal bankruptcy.
 
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J Jens5 said:
Hi! I have torn out the floor in the basement due to smell, etc. Everything underneath stank. Pressure-treated planks that were nailed to the concrete slab.
Now we continue to investigate where the smell is coming from, did an ozone treatment but the smell came back after 2 days. It gets into clothes.
I have taken some samples here and there and smelled in a bag. What clearly smells is samples from the concrete at floor level. It is painted with some black paint.
Should I grind away the black with a concrete grinder or can it be treated with chlorine or something?
How did it go for you? I have the same problem. Cuprinol-treated planks against uninsulated concrete slab. Despite tearing it away, it smells from the concrete floor and walls..
 
Can you try to describe the smell?
 
O Olf Oggler said:
Can you try to describe the smell?
Difficult to describe. What is released is chloranisol, a harmful and very volatile emission that sticks to everything. It never stops smelling and all materials must be replaced.
We are considering ventilating the walls and floor with Jape or Platon Multi. It is a solution that keeps the smell away and at the same time keeps walls and floors free from moisture. And warm, as it is the indoor air that goes into walls and floors.
 
M martin991 said:
How did it go for you? I have the same problem. Cuprinol-treated planks against an uninsulated concrete slab. Even though I've removed them, it still smells from the concrete floor and walls..
I rented a concrete grinder (both the walk-behind type and handheld) and ground away everything, a really tough job but satisfying to get rid of it.
After that, the walls were sanded and repainted. Finally, I laid a subfloor with mechanical ventilation.
Has there been any difference? Yes, it has probably become a bit better but not entirely so that we are satisfied yet. Or it could be too early to say since everything was completed now in October.
 
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