Turn off electrical circuit to keep pressure-treated sill dry?

[dfgh]

Hello

I believe I've gone through most threads about pressure-treated sills in 70s houses, but here's another one!

I have a pressure-treated sill, with paper underneath(!) that is not embedded in concrete. Built in 1972. There is also an electric heating cable that has been on since 1972. I took over the house a year ago. I would like to turn off the electric cable, hard to say what it consumes but estimated at 500-600kr per month. The ventilation is natural draft.

We already have some odor problems. Whether it's due to a lack of incoming air (which we are working on fixing) or from the sill, I don't know. I have replaced the extractor fans in the bathroom and laundry room with new ones with constant operation, if I turn off the constant operation the smell returns, but with it on I feel that we are ventilating the smell away.

So the million-dollar question is. What are the risks of turning off the electric cable that is supposed to keep the sill dry as was believed in the 70s? Could it start to smell more? The neighbor replaced their sill this summer, theirs was bone dry. I want to believe ours is too. If you turn it off, what should you consider?

Thanks in advance

 

[mexitegel]

Be methodical. Address one thing at a time, otherwise, you won't know what's causing what.

Turning off the heat increases the risk of odor, making it harder or impossible to determine if other measures help. So if I were in your shoes, I would try to address the odor problems first and only then consider turning off the electric coil. However, one idea might be to arrange measurement points in well-chosen places where you can monitor the moisture of the sill and, if it increases, turn the heat back on.

 

[dfgh]

Be methodical. Address one thing at a time, otherwise, you won't know what's causing what.

Turning off the heat means the risk of odor increases, making it harder or impossible to determine if other measures are helping. So if I were in your shoes, I would try to address the odor problems first and only then consider turning off the electric coil. However, one idea could be to set up measurement points at strategically chosen places where you can monitor the moisture of the sill and if it increases, you can turn the heat back on.

How and with what does one measure that as an ordinary layperson? As I said, the odor is not a problem as long as we have the exhaust air on in the house. No one who comes to our home notices anything with their nose; it's ourselves who noticed it on our clothes when we went away for a weekend, but that was before we fixed the exhaust air ventilation. Now, as mentioned, it's better.

 

[tergo]

How and with what does a regular layperson measure it? As mentioned, the smell is not a problem as long as we have the exhaust on in the house. No one who visits us notices anything with their nose, it's we ourselves who noticed it on the clothes when we went away for a weekend, but that was before we fixed the exhaust ventilation, now it's better as mentioned.

even dry pressure-treated can start to smell

https://ki.se/sites/default/files/husbyggaren_nr_6-2015_innemiljo.pdf

 

[Don777]

Hi! How is it going with your problem with syllar and smell? I live with the same problem.

 

[dfgh]

Hi! How is it going with your problem with sill plates and smell? I'm living with the same problem.

It turned out that I had someone in my circle of acquaintances who replaces sill plates, so it became a side job. Many years ago now. No smell in the house or on the clothes. We ditched the electric coil, and together with additional insulation, we reduced the annual consumption by 7-8k kWh.