Smell from Old Rubber Underlay

[John2B]

Hi Folks, can anybody offer advice please ? ..... I've recently bought a 40 year old house and am having problems wih various unwanted odors, the one which is the subject of this question is with regards to old rubber underlay which is giving off a horrible rubbery smell.
I've removed the carpet and underlay for disposal, unfortunately the rubbery smell has permeated all the way into the floorboards, and I fear it might take years to dissipate.
Does anybody have any suggestions as to how to deal with this ? ....... Seal the floorboards and let the smell dissipate downwards where it won,t be so noticeable (?) -- (this is an upstairs room). ..... Sand the floorboards to try and get rid of the contaminated wood ? Does anybody know of any magic chemical which can neutralise the rubber odor ?

Thanks
John

 

[HERTS P&D]

Open the window?


Andy

 

[Enfield250]

Hello!

I have the same problem in a older house. Does anyone know if any toxic chemicals are being given off as the smell seems to effect my wife's asthma.

Cheers,
Colin

 

[McGaz]

Did you manage to find a solution to this?

I have the same thing. There was some sort of spillage on the carpet which gave off a terrible smell, so I cut it out & the rubber underlay beneath it. The smell reduced dramatically, but it did not get close to disappearing.

There was rubber glued on the edge of the rooms, so I cleaned (White vinegar and bicarbonate of soda) and scrubbed that off (with some effort!).

I've just finished clearing off the last bit over the last few days, but the smell is still quite strong. All of the floorboards smell like rubber when you get close to it, but it is most strong where the rubber had got stuck to the floor and had to be scraped off.

With these funny smells you convince yourself of one thing and then another (Is is coming from under the floor?), but I keep coming back to the rubber smell on the floorboards.

Did anyone have any luck removing this smell, or did it eventually fade? The room is unusable at the moment