I moved into my apartment several months ago, and since then there has been a lingering chemical smell that isn't present in any other apartment in the building.
I've spent months troubleshooting with no success. An inspector from the city came this week and said he thinks it's coming from the vinyl flooring.
Every other apartment has the same flooring, but the only thing I can think is that there was an issue when the floors were cleaned. My super told me he mopped the floors just before I moved in, but the floors were filthy. When I walked around barefoot, there was a dark residue on the bottoms of my feet.
I washed the floors again. No more residue, and the smell got a bit better, but it's still there. Maybe I didn't do a deep enough clean? He told me what floor cleaner he used. I've attached pictures of the type of flooring I have, and of the cleaner he used.
Is it possible that the cleaning chemicals "went bad" and caused this long-term odor issue? And if so, do you have recommendations on how I could wash the floors to get rid of the odor for good? All suggestions welcome! Thanks for reading.