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Whats Under my Basement Tiles?


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Hey guys,

 

Any one here know what this funky stuff is under my basement tiles?  Been in this house for about 6 months and the basement on random days has a really funky smell.  Everyone that I've had come down there and ask their opinion all agreed upon a cat pee smell (previous owner did have a cat).  I soaked the floor with a gallon concentrate of the cat pee remover stuff from Pet Smart.  That didn't seem to do anything.  I bought a gallon of this odor ban stuff from Home Depot and mixed it real strong, did the floor three times.  No luck.

 

I'm wondering if its a mold or something... I tore a piece of tie back.  I think I'm gonna get ready soon to tackle this project of tearing it all up and maybe rent a floor scrubber from Home Depot and get a super aggressive pad and some type of strong cleaner and go to town.  I just hope I'm not getting into a major health hazard (mold.. etc...?)

 

Thoughts what's going on here?  

 

20180422_171127.jpg

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Any idea how old the flooring is? Question is whether it's of the age to potentially contain asbestos. If so, you'll need to bring in a profe$$ional to remove, and it's definitely hazardous to your health.

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No idea how old the flooring is.  When the had the home inspection done, the inspector was leaning more towards no, however he suggested an asbestos test to be absolutely certain.

 

I just found this lab that is literally 3 miles from my house.  Looks like you can drop off a sample there and the  cost isn't too much.  I am going to give them a call to get some info.  This would be so much more convenient then doing one of those mail order tests.

 

I am still concerned about what's under there though...

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How old is the house?

I'm guessing over 30 years from the style of that floor tile, maybe even 60's or 70's.

 

Maybe asbestos.

The problem with asbestos is when disturbed the asbestos particles get into the air, then into lungs.

 

 

Maybe mold, urine, or tile glue is what you are seeing.

 

:)

 

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1 hour ago, diyer2 said:

How old is the house?

I'm guessing over 30 years from the style of that floor tile, maybe even 60's or 70's.

 

Maybe asbestos.

The problem with asbestos is when disturbed the asbestos particles get into the air, then into lungs.

 

 

Maybe mold, urine, or tile glue is what you are seeing.

 

:)

 

house was built in the 1950s.  Don't know much else.  I am going to get the tiles tested for asbestos.

 

Let's say that is mold, wouldn't that be dangerous for me to cleanup as well? Doesn't it like get in the air something?

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Its hard to say from that photo, but you have some combination of dirt and grime and tile adhesive first of all. I don't think I see mold. but who knows.

 

What is the sub-floor? are these tiles on concrete? If so I would not hesitate to scrap everything up. Pending, of course, the asbestos problem. You could remove asbestos yourself and put it into garbage bags and haul it to an appropriate disposal center, but make sure you have breathing protection and ventilate the house. Or you can pay someone to do it for you, probly much faster.

 

Anyway, basements have all kinds of smells. Outside of the possible cat urine, are you confident you don't have any other water leaks anywhere? musty water does not smell good. I previously gutted a basement where someone had "improved it" without any water protection, leading to a lot of rotten wood (studs and plywood sheathing). I had to scrub the place down with a bleach solution, but after that, the musty smell was gone.

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take a piece of plastic about 2 foot square and tape it to the floor make sure you get a good seal leave it for a couple of days if you get condensation under it you have a wet basement and that can cause all kinds of smells  

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No idea how old the flooring is.  When the had the home inspection done, the inspector was leaning more towards no, however he suggested an asbestos test to be absolutely certain.
 
I just found this lab that is literally 3 miles from my house.  Looks like you can drop off a sample there and the  cost isn't too much.  I am going to give them a call to get some info.  This would be so much more convenient then doing one of those mail order tests.
 
I am still concerned about what's under there though...
How old is the house?

2012 2500hd 6.0l CCSB 4wd



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52 minutes ago, aseibel said:

Its hard to say from that photo, but you have some combination of dirt and grime and tile adhesive first of all. I don't think I see mold. but who knows.

 

What is the sub-floor? are these tiles on concrete? If so I would not hesitate to scrap everything up. Pending, of course, the asbestos problem. You could remove asbestos yourself and put it into garbage bags and haul it to an appropriate disposal center, but make sure you have breathing protection and ventilate the house. Or you can pay someone to do it for you, probly much faster.

