askchapo

Understandable. Sucks to not have family or friends nearby you could crash with. I'm in a similar situation after moving across Canada recently. Incenses might cover up the smell or just combine with it, but someone sensitive to these things would still have an issue because the source of the problem hasn't been solved. Try and get some activated charcoal, or just regular charcoal, as that can actually absorb the bad smells.

The paint smell and "old building smell" are caused by Volatile Organic Compounds. The paint is offgassing these compounds and will continue to do so for months or years, though the bad smell will lessen in a few weeks or so. The "old building smell" is caused by microbes, and can be reduced in the future by regular and deep cleaning of the place, especially in areas that people are unlikely to clean: up high, behind things, or in things. The best way to get rid of the current bad smell is to get those compounds floating in the air out of your apartment, either by sequestering it into charcoal which you then throw away after maybe 6 months, or by circulating air out of the apartment by opening the windows.

You have to get this bad smell out to get a good smell in.