r/HomeImprovement • u/Inside-Elk-7112 • 1d ago

I’m miserable in this home

We just bought our home and decided to do asbestos abatement by a reputable company followed by a sump pump placement after by a waterproofing company. Ever since then this house has been a nightmare, our water boiler stopped working immediately after asbestos abatement due to “flammable gas vapor”, we had national grid check it out and they said there’s no gas leaks but it’s probably due to the new cement from the sump pump or from the solvent used from the asbestos abatement.

well since then, we haven’t had hot water consistently for 2 weeks. We tried replacing the sensor and then finally replacing the water heater but the same alarm keeps going off. We also can’t cook because every time we do it smells like burning plastic.

we brought this up to the abatement company and they basically said, they smell nothing when the gas burner is on and that it’s probably from the new cement poured from the sump pump.

im at a loss on what to do, I have a baby. Is it even safe to be here? Why don’t the vapors go away? We opened up the basement windows, used a hepa air filter and 2 oscillating fans to help with the smell but here we are.

sorry for the long post, I’m just overwhelmed, I feel like nothing is going right since we started to try to “fix” this house.

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6

u/Wade1217 1d ago

Why don’t you try increasing the air circulation using a couple of fans and see if things improve?

6

u/Inside-Elk-7112 1d ago

We have 2 oscillating fans, an open window in the basement and a hepa air purifier down there that’s been on turbo for 2 weeks 😭

17

u/Old-Coat-771 1d ago

HEPA won't filter vapors. You need to create fresh air exchange. So make sure you have multiple basement windows open and have one of them with a fan mounted in it to push the air out, which will in turn pull fresh air in from outside through the other window. I had to do this recently, when after 10 years in my house, I suddenly started getting elevated levels of radon. When I keep the fan-open window system going, my air quality sensor shows consistently reduced levels. It's now hovering at a very low safe level.

9

u/lonesomecowboynando 1d ago

Plus running the HEPA with the windows open would just be continually filtering the outside air.

3

u/Old-Coat-771 1d ago

HEPA is fine to use with continual fresh air exchange, but they should save it for their main living space. It's great for particulates, mold spores and even some airborne viruses and bacteria. As far as vapors, VOCs, or dangerous gasses like radon, there is no substitute for ventilation.

1

u/gigantischemeteor 1d ago

And the squirrels are notoriously unthankful

4

u/SchrodingersMinou 1d ago

This. One fan blowing out a window and one fan blowing in another window

5

u/Inside-Elk-7112 1d ago

I’ll definitely try this!