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taobenli
Joined: 26 Apr 2004
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 Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 3:40 am Post subject: is my goshiwon making me sick? |
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I guess this is a rather inane topic, but I could use a second opinion (or third, or fourth)...
I've been living in my goshiwon for almost two months now. Very close to school, friendly adjoshi, price is okay for the size of the room. But just recently I've noticed a strange smell in the room. Sometimes it's weaker and sometimes stronger. I've had friends come in and tell me if they can smell it, and sometimes they just think it smells like a little perfume, and sometimes they find it very strong. In the last few weeks I feel like my clothes always smell this way even after I've been out of the room for hours. I've checked the usual suspects: garbage, bathroom (slightly moldy smell there, but not the same as the rest of the room), nooks and crannies, fridge. The only thing I can think of is it's the air con (can't figure out how to open it and clean it) or an increasingly suspicious patch of mold (black with a bit of yellow in places) above my bed.
It's hard to describe the smell: a bit chemical, a little sweet, not entirely gross or unpleasant, kind of like...the smell of a developing country (like construction sites in Beijing for example, where I'm sure they use all kinds of nasty chemicals). But I've been catching colds more than usual, I feel...and my stomach feels a bit weird (though maybe it's paranoia, as this has been worrying me).
My rent it due on the 9th, and I could move out then or pay for the two more weeks I will be in Seoul. What could cause this smell? What does asbestos look/smell like? Will I be dead in a matter of days?
taobenli |
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KiteOperations
Joined: 09 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 4:50 am Post subject: |
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that's interesting.
the horror of mysterious smell.
sounds like Japanese flick.
sorry i don't want to smell your room.
figure out how to open your a/c and clean the filter.
it must be stink.
and have a window. |
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FlagWaver
Joined: 12 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 4:55 am Post subject: |
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It's not coming from anywhere inside the room, it's coming from inside the walls.  |
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captain kirk
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| If it's the Amityville Goshiwon you'll be dead in a couple of days...of fright! |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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taobenli
Joined: 26 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2005 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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Hmmm....interesting. Well, if it won't kill me I guess I'll put up with it a while longer. Three more weeks shouldn't do any long-term damage...
So, I don't need to freak out about the mold that won't come off when I rub it with a wet tissue?
taobenli |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:10 am Post subject: Re: is my goshiwon making me sick? |
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| taobenli wrote: |
I guess this is a rather inane topic, but I could use a second opinion (or third, or fourth)...
I've been living in my goshiwon for almost two months now. Very close to school, friendly adjoshi, price is okay for the size of the room. But just recently I've noticed a strange smell in the room. Sometimes it's weaker and sometimes stronger. I've had friends come in and tell me if they can smell it, and sometimes they just think it smells like a little perfume, and sometimes they find it very strong. In the last few weeks I feel like my clothes always smell this way even after I've been out of the room for hours. I've checked the usual suspects: garbage, bathroom (slightly moldy smell there, but not the same as the rest of the room), nooks and crannies, fridge. The only thing I can think of is it's the air con (can't figure out how to open it and clean it) or an increasingly suspicious patch of mold (black with a bit of yellow in places) above my bed.
It's hard to describe the smell: a bit chemical, a little sweet, not entirely gross or unpleasant, kind of like...the smell of a developing country (like construction sites in Beijing for example, where I'm sure they use all kinds of nasty chemicals). But I've been catching colds more than usual, I feel...and my stomach feels a bit weird (though maybe it's paranoia, as this has been worrying me).
My rent it due on the 9th, and I could move out then or pay for the two more weeks I will be in Seoul. What could cause this smell? What does asbestos look/smell like? Will I be dead in a matter of days?
taobenli |
That you've been there a few months and the smell has intensified would seem to rule out certain possibilities and suggest others.
First of all, it's not asbestos. Oh, your walls, ceilings and floors may have asbestos-containing building products -- which is not necessarily a health risk if they're intact -- but that's not where the smell is coming from. That is, not from asbestos in those places. You can't smell asbestos and generally wouldn't recognise most asbestos products even if you were looking straight at them -- except if you broke or drilled into them, looked at the dust under a microscope, and knew what you were looking for.
