Residential garage air circulation.

[ich_liebe_meine_arbeit]

My garage smells like dirt/dust and I don't like it. It is 20' wide by 20' deep with two garage doors. There is a small window in the foundation on the back wall opposite the garage doors. I have the luxury of storing all of my yard equipment in a shed in the backyard. I do have a lot of old car parts stored on shelves which I'm sure doesn't help, however it smelled like this before acquiring the parts. There is a vent in the air duct which I keep open so it does get a/c in the summer and heat in the winter. I'm not sure if I should invest in a stand alone air ionizer/filetration system or install a fan in the window to pull air out of the garage? My only thought there is I would literally be heating and cooling the outdoors.

This bugs me because I have pretty bad allergies and usually have to wear a dust/pollen mask if I'm going to be working in there for any considerable length of time.

I will add the garage stays dry and I don't suspect any mold or water issues. It is a concrete floor with foundation concrete as the far and back wall with Sheetrock on the internal wall. We did insulate the ceiling and I'm trying to decide how to finish it off also.

Any input is apprecited.

 

[BobRae]

I think you have to find the source of the odor and eliminate it as best as possible. I plan to add an exhaust far to my heated garage connected to a humidistat so I can keep the humidity down. If it drives up the heating cost too much I'll wait for a small HRV to go on sale and hook it up (doubtful on the payback though).

 

[pattenp]

One thing is the garage area should not be fed by the house heating/cooling air duct system. That is not a safe setup due to fumes from the garage getting into the living area.

Also you don't need to see wetness to have a moisture problem that causes odors. High humidity can cause earthy smells. Run a stand alone dehumidifier to see if it helps the odor.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Maybe it smells that way because it has dirt and dust in it !

When was the last time you removed EVERYTHING and washed the floor (wet the concrete and use powdered laundry soap like Tide; scrub with nylon bristle push broom; rinse).

If you have no ceiling, pressure wash the underside of the roof deck and all of the rafters and joists.

 

[kbs2244]

Get a ceiling fan in the middle of the room.
Convert it to a plug-in wiring and plug it into the door opener outlet.
Set it on low speed and blowing upward.
Plug it in and forget it.

This will move air across the ceiling and down the walls.
This will keep you from getting the stagnant air pockets that give you the smell.
When you open the garage door you will get a good slug of new air into the garage.