How to Recognize & Diagnose Occupant Stains & Smudges on Building Walls

How to Recognize & Diagnose Human Occupant Stains and Smudges on Building Interior Walls
- How to Recognize Wall Stains made by people
- Cigarette, Cigar or Pipe Smoker Stains in Buildings
- A photo-guide to common indoor ceiling and wall stains caused by human occupancy in buildings
Questions & Answers about identifying building stains traced to people and occupancy
References

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Dark indoor stain diagnosis: human or pet occupants: this article describes & diagnoses the cause of various how to recognize (and clean or prevent) stains and smudges on interior walls when these marks are caused by human occupants. Examples of human-caused indoor stains include soiling from a person's head leaning against a light-colored wall or brown stains due to cigarette smolking. When investigating a building for a mold problem, you can save mold test costs by learning how to recognize stains that are basically harmless. Don't waste money testing these stains. These are indoor marks and substances that you can easily learn to recognize.

How to Recognize Wall Stains from Human Occupants

Photograph of dirt from a pet smudging a wall

Readers should see HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS. Also see AIR SEALING STRATEGIES and AIR LEAK DETECTION TOOLS as well as AIR LEAK MINIMIZATION. For photos of snow melt on rooftops that also show points of building heat transfer and loss, see STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING EXTERIORS.

Save your mold test money, and increase the accuracy of your mold contamination inspection or test for toxic or allergenic mold in buildings: review these items to learn recognize non-fungal materials or even possibly harmless cosmetic "black mold" often mistaken for "toxic fungal growth."

Black marks on interior walls such as painted drywall might be also be dark wall stains where people rested their heads in bed (as shown in this photo at left).

Look at the location of these stains and imagine a bed having been placed with its head against the wall shown in the photograph. Notice the two wall lights.

This is where a bed was almost certainly placed, and we can easily explain these black stains on the drywall. No further testing would be appropriate in normal circumstances.

We welcome more thermal tracking, soot tracking, air bypass leaks, and similar photos of indoor stains as well as text suggestions to expand this detail and would be glad to credit contributors.

Usually soot marks, thermal bridging, or thermal tracking stains appear, if at all, in the building interior locations discussed in the remaining sections of this article.

Cigarette, Cigar or Pipe Smoker Stains in Buildings

We have inspected a number of buildings inside which we observed brown nicotine/smoke stain patterns traced to smokers.

First, brown-colored stains that appear either uniformly or in thermal-tracking streaks on walls and ceilings.

Often these cigarette smoke stains are found principally in one or two rooms of a home occupied by smokers - rooms where, obviously, people spent more time smoking such as in a living room around a couch or recliner chair, or in bedrooms.

Watch out: smoking in bed is a well-known fatal fire hazard

In these homes, the observation that brown stains are found in just these occupied spaces is an argument against other causes that would produce more uniform staining, such as heating system problems or poor building wall or ceiling insulation.

Our wall stain photos above and at left illustrate a second instance, we find brown stains that appear to run in rivulets down buildng walls. This is essentially the same cause, and these stains will appear most severe in the same locations we described above.

The difference is that there have also been occasions of very high indoor moisture or even wet conditions in the "brown rivulet streak stain" homes.

Moisture that condenses at high levels on a building wall will eventually produce droplets that run down the wall. The dissolved nicotine and tobacco smoke stains are concentrated and redistributed by these moisture drip marks. Or conversely, we may see a tan-stained wall with clean rivulet areas where water droplets have carried stain material away.

Even when the interior wall has later been cleaned of smoke tar and nicotine marks, we may find remains of that material behind baseboard trim.

Watch out: any soiling on building walls can leave rivulet-pattern stains if the wall has been wet for any reason.

Mottled Pattern Indoor Smoker Stains

Sometimes, depending on the water deposition pattern on building walls, these smoker stains may appear mottled in pattern rather than streaked.

Watch out: Mottled wall or ceiling stains may also appear not from smoking indoors but from building leaks that dissolve brown ingredients in wall, ceiling or floor cavity framing or insulating materials.

We've also found this condition in a room where someone attempted to wash a cigarette or cigar smoke stained ceiling or wall, using insufficient water or cleaner or other poor methods.

At HEAT LOSS INDICATORS we also discuss and describe brown stains found on building ceilings and walls that are traced to smokers.

