Strong smell of urine

[sam8364]

Hi all

Just decorated a room that the previous owner had had replastered with cement (groan) so used a modern emulsion from B&Q. The paint was a little odd in that is was blancmange like in the tub and I had to water it down a little to apply it. Anyway, with a little water in went on, dried and covered as expected.

Then a couple of days later there was a strong smell of cat's p*ss in the room. We do have 3 cats who have never been known to spray but even so we searched high and low for the sources of the smell. Eventually, we discovered that it is the walls that stink, all over, on all walls. The smell is worse after a hot day. - and there is no way cats p*ss have been added to the mix at any stage.

Does anyone have and ideas about what causes this, and more importantly, how to get rid of the smell as it is most unpleasant.

 

[Growler]

Has it gone yet

 

[big-all]

possibly reactivated old pee where you painted!!!!!!

just a guess

 

[noseall]

ammonia smell can occur by mixing soot with cement and water, so may be it can be activated in other ways??

 

[sam8364]

No it has not gone yet - but is much worse after a hot day - does not really smell in the morning.

Unlikely that it was pee on the wall before painting - and the new plaster paint I put on prior to this top coat did not cause any smell

I am hoping it is going to wear off - but after two weeks......no improvement.

People have suggested washing the walls with 1. Soda Water or 2. Detol both sound a little dubious to me.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Growler]

Some emulsions do have a strange smell so..

Does the paint smell in the can?
Does it smell higher up the walls?
Try some in a garage or shed to see if it is the paint.
Very odd that it took 2 days for you to smell it.

You sure it's not yer cats...can be very odd creatures.

 

[sam8364]

I am sure it is not the cats - I have only smelt the walls at head-height and I am 6'4" - the cats are a fairly big breed but not that big!

The paint does not spell in the tub.

I have had a good think back and actually it was the evening of the next day that we smelt it and we had been out at work all day. Also, smell worst after a day of sun heating the room. I will try and sample in the shed and see.

I am not so worried about what caused it, as trying to get rid of it.

 

[papergirl]

Hi this takes me back to a problem a neighbour of mine had a few years ago. They kept smelling cats **** after builders had used a sand and cement mix inside on walls prior to them moving in. Couldnt understand where it was coming from until they discovered the sand that had been used had been left outside for some time uncovered and the local cats had had a field day! Im afraid the only way they could rectifie matter was to do the whole lot again. Hope this helps.

 

[Zampa]

You didnt **** the paint out to much by any chance did you?

 

[ellal]

A couple of years back I had the same problem (with exactly the same symptoms when warm/hot in the room)....it turned out to be a batch of B&Q paint - it was a 'one coat' type of paint, and was also 'stodgy'!...They were very helpful, and I got sent a large tub of 'masking paint', got some vouchers for new paint, and they paid for my time repainting the room again (about £100 I think - they also offered more if a firm redid it)..

It might be worth a call to their main headquarters to see if this is a similar problem (have the batch number handy..)

 

[olly_k]

Hi all

Just decorated a room that the previous owner had had replastered with cement (groan) so used a modern emulsion from B&Q. The paint was a little odd in that is was blancmange like in the tub and I had to water it down a little to apply it. Anyway, with a little water in went on, dried and covered as expected.

Then a couple of days later there was a strong smell of cat's p*ss in the room. We do have 3 cats who have never been known to spray but even so we searched high and low for the sources of the smell. Eventually, we discovered that it is the walls that stink, all over, on all walls. The smell is worse after a hot day. - and there is no way cats p*ss have been added to the mix at any stage.

Does anyone have and ideas about what causes this, and more importantly, how to get rid of the smell as it is most unpleasant.

You say you have never known your cats to pee inside before, but could the strong smell of paint have triggered your cats terratorial defences off

 

[sam8364]

A couple of years back I had the same problem (with exactly the same symptoms when warm/hot in the room)....it turned out to be a batch of B&Q paint - it was a 'one coat' type of paint, and was also 'stodgy'!...They were very helpful, and I got sent a large tub of 'masking paint', got some vouchers for new paint, and they paid for my time repainting the room again (about £100 I think - they also offered more if a firm redid it)..

It might be worth a call to their main headquarters to see if this is a similar problem (have the batch number handy..)

Cheers Ellal good to know that it is not me going mad. I phoned B&Q yesterday and they are going to get back to me today. I will be able to put your case to them if they try to wiggle out of it.

Olly_k - no chance it is our cats - unless they are climbing ladders and ****ing 6 foot up the walls as that is where I am smelling it.

Will keep you all posted.

 

[sie1uk]

check your colostamy bag, might be overflowing !

 

[sam8364]

Just has this reply on another forum..... makes interesting reading

Confession time.

I used to work for B&Q at their head office, and at one time dealt with the supply of paint.

Going back in time 20/30 years paints used to contain far more nasties than they do now - the levels of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds??? I think, memory a little hazy!) was far higher than today. This had the effect of killing any bacteria lurking in the pipes and mixing vessels of the paint factory.

However, with an increasing move towards low VOC paints (for good & sound reasons) one undesireable side effect is that if bacteria gets into the pipes etc at the factory, it can breed quite easily - the result being extremely smelly paint. This happened 3 or 4 times in the period I was there.

Manufacturers try to prevent this by sterilising pipes etc periodically with steam, which helps, but you can still get problems.

Generally, if you ventilate the room the smell will eventually go away. If you want to complain, write to the paint buyer at the head office and state that you believe the paint had bacterial contamination. Helps if you give the paint type and batch code - depends on the manufacturer though, not all of them batch coded all products.

Guess that is the root of my problems then!!!

 

[sam8364]

Just had a call from the local store - they are coming out on Monday to have a sniff and take the paint away for analysis - all good stuff......now what about that smell!