In our recreation room (basement), there is a floating floor installed in 1981. It consists, from bottom to top, of concrete slab, plastic, Styrofoam, felt paper, pine floorboards. The entire floor is laid like this, except in one area where the staircase to the upper floor is located. For some reason, this particular area of about 1x1 meter instead has wooden joists and insulation in direct contact with the concrete. Of course, this has started to mold, and the insulation smelled really bad. The insulation was dry when I tore up the floor, and likewise, the wooden joists felt dry and showed a relatively low moisture content upon measurement. Perhaps it's an old damage I've found that later became dormant.
Nevertheless, the surrounding floating floor has unfortunately become affected by the smell. I have removed the floorboard that was closest to the moisture damage. This board has no visible mold growth, but part of the board has a faint smell reminiscent of mold. However, the felt paper beneath the board smells terribly bad. At first sniff, it clearly smells like mold, but when smelled "more carefully" or however one might describe it, it’s not as clear that it's actually mold. I've had three additional people smell it and they have noted the same peculiar smell. Mold or not.
My question is, can felt paper itself just smell really bad? And what to do if you don't see microbial growth on either the boards or the paper, but the paper smells. Something that's only noticeable if you smell near the baseboard. Otherwise, nothing is noticeable.
Nevertheless, the surrounding floating floor has unfortunately become affected by the smell. I have removed the floorboard that was closest to the moisture damage. This board has no visible mold growth, but part of the board has a faint smell reminiscent of mold. However, the felt paper beneath the board smells terribly bad. At first sniff, it clearly smells like mold, but when smelled "more carefully" or however one might describe it, it’s not as clear that it's actually mold. I've had three additional people smell it and they have noted the same peculiar smell. Mold or not.
My question is, can felt paper itself just smell really bad? And what to do if you don't see microbial growth on either the boards or the paper, but the paper smells. Something that's only noticeable if you smell near the baseboard. Otherwise, nothing is noticeable.
If I understand you correctly, the answer is yes, it smells bad?
My concern is because if it's just the smell of lumppapp, I can close the floor and wait 2 years until we plan to redo the entire floor. As mentioned, it only smells by the baseboards otherwise, if you really try. My fear is that the smell might otherwise be due to mold. So, can the smell of lumppapp be similar to mold?
My concern is because if it's just the smell of lumppapp, I can close the floor and wait 2 years until we plan to redo the entire floor. As mentioned, it only smells by the baseboards otherwise, if you really try. My fear is that the smell might otherwise be due to mold. So, can the smell of lumppapp be similar to mold?