That is, areas in buildings where people have spent time smoking cigarettes, pipes, or cigars.

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Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

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ASHRAE resource on dew point and wall condensation - see the ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, available in many libraries. The following three ASHRAE Handbooks are also available at the InspectAPedia bookstore in the third page of our Insulate-Ventilate section:
- 2005 ASHRAE Handbook : Fundamentals : Inch-Pound Edition (2005 ASHRAE HANDBOOK : Fundamentals : I-P Edition) (Hardcover), Thomas H. Kuehn (Contributor), R. J. Couvillion (Contributor), John W. Coleman (Contributor), Narasipur Suryanarayana (Contributor), Zahid Ayub (Contributor), Robert Parsons (Author), ISBN-10: 1931862702 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862707
- 2004 ASHRAE Handbook : Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning: Systems and Equipment : Inch-Pound Edition (2004 ASHRAE Handbook : HVAC Systems and Equipment : I-P Edition) (Hardcover)
  by American Society of Heating, ISBN-10: 1931862478 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862479
  "2004 ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Systems and Equipment The 2004 ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems and Equipment discusses various common systems and the equipment (components or assemblies) that comprise them, and describes features and differences. This information helps system designers and operators in selecting and using equipment. Major sections include Air-Conditioning and Heating Systems (chapters on system analysis and selection, air distribution, in-room terminal systems, centralized and decentralized systems, heat pumps, panel heating and cooling, cogeneration and engine-driven systems, heat recovery, steam and hydronic systems, district systems, small forced-air systems, infrared radiant heating, and water heating); Air-Handling Equipment (chapters on duct construction, air distribution, fans, coils, evaporative air-coolers, humidifiers, mechanical and desiccant dehumidification, air cleaners, industrial gas cleaning and air pollution control); Heating Equipment (chapters on automatic fuel-burning equipment, boilers, furnaces, in-space heaters, chimneys and flue vent systems, unit heaters, makeup air units, radiators, and solar equipment); General Components (chapters on compressors, condensers, cooling towers, liquid coolers, liquid-chilling systems, centrifugal pumps, motors and drives, pipes and fittings, valves, heat exchangers, and energy recovery equipment); and Unitary Equipment (chapters on air conditioners and heat pumps, room air conditioners and packaged terminal equipment, and a new chapter on mechanical dehumidifiers and heat pipes)."
- 1996 Ashrae Handbook Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Systems and Equipment: Inch-Pound Edition (Hardcover), ISBN-10: 1883413346 or ISBN-13: 978-1883413347 ,
  "The 1996 HVAC Systems and Equipment Handbook is the result of ASHRAE's continuing effort to update, expand and reorganize the Handbook Series. Over a third of the book has been revised and augmented with new chapters on hydronic heating and cooling systems design; fans; unit ventilator; unit heaters; and makeup air units. Extensive changes have been added to chapters on panel heating and cooling; cogeneration systems and engine and turbine drives; applied heat pump and heat recovery systems; humidifiers; desiccant dehumidification and pressure drying equipment, air-heating coils; chimney, gas vent, fireplace systems; cooling towers; centrifugal pumps; and air-to-air energy recovery. Separate I-P and SI editions."
- Principles of Heating, Ventilating, And Air Conditioning: A textbook with Design Data Based on 2005 AShrae Handbook - Fundamentals (Hardcover), Harry J., Jr. Sauer (Author), Ronald H. Howell, ISBN-10: 1931862923 or ISBN-13: 978-1931862929
- 1993 ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals (Hardcover), ISBN-10: 0910110964 or ISBN-13: 978-091011096
Dust from the World Trade Center collapse following the 9/11/01 attack: the lower floors of this building contained spray-on fire-proofing asbestos materials.
Energy Savers: Whole House Systems Approach to Energy Efficient Home Design [copy on file as /interiors/Whole_House_Energy_Efficiency_DOE.pdf ] - U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Whole-House Supply Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Supply_Vent.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11880?print
"Energy Savers: Whole-House Exhaust Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Exhaust.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11870
"Energy Savers: Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Natural Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Natural_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Energy_Recovery_Venting.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11900
"Energy Savers: Detecting Air Leaks [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Detect_Air_Leaks.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Air Sealing [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Air_Sealing_1.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
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