The original poster here is apparently referring to a bitumen smell rather than a damp smell. Is damp and bitumen breakdown related?? I seem to have a very noticeable bitumen smell problem in my 40 year old house and i cannot see that it is related (so far) to any dampness. I had assumed it was old polishes or the vinyl tiles breaking down, but it might be coming from the 40 year old bitumen, because a sanded down tile, that is free of visible bitumen does not smell anything like the bitumen itself does. Edit: However when i break a tile into two it is a bit more smelly and possibly the smell coming from the bitumen when the tiles are raised has been absorbed into the bitumen from the tiles?
Probably they contain Asbestos. It is what is. So far the tiles are able to be lifted with my finger tips so the tiles have remained whole. Asbestos combined with a material is not particularly hazardous unless you begin making lots of very fine particles of the material. Anyway its not like i am doing it all day long everyday.
