All Forum Posts by: Travis West

That was a great response Michael. Thanks for thoughtfully wording it.

I guess I should have considered enzymes. We used them for years when we had pet "spills" in our home.

I doubt I'd consider bleach. I am an IAQ guy and try to stay away from that at all costs. I have the half-face respirator with the charcoal and the potassium permanganate cartridges but always try to find a safer alternative.

I have used ozone many times over the past 25 years - in high doses - to control odors. That does not attack the source when it's embedded in the slab though.
But I am now thinking of a combination of enzymes to attack the source with a follow-up treatment with ozone. Yes, the house is unoccupied, which at means I can put it on a 24-48 hour timer and come back later. That might just do the trick.

Many thanks for your suggestions. I will get right on it.

Travis

Ozone is an oxidizer and an upper respiratory irritant. While I might "blast a room" with ozone for 48-72 hours, I would never install a full-time low level O3 generator.

Using ozone still does not address the source of the emissions in the slab.

Thanks anyway though.

Travis

We just bought a house where the owners kept two very large dogs in one bedroom. The dogs went to the bathroom outdoors but left dirty, oily, stains on the lower walls and carpeting. We have removed all carpet and padding but the odors remain. We now think the odors permeated into the slab.

Can anyone offer a suggestion on how to rid the slab in one room of these odors?

Thanks.
Travis

We just purchased a 3/2/2 where the owner had two very dirty dogs staying in one of the bedrooms. We didn't see any evidence of them going to the bathroom on the carpet but their "dirty dog" smells were all over the carpet and walls.

We removed all carpet and padding from all rooms in the house, but the "pet odors" from this room remain. We assume they have become embedded in the concrete slab.

Q. How do you suggest we rid the concrete of these odors? Is there a wash or a treatment of some sort that will eliminate them?

We do plan to wash the walls and Kilz them prior to painting. We still think that the bulk of odors are coming from the slab though.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
Travis

Yee Haw! This investing thingy is challenging and fun too!

My name is Travis. My partner (Ginny) and I have been looking for our first property for about 5 months. We purchased it 3 weeks ago and now find there is a lot to do to get ready to sell.

We are focusing on 3/2/2 starter homes on the North side of Houston. That doesn't mean that we haven't looked elsewhere, but our focus is North.

My full time job is as an environmental consultant dealing with indoor air quality in all types of buildings. When someone gets sick in a building, they call me to see if the building is the cause.

Yes, investigating and managing the remediation of mold is a big part of my job. More than anything though, I am asked to determine what failed to allow the mold to grow.

My full time job does give me a unique insight into building failures and I also get to see what contractors screw up, or install incorrectly.

Ginny comes from a family of builders and remodelers. You can bet that she keeps me informed when I get off on a tangent. We are a good fit for our own special skills.

I really look forward to learning from the many experienced investors I have seen on BP.

Thanks for reading, and drop us a line.
Travis & Ginny

Welcome Jason. I too am in the Houston area. My partner (Ginny) and I are focusing on "starter homes" on the North side.

Have you joined any REI clubs yet? I ask because the Greater Houston has two or three very good ones where you can meet a lot of local investors.

We are new to BP and really look forward to learning from like minded investors.

Right now I am sitting in a house that we purchased 3 weeks ago. I hear chainsaws working on my trees, my new air conditioner system working, and the ceiling fans spinning like crazy. Lots of work to do to get this one listed.