All Forum Posts by: Steve S.

In older structures originally painted with oil-based paint, when you put too much concentrated TSP on your walls and scrub it in with a sponge mop, multiple layers of latex paint go soft and start peeling right off down to the oil-based paint. This is because a huge number of amateurs put their trust in the myth of paint+primer-in-one and don't prime walls with quality primer before they paint. There is no such thing as paint+primer-in-one. Paint and primer do very different jobs.

So do not exceed manufacturer's recommendations on TSP concentrations in an effort to get down deeper into the paint. Most of your stench WILL disappear once you get food residue off the wall. But if that doesn't work, don't try to get "the last of it" in older structures. Go with ozone treatment instead, as has been previously indicated in this thread.

Yeah, an over range microwave would be too tall. A vent would be easy for a handyman to install.

If the range is against an exterior wall this is an easy job.  Just run the duct through that wall.  But if its an interior wall, who knows.  You would need to get the vent inside the wall or up through the ceiling.  This is the sort of job a handyman could do.

How about just installing a ductless microwave/range hood? That's probably what was there before. Not as effective as the ducted version but it's an option.

So I actually had this issue with my first condo. I wiped down the walls with water with a hint of baking soda in the kitchen and rooms directly next to the kitchen, scrubbed all kitchen surfaces (including inside cupboards/drawers, along the sides/back of the range, etc), and left bowls of coffee grounds out for awhile. Just the cheapest coffee, change it every few days, etc. The scrubbing got rid of the majority of it, and the coffee gradually absorbed what lingered. (I also read leaving out bowls of vinegar would do something similar so I tried that but I felt the coffee worked best — maybe alternating between the two helped though).
Of course, I had tile on the first story — if I had carpet I’m not sure if it would’ve worked. I left bowls of coffee grinds in the upstairs bedrooms, which had carpet, but I hope you got those cleaned professionally anyway. Letting baking soda and / or carpet fresh sit on them for 15-30m before vacuuming is good too but that’s good for any mild odors.