New furnace has odor, dust issues
Q. About five years ago I changed from an oil furnace to a natural gas Baxi Luna wall-mounted combination boiler system and hot water radiators. For the next several heating seasons I was aware of an odor, mostly at night, that seemed metallic to me. I wondered if there was a coating on the water pipes in the radiators that was "burning off." I did nothing about this and I'm either used to it or it has gone away.
It took me awhile to notice this shadowing or soot that you can see on my wall above the radiator in my pictures. It is more noticeable in some rooms than others depending on the wall color. It is difficult to scrub off. Do you think this is from the pipes inside the radiators or is it simply dirt from the floor underneath? I would not be surprised if my contractor cut some corners to save money.
I need to repaint my walls and don't want this to occur again.
A. Baseboard heaters may emit a metallic, burning odor when first turned on in the season. The burning odor emanates from the burning off the factory coating applied on its parts. This may take more than one heating season to dissipate.
The burning odor is also due to the burning off the dust that accumulates on a heaters' fins during the idle season. This would be a yearly event.
When you had a warm air system, the warm air coming out of the registers was blown out into the room, but with the new hydronic heating system, the warm air rises vertically along the walls carrying dust particles lingering in the cold air being drawn from the floor and passing through the hot fins. This dust settles on outside walls just above the heaters. If there are draperies above the heaters, they may also get stained.
Unfortunately, this is a very common problem. Clear plastic deflectors to direct the warm air into the room instead of up along the walls would be the answer, but, although there are many styles for warm air registers, I could not find any source for baseboards. If anyone knows differently, I'd appreciate the information.
Do not blame your contractor; he or she is not responsible for this natural phenomenon.
Q. Enjoy your column every Sunday in the Daily Herald. My question is: How do you get rid of what I call "sewer flies" that come up from shower/bath drains when the weather turns warmer?
I've tried home remedies and store-bought products that have been recommended to no avail. What would you suggest?
A. To make sure that the flies are coming from the suspected drains, either stick some packing tape over the drains, making sure that the edges of the drains to which the tape will be applied are dry and prick a few small holes in the tape to allow some airflow. Or place a paper cup of the right size over the drains and punch a few holes in the bottom. Do so in the evening.
Once you have identified the drains from which the flies come, scrape their insides with a sharp knife to remove any "gel" that may have accumulated on them and in which the flies breed. Then, wash the sides with bleach in soapy water.
You may also want to purchase Invade Bio Drain Gel from Amazon and use it following the directions. Readers who have used it have had mixed results with this product - some claimed great success after repeated application, while others were disappointed.
Pouring some mineral oil in idle drains, such as in basements, has been helpful for some readers to prevent the breeding of sewer flies.
A trick sent me by an Illinois reader is to pour a small amount of kitchen dish soap down the drain at least three times a week: "I was plagued for years with this problem until an "angel" friend gave me the solution. You must be consistent with this solution." This is also worth a try.
Q. I'm an Illinois architect, and asking your professional opinion and recommendation on insulation consisting of exposed Dow 2-inch Thermax, polyisocyanurate, with a thin reflective aluminum facing and anchored to a concrete basement wall. It has a flame-spread index of 25 or less and smoke-developed index of 450 or less.
Have UL and Dow advised that it will catch fire?
Also, hypothetically, would you install this product in your concrete basement for insulation on your home?
A. Yes, I would not hesitate to use XPS, polyiso and sprayed close-cell polyurethane in my house, and I have done so where appropriate. Every house and addition I have built since the mid 1970s, when the energy crisis hit us, has had XPS under new siding, while some roofs were sprayed with closed-cell polyurethane. I have also used either XPS or polyiso on basement walls.
However, all these products are flammable and all smoke is toxic, and the speed at which it disables and kills depends on the material producing it.
Your concerns are, of course, well taken but the risk must be put in perspective. For instance, extruded and expanded polystyrene are hydrocarbons and are no more toxic than wood, although they exude a much denser black smoke.
Urethanes and polyisocyanurates are more toxic and, when burning, emit hydrogen cyanide, which will disable humans and pets faster. But the most dangerous materials and the quickest to disable and kill are natural fibers we all have in our homes; wool, cotton and silk, which, when they burn, exude hydrogen cyanide.
Where not required by code, it is still wise to cover these types of insulation with noncombustible materials, but the most effective protection anyone can provide, and at a much lesser cost, is the installation of smoke detectors in all areas recommended by fire protection authorities.
• Henri de Marne, a former remodeling contractor turned columnist and consultant, is the author of "About the House with Henri de Marne" (Upper Access Publishing). He continues to take questions from readers for this column and his website, www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to aboutthehouse@gmavt.net.