Besides asbestos, which I'm sure isn't the source, goshiwons are probably constructed the same as apartments, villas and office buildings in Korea. That is, typically in a madcap hurry, one unit after another like an assembly line. Extruded plastics, thermoplastics, synthetic resins, bonds, epoxies, sealants, paint, sprayed-on chemicals, and glues. Some of these have a sweet smell, but it's temporary and depending on how old the building is (or when the goshiwon was built into the building) it would have dissipated by now. Headaches, dizziness and even nausea can be linked to "sick apartment syndrome" in Korea, but you're going to have that smell/problem throughout the whole building or goshiwon then, not just your room.
Checklist:
-- Drains & vents (shower, sink, kitchenette if you have one)
-- Smells wafting in from the street outside through open windows
-- The A/C (could someone have inserted a room freshener inside there?)
-- The fridge (empty, defrost, wash w/hot water & white vinegar or cleanser, pull out from wall & clean behind/under)
-- Laundry detergent, fabric softener (hey, you never know)
-- Any product in a container (edible & inedible) that may be leaking
-- Neighbours' rooms
-- Pockets of all your clothes in the wardrobe, any handbags or purses stuffed in a drawer & forgotten about, etc. (A g/f was staying with me for a while toward the end of winter. Went out for dinner, took some beef bones w/raw meat on them for my dog. G/F left them in an unsealed plastic bag in the pocket of her winter coat, which she hung up in my wardrobe, forgot about, and didn't wear again because the weather warmed up. Man, that was one funky-assed bedroom after about a week until we tracked down the source of that horrible stench.  )
In the meantime, keep the windows open, the room well ventilated and move out as soon as it's convenient. |
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OiGirl
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:52 am Post subject: Re: is my goshiwon making me sick? |
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| JongnoGuru wrote: |
Pockets of all your clothes in the wardrobe, any handbags or purses stuffed in a drawer & forgotten about, etc. (A g/f was staying with me for a while toward the end of winter. Went out for dinner, took some beef bones w/raw meat on them for my dog. G/F left them in an unsealed plastic bag in the pocket of her winter coat, which she hung up in my wardrobe, forgot about, and didn't wear again because the weather warmed up. Man, that was one funky-assed bedroom after about a week until we tracked down the source of that horrible stench. )
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You dated Bridget Jones?  |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 4:26 am Post subject: Re: is my goshiwon making me sick? |
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| OiGirl wrote: |
| JongnoGuru wrote: |
Pockets of all your clothes in the wardrobe, any handbags or purses stuffed in a drawer & forgotten about, etc. (A g/f was staying with me for a while toward the end of winter. Went out for dinner, took some beef bones w/raw meat on them for my dog. G/F left them in an unsealed plastic bag in the pocket of her winter coat, which she hung up in my wardrobe, forgot about, and didn't wear again because the weather warmed up. Man, that was one funky-assed bedroom after about a week until we tracked down the source of that horrible stench. )
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You dated Bridget Jones? |
 Is there some direct tie-in here? I'm not familiar... |
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OiGirl
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun
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| Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2005 4:40 am Post subject: |
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| I think it was in the second book...the police came to her home with reports of the smell of a dead body. Her mom had forced some fresh meat on her months earlier. It made the movie, too, but funnier in the book. |
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canuck in Ansan
Joined: 27 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:23 am Post subject: |
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I'm in the basement of my appartment builing. There is mostly a damp smell that goes around. It doesn't bother me too much, I'll light a candle, whatever. What bothers me is the mold that grows on my walls! How healthy can that be!?
I've been given instructions to buy some little packets that absorb moisture, so hopefully that helps. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2005 4:03 am Post subject: |
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| canuck in Ansan wrote: |
I'm in the basement of my appartment builing. There is mostly a damp smell that goes around. It doesn't bother me too much, I'll light a candle, whatever. What bothers me is the mold that grows on my walls! How healthy can that be!?
I've been given instructions to buy some little packets that absorb moisture, so hopefully that helps. |
"little packets that absorb moisture"... aren't going to do it. The amount of moisture (damp basement, plus the high humidity that all of us are dealing with) would require steady ventilation, a strong fan, a dehumidifier (which you'll be emptying almost hourly), and that still probably won't be enough. I've seen enough damp, mouldy basements in Korea, trust me on this one. The ideal solution is to travel back in time and ensure that the foundation walls have been properly waterproofed. The practical, real-world solution at this point in time is, I hate to say, move out of there as soon as you can. There are small things you can do, like those I've mentioned, to make the place a little more livable in the meantime. Basement/semi-basement flats are a four-letter word to Koreans, and they should know. |
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