PIV blowing loft smell into the flat

agylk

So after five years of trying everything, as a last resort I have installed positive input ventilation. I don’t want to go into the reasons why because that’s not really relevant right now and I’ve been over this many times in the past. I just want to focus on the problem at hand. I thought this was going to finally solve my problems once and for all. I have unfortunately noticed that the entire flat smells of the loft.

This is really bizarre because when one is up in the loft, you can’t really smell anything strong. I did consider this before installing PIV hence thought it would be ok. But now it’s like that smell is magnified times 100. I honestly can’t believe it and I’m devastated. All that work and money and now I’ve got more problems. 

I can’t be going up in the loft and rummaging around because I’m disabled but there is no smell of damp up there. The smell coming through is not a damp smell. Doesn’t seem that way unless I’m wrong. I guess I can only call it loft smell. There are four air bricks up there, two on each side. I don’t know if this is sufficient, evidently it’s not otherwise why the smell.

I don’t entirely know how much I can do because this is a leasehold flat so I can’t be doing any alterations of significance, nor can I afford them. I was hoping the PIV would be the last of spending money on this.  

Right now all the windows are open because it’s warm, I dread to think what the smell will be like in the winter when the windows are shut. 

So I guess the question is, what can I do that’s cheap and easy? Are four air bricks in the loft sufficient? Should there be something else up there? 

Background info: it’s a one bed flat on the first floor of a converted Victorian house. I have a loft that spans all of the flat. I am very close to the seafront so high humidity. The building smells musty but after six different specialists and a surveyor, no damp has ever been found in my flat. I was told by the last damp specialist sometimes these houses’ walls have that smell and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m too disabled to keep looking and I’m drawing a line under this. Just want fresh air blowing in through the PIV. 

Picture of one of the air bricks. Two of them, both on that same side look like they are covered with something. I’m not sure I will be able to see that from the street level because there is another building next door. I’ll try to look today if I can see but I haven’t been able to walk down the stairs since yesterday.

Racky_Roo

My PIV has a hose to a vent in the roof and it takes the air from outside to circulate round the house. Otherwise I'd also have a loft smell.

Where is your air coming from? Just the loft itself, via the air bricks? If so, it sounds like the air isn't fresh enough to be used for circulation and needs a hose to one of the air bricks to take in fresh air from outside

agylk

Yes the air is coming from the loft air which as you say, isn’t fresh enough. Can you recommend what kind of hose I need? Is it easy install? I’ll get the handyman who installed the PIV to do it. Sounds simple enough, hopefully 🙏🏻 

I have the vent axia unit 

Racky_Roo

There must be a hose already there to suck the air into the system (looks like one in the bottom left of your picture). That just needs switching for a longer one or extended to reach the air vent. Mine looks like a white flexi one called PVC flexible ducting hose.

Sorry I'm not an expert as mine was already installed into my new build when I moved in but hope this helps with the smell.

agylk

This is what vent axia replied: 

You will get the smells from the loft and will disperse over time as it is moving stale air from the loft because it hasn't been ventilated. You won't have a piece of ducting that connects to an airbrick, this unit is designed to pull air from the loft and feed that into the property. 

rob7475

How long has it been installed? That air brick you have in the loft should be more than enough to provide enough circulation. 

When I installed our PIV system, it did pull a bit of a musty smell from the loft for the first few weeks - it soon cleared though and we no longer get any smells.

Also, what speed have you got it set to - you could have it a bit high.

agylk

It been seven days so what you and the woman from vent axia just said about it getting better in time is very hopeful. I was ready to break down and cry. It’s set to two even tho it’s a one bed flat. I was ok with that because my flat for some reason has terrible airflow in spite of having windows on opposite sides. No draft ever. 

tacpot12

I think it will get better with time. If the PIV has different power settings, I would definitely switch it to the highest setting during the daytime. (You can turn it down overniht if the noise bothers you). 

The loft will smell less loft-like and more like fresh air as time goes no. I doubt it will take that long, as your PIV will move a lot of air through the loft in a month. The loft is likely to have many small holes as well as the airbricks, so you should be fine soon enough.  

agylk

Thanks very much. It all makes sense now. I didn’t think of it that way before but yeah, since the air is being drawn from the loft into the flat then more fresh air is coming into the loft which was not the case before the unit was installed so all the air in the loft was stale. I originally thought that the loft smells bad permanently and it will permanently bring this air into the flat.

I can’t change the settings because I’m not able to get up to the loft. Let’s hope the setting is okay for now.  

agylk

It’s been two weeks and the smell hasn’t really improved. Should I be getting worried? 

rob7475

I wouldn't worry yet. give it a few more weeks and it will improve.

Is the PIV unit still running during the hot weather? Most are designed to cut off when the loft area is warm to prevent dragging humid air into the house.