By Dwight Barnett
Scripps Howard News Service Question: We live in a year-old home that was built on a concrete slab foundation. Intermittently, we have detected a musty odor coming from the living room floor under a large window, where the carpet meets the molding. We had the window checked for leakage and had the carpet pulled back and the molding removed for inspection. The area beneath the carpet and baseboard molding is dry, and there is no evidence of water ever having been present. We've had the carpet cleaned, but we still smell the odor, especially on damp or humid days. Do you have any ideas where the moisture/odor may be coming from? Answer: The problem might be a damp wall. I have discovered window leaks that are inside the finished wall and go undetected for years. Once the insulation inside the wall cavity gets wet, it stays wet. I talked with a representative from Owens Corning Insulation about how to dry fiberglass insulation inside the walls. The company's response is consistent with my experiences gleaned from years of remodeling: damp and wet wall, ceiling or floor insulation has to be removed. Owens Corning says the insulation will dry over time if left to air out. I never had the time to find out. When you have a hole in your walls, you really want to get the job finished, and new insulation is not that expensive. Water or dampness could also be wicking up the wall from the slab foundation. The easiest way to check for dampness inside the wall is with a probe moisture meter. Small holes are drilled in the wall covering, and the probe from the meter is inserted. After the readings are recorded, the holes can be patched and painted over. If the wall is wet, the wall covering needs to be removed to discover the source of the water. A damp wall can be a catalyst for mold growth. Molds not only damage your home but also can affect your health in many adverse ways. My advice is to hire a professional home inspector to check for all avenues of water entry. Contact the American Society of Home Inspectors at www.ashi.org online for a list of inspectors in your area. (C. Dwight Barnett is a master inspector certified by the American Society of Home Inspectors. Questions may be addressed to him at P.O. Box 14091, Evansville, IN 47728, or via e-mail barnett@evansville.net .)
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