baffleing soot issue in home.

[idreadnought]

So I go to a regular customer of mine and she has me clean the carpets. Strange thing is the we were there just 4 months ago and the carpets this time were filthy. The reason this is strange is because she is very clean. (no shoes, tidy home)

I ask her about them and she starts showing me a soot problem in her home. Behind the pictures have soot, in her entertainment center there is soot, on the ceiling in places, and of course that is why the carpets were so bad.

She can't find the source of the soot issue. She had an ac guy check the unit. It is a package unit that sits on the roof. The dryer is electric, Her fire place was checked for leaks of any type and it has been summer for a while. She assured me she doesn't burn incense, or candles, or those oil lamps. Water heater is in an outside closet. And home is only 9 years old.

Another odd thing about this soot damage. It concentrates on the drywall where nails are. It doesn't concentrate any area near a hvac vent. It also concentrated in some spots where there was a roof truss above the drywall.

Can any of the restoration people think where soot damage could come from if it not heater, water heater, dryer, or candles?

 

[FredC]

the concentration around the nails is common....I'm sure Forsythe could expand on that.

you seem to have eliminated incomplete combustion and inadequate exhausting of the appliances.

Is it "soot"? Are there other potential culprits from outside the home? Did she mention similar issues with the neighbors? Has she inquired?

You say regular customer and cleaning 4 months ago so it would appear to be a new issue. Did you notice anything new on the way in? New development, paving, etc?

Could issues like forest fires be a hidden source because they weren't noticeable within the home itself?

https://www.google.com/search?q=for...=cdr:1,cd_min:6/1/2013,cd_max:10/25/2013&tbm=

 

[The Great Oz]

Cooking with oil or indoor grilling are a pretty common causes, even the best vent hood only takes a percentage of the pollutants out of the house.

We had a customer that complained to the builder about the soil filtration lines in her new townhouse. They showed up within a few months and none of the neighbors had the same problem. We found that she backed her Merc into the garage, filling it with diesel exhaust before she drove out and closed the door as she drove away.

Did she recently buy a diesel car that she parks in the garage? Diesel exhaust could be the problem she lives downwind from any source of truck or marine exhaust as well.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Can any of the restoration people think where soot damage could come from if it not heater, water heater, dryer, or candles?

It has to be incomplete combustion of something. ???

That is a good list of possibilities and I'd normally point to the furnace malfunctioning but if they have run it yet then it's probably not it. We do see candles causing a lot of soot issues too but she already said she doesn't burn them.

Cooking possibly but the soot concentrating on the nail head sounds like what ever created the residue was much hotter smoke than cooking. Has this been an ongoing problem or did it just happen between cleanings?

The soot attracts to the nail heads because those areas are cooler than the rest of the wall. The wall mostly has an even light coat of soot on it too but you may need a soot sponge to see a difference.

Why more up high? Hot air rises and then contacts the cooler areas such as the wall.

Does she have kids? My granddaughter was at my mothers and heated up some pizza rolls in the microwave for her and her friend and nearly caused a fire. It cracked the glass on the microwave and sent soot throughout her basement. They set it for too long and got busy talking and didn't know until someone upstairs smelled something. Could a teen have overcooked something without her knowing?

 

[bob vawter]

the very definition of soot is: incomplete combustion

soot
so͝ot/<INPUT style="WIDTH: 16px; HEIGHT: 16px" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAQCAYAAAAf8/9hAAAAcUlEQVQ4y2P4//8/AyUYQhAH3gNxA7IAIQPmo/H3g/QA8XkgFiBkwHyoYnRQABVfj88AmGZcTuuHyjlgMwBZM7IE3NlQGhQe65EN+I8Dw8MLGgYoFpFqADK/YUAMwOsFigORatFIlYRElaRMWmaiBAMAp0n+3U0kqkAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" width=16 height=16 type=image><AUDIO src="//ssl.gstatic.com/dictionary/static/sounds/de/0/soot.mp3" oncanplaythrough="this.parentNode.style.display = 'inline-block'" *******="auto"></AUDIO>
noun
noun: soot

• 1.
  a black powdery or flaky substance consisting largely of amorphous carbon, produced by the incomplete burning of organic matter.
  
  
  
  
  

Richard nailed it!

 

[KeithCo]

Ghosting

http://www.eatechs.com/index.php/ghosting-soot/

 

[idreadnought]

Cooking with oil or indoor grilling are a pretty common causes, even the best vent hood only takes a percentage of the pollutants out of the house.

We had a customer that complained to the builder about the soil filtration lines in her new townhouse. They showed up within a few months and none of the neighbors had the same problem. We found that she backed her Merc into the garage, filling it with diesel exhaust before she drove out and closed the door as she drove away.


Did she recently buy a diesel car that she parks in the garage? Diesel exhaust could be the problem she lives downwind from any source of truck or marine exhaust as well.

House has a detached garage. newer propane heater and stove with electronic ignition (so no pilot light) I will ask her about a pilot light on the fireplace. That may be a propane log kit.

I am not sure it has happened in the last six months, but it definitely showed up within the last year.

 

[GCCLee]

Contaminates in Fuel?

Private Tank or City gas?

 

[Papa John]

I think FredC's comment might be the most correct when he mentioned Forest Fires may be the issue. according to the internet, so we know its true your area within the time frame of your visits had forest fires so bad that the fire chief ordered people to evacuate.

I'm also wondering-- is the home a Mobile or Manufactured Home? could the "soot" be actuarially Black Mold? I lived in a mobile home once-- there wasn't much insulation in the walls and if there was it was an old army blanket and some newspaper. we had the same black "soot" issues too. it was both mold and soot.

good luck

 

[KevinD]

The first home I bought was like this.
I think the cause was more of a improperly insulated home and moisture.

 

[MicahR]

I've run across this a couple of times. Both times were from candles. Between the mother and teenage girls they all burned a lot of candles. Smoke damaged their home.

I'd find out if they burn candles and if so, how often.

 

[Shane T]

Last year a call came in to look at cleaning up around the fireplace. Turns out the man of house thought he'd use a home style canister vac to clean out the wood fireplace. He blew soot and ash into the air then the HVAC took it and spread it throughout the house. What a mess. I don't do fire restoration.

 

[Desk Jockey]

We see that 2-3 times a season.

As you said the the filtration is not small enough to capture the soot particles. The shop vac acts as a redistribution system and spreads soot throughout the home.

 

[Mike Draper]

I have a group of clients all with the same problem in the same neighborhood. There is a cement plant 800 yds away. Almost all wind in our valley travels from West to East. The homes are directly East of the cement plant. Same problems as you are talking about. Check here air ducts as well, the folks have the dirtiest air ducts in the valley so says the air duct cleaner.

 

[J Scott W]

Some good comments above. I would certainly think candles or problems with furnace or fireplace. If you are certain these have been ruled out, pollution from some outside source must be the cause. Use of some electro-static or ionic air cleaners can put a charge on particles in the air and they will attract to man-made materials and especially metal.

 

[steve_64]

pilot light on the oven? there are still some out there.