Bad air & Mildew in Pitt House

 ========================  UPDATE September 20 ======================
Guy turned off the fans after about 4 days. (sept 18 +-)  Then 2 days later, Nina and Prentice went into the Pitt House and found it quite musty again.....

 

========================Sept 13   Fans Installed =======================
Last week, despite dry September weather,  Nina Reyes and Ellen Smith found working inside the Pitt House very uncomfortable.  Sarah Hollister has developed a sore throat when she was inside. Old paper document boxes smell musty, and some furniture has mildew.

So today Guy Wheeler and I installed two exhaust fans to lessen the problem, one in Pitt Bedroom and one in "Little Room" upstairs. We opened the downstairs window in the kitchen for air intake. Both fans are running now, Sept 13.
Guy is going to visit over the weekend to make sure fans are ok, and to see how the house smells.


This will certainly help, but how much?  My thought is that we leave these fans running for at least a week. Then, if it is still musty (likely) consider two more fans , one in the Booth Room upstairs and one downstairs in the Library. The fans cost $25 each at Home Depot.

If this fresh air scheme works, we should get a de-humidifier or two for next summer.  They would not be helpful now (?)

We need a good fix for the inside of the Pitt House, probably with advice from a professional.
Since the fabrics, furniture and woodwork have likely absorbed moisture and bad things, we may need a through washing and wipedown.



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