 

Anyway, basements have all kinds of smells. Outside of the possible cat urine, are you confident you don't have any other water leaks anywhere? musty water does not smell good. I previously gutted a basement where someone had "improved it" without any water protection, leading to a lot of rotten wood (studs and plywood sheathing). I had to scrub the place down with a bleach solution, but after that, the musty smell was gone.

 

It's just cement underneath the tiles, no sub floor.  I don't believe there are water leaks anywhere.  I have walked around several times looking at the floor above and the wood appears normal.  I notice the stench in two corners of the basement.  One corner is where the litter boxes were. My  basement has a wall that runs about 60% of the way across about a quarter of the basement, soon as you get onto the other side, it just smells like a normal basement, so I have isolated it to the tiled area from this "scientific experiment" lol.

 

26 minutes ago, RP53 said:

take a piece of plastic about 2 foot square and tape it to the floor make sure you get a good seal leave it for a couple of days if you get condensation under it you have a wet basement and that can cause all kinds of smells  

I'll have to give this a try.

 

15 minutes ago, sdeeter19555 said:

Oops, I see 1950s...how thick are the tiles?

2012 2500hd 6.0l CCSB 4wd


 

The tiles aren't too thick. Maybe like 1/8 of an inch? I'd have to measure.  Definitely waaaay less than a quarter of an inch that's for sure!

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Yeah, those look like the old asphalt floor tiles that were very common around the 50s. I helped my dad remove those in the kitchen of the house I grew up in. If there were cats leaving bodily fluids in that room, it is likely that some of it ran down the cracks and is still underneath a lot of the tiles. I predict that once you remove that flooring and scrub the concrete, your smell will be gone.

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6 minutes ago, aseibel said:

Yeah, those look like the old asphalt floor tiles that were very common around the 50s. I helped my dad remove those in the kitchen of the house I grew up in. If there were cats leaving bodily fluids in that room, it is likely that some of it ran down the cracks and is still underneath a lot of the tiles. I predict that once you remove that flooring and scrub the concrete, your smell will be gone.

Yep....

 

Asbestos is so over rated. If it was, you just need to not cut or sand the tiles. Get a good face mask and remove them yourself. If you get a real test done your screwed if you ever want to sell the house and those are not.  I have 11 rental homes. At least 4 of them asbestos siding. It another government freak out. 

 

Its simple a mess of dirt, grim and adhesive. Clean it up and move on. 

Edited by frenchsquared
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2 minutes ago, frenchsquared said:

Get a good face mask and remove them yourself.

I second this. You will be better off being cautious and getting rid of it on your own. Once a test proves it contains asbestos, there is a lot of red tape.

 

Buy a big flat scraper, scrape floor clean. Don't rip the tiles any more than you have to. Contain everything in plastic bags and haul to a place that will accept it. Tell them it may be asbestos but you don't know.

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9 minutes ago, aseibel said:

Yeah, those look like the old asphalt floor tiles that were very common around the 50s. I helped my dad remove those in the kitchen of the house I grew up in. If there were cats leaving bodily fluids in that room, it is likely that some of it ran down the cracks and is still underneath a lot of the tiles. I predict that once you remove that flooring and scrub the concrete, your smell will be gone.

The question is, which product will be best to scrub with? That'll be the next thing I research once I take care of the tiles.

 

3 minutes ago, frenchsquared said:

Yep....

 

Asbestos is so over rated. If it was, you just need to not cut or sand the tiles. Get a good face mask and remove them yourself. If you get a real test done your screwed if you ever want to sell the house and those are not.  I have 11 rental homes. At least 4 of them asbestos siding. It another government freak out. 

 

What do you mean I'm screwed if I get a real test done? Do they take the home address?  So are you saying like if I went to sell the home and the assumed asbestos tiles were no longer there, it could still be a problem for selling? I am confused, sorry!

 

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Just now, SkiDooNick700 said:

The question is, which product will be best to scrub with? That'll be the next thing I research once I take care of the tiles.

 

 

What do you mean I'm screwed if I get a real test done? Do they take the home address?  So are you saying like if I went to sell the home and the assumed asbestos tiles were no longer there, it could still be a problem for selling? I am confused, sorry!

 

Yes. There will be a legal record of the house having it. You will end up spending thousands having the rest of the house tested for it. Once the house is confirmed to have had it. You then have to prove forever that it doesn't. If you ever plan to sell that house do not have it tested. You will regret it. 

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