Wednesday, March 22, 2023

I may be absent for awhile

You may not see me blogging or commenting on others blogs for a bit.  My way of living is so predictable, so routine that when life throws me a curveball, it’s hard for me to focus on typical, everyday things.

On Saturday, March 18 I was laying on my bed watching youtube videos on my tablet when I was assaulted by an offensive, oily smell wafting from the upper wall vent across from my bed. 

I didn’t have a clue what it could be—I’ve lived here for 6 years and I’ve never experienced anything like this. 

I opened a bedroom window to air things out, and went into the other room.  I could soon smell it coming from the livingroom vent too. 

I called my building’s maintenance and told them the issue.

Two men arrived Monday morning, both claimed they didn’t really smell anything “but you gotta understand, we’re in a lot of apartments every day doing a lot of sniffing”.  They suggested I try opening my windows and leaving them open for the day (which I did, even though it was only 28F outside).

At least the cold air was distracting; but when I got up Tuesday morning, and the smell was still coming in thru the ductwork, I called Steiner Realty again and reported no change.  When they suggested I try opening all my windows again, I raised a ruckus and said they better start looking at the heat/ac blower in my bathroom ceiling, for all I know it’s leaking oil.  Then I got dressed and headed to a doctor’s appointment.

I was happily surprised when I got home and found 3 men in my bathroom, with half of the ceiling removed.  They were replacing my apartment’s blower, and showed me the old motor and said it didn’t have a bad smell but was 15 years old and probably needing replaced soon anyway.  But there was no oil or anything.  The new motor rattles a bit (I’m hoping it calms down with time) but there’s no smells coming from it.  This smell wafting into my apartment thru the wall ducts only comes when the blower ISN’T running. 

For all I know, the young man who lives below me or the young couple directly above me are cooking or smoking meth, and I’m smelling it.  I don’t know what else this could be.  Steiner (my building’s management) certainly doesn’t have a clue.

My sister invited me to come down and stay with them for a bit.  I was thinking a couple days but she suggested longer.  That’s very generous of her (and it’s not like I have anything else going on) so we’ll see.  It will be nice seeing them.  And breathing some good air!

I hope everyone out there in Blogville is doing alright, and you can pardon my tardiness.  Thanks for listening (as always), take care.

24 comments:

  1. Doug, I am so sorry you have to put up with this. Living with such a stench is no fun.
    Lovely your sister invited you to stay for awhile. Have a wonderful time and take care.❤️

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    1. Thank you Robin, hoping in a few days it will fade. This is very weird, why is no one else here affected. I'm just glad I have some place to go.

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  2. Hope it gets figured out. And hope you can enjoy some time with your sister. I do look forward to your posts. Joyce

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    1. Joyce, thanks so much. This was very kind of you.

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  3. My God! Chrystal meth? Never smelled that in my life. Wonder what it smells like. Over here in Hawaii, I smell the neighbors cooking Filipino food, which is not always pleasant. Oh, well.

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    1. Gigi you're a dear, thanks for the chuckle. I WISH this was Filipino food! It's metallic and chemical oily. But after 5 days of this, I've had it.

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  4. Doug, I am so sorry to hear about this. It must be so frustrating! I hope you are able to get some resolution soon. I'm going to post a couple of links that may offer some guidance for you.
    https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/indoor-air-quality-apartmentshttps://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/region-3-mid-atlantic-indoor-air-quality
    Good luck; we'll all be thinking of you as you hopefully get some help getting this sorted out!

    Carole

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  5. Hang in there, Doug! Hopefully this will be a nice break for a while. Your blog and everyone else's will be there when you get back.

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  6. Oh Doug, I'm so sorry to hear this and I don't blame you for wanting to get away. Bless your sister for helping out! I do understand how changes in routine can have an effect on your normal life. That's part of the reason I've had so much trouble blogging this year - too many curve balls!
    Please remember you do have legal options here and Carole above gave you some good links. You should not have to pay for an apartment you can't live in!
    Enjoy your time with family while you are there and take care of yourself!




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  7. I hope they can get to the bottom of the smell; that would bother me EXTREMELY. How nice to get an invitation from your sister! A change of scenery can be very positive. Hope everything else is OK in your life. Thinking of you. xoxo

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  8. Metallic/oily smelling air is not okay. What are the health risks of breathing this air? Pungent smells also tend to penetrate furniture. Steiner needs to resolve this problem quickly and return anything damaged to the original state. I am glad you have moved out and will stay with your sister and lovely niece. Take care Doug.

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  9. Woah, that's terrible. Hope they can figure it out and put things straight before too long. Meantime, think of your stay at your sister's house as a free vacation . . . even tho' she might make you wash the dishes!

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  10. Good you can get away from this hopefully they have fixed the problem and airing out will have restored your indoor air supply. Enjoy the vacay!

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  11. Dug, enjoy your visit with your sister! We'll still be here when you get back (at least I hope so). Strange odors do bother me... some give me migraines... and not knowing what it is would really bother me. Take care!

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  12. Sounds like a dead robot in the ductwork. I haven't knowingly smelled meth before, and some people's pot is from cheap supplies and that smells worse than pot ever did. Might want to cover you new furniture with plastic in an attempt to keep it from absorbing the odor. I used to smell the food cooking from the duplex next to mine, where we shared walls and some ventilation. I swear she was cooking wet cat food sometimes! Have a nice trip to your sister's. You could volunteer to chaperone your niece's dates, eh? Linda in Kansas

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  13. As far as I know meth doesn't have an oily smell when smoked, but I don't know about the cooking side. If they are cooking, they're in danger of being blown up and surrounding flats too. It does sound suspicious though, after all this time with nothing untoward. Be safe.

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  14. WTF is happening in your apartment block?
    I thought meth cookers were out in the boonies where no one could detect them.
    I hope you’ll return – you’re the last of my regular bloggers that I read.

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  15. Heavens, what an awful predicament! I do hope they find out what's going on and that it's not something like meth!

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  16. Thanks for all the kind wishes everyone, this honestly feels like a bad dream. I informed management that I'm headed south to spend time with my sister and her family for a week, and they said they would bring in someone to professionally clean the air ducts, and run the blower non-stop for 2 days. They also intend to bring in an industrial sized ozone depletor to suck all the oxygen out. I'm not sure what good that will do but something does need done and they're being proactive. But I am leaving in a couple hours, and one of the say thank you very much for your support. ♥️

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    1. Wow! This sounds like the management is really responsive to your difficulties. I have a feeling they REALLY want you to stay.

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  17. I do hope that the odor is gone when you return. Enjoy your visit with your sister!

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  18. Oh gee... That was awful. I hope the smell stays away. I got worried when I saw the title of your blog post. I'm still waiting for Patti to tell us what's happening. Have a good time at your sister's place, Doug.

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  19. Kind of a scary situation. Hopefully there's a simple explanation and fix.

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  20. Ugh ugh ugh hopefully, they'll find the problem and sort it out. It's scary though.

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