This paint stinks!!!! General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[DSBL]

Another unhappy VALSPAR customer! Thank goodness we stumbled across this thread! We have been tearing our hair out and blaming our pets for the intense, pervasive smell of cat pee in our home - our newly decorated home. We painted most of the interior of our house at the start of the year. As the weather has warmed up, it started to smell of cat pee - especially on warmer days and with the windows open. We were away for two weeks when it was quite warm here and when we came back, the cat pee smell was so bad that my mother-in-law had commented on it and we were embarrassed to have anyone in the house.

We do have cats and were certain that it was them except we couldn't find any evidence of any soiling or spraying. Took them both to the vet to check their health - they are fine - and the vet said we must find where they were spraying/soiling and clean it. I have the nose of a bloodhound but could not find any evidence of this. It was exasperating.

Finally my husband did a search and found others who had had this issue. I still didn't believe it until I went through the whole house sniffing every single newly painted surface. I sniffed high up on the walls where the cats cannot reach. Any wall painted with VALSPAR smells of pee. The ceilings (yes I smelled those too), doors, and woodwork which were painted with another brand of paint were fine. All the VALSPAR walls smell terrible, especially the south facing rooms. This means that every single room, hallway, and bathroom that was painted with VALSPAR smells to some degree of pee. We didn't paint 3 rooms because we're intending to do work on them but the rest of the house...yuck.

I sent a message to Valspar today and will send one to B&Q as well. I am infuriated. This represents a lot of time and effort and cost. I cannot fathom going through the painting process again less than six months since it was done. I am going to try a couple of suggestions here and will let you all know if any work or if I hear back from Valspar or B&Q. In the meantime, I have to apologise to the cats and block my nose. Ugh.

[davygravy73]

I painted my problem ceiling with this http://www.diy.com/departments/hg-elimi ... 747_BQ.prd s0 far so good!

[Melja]

Thanks davygravy, I'm going to give that product a try. If it works it will be so much cheaper and less time consuming then redoing the two bedrooms again. Here's hoping...

[DSBL]

I heard back from Valspar - they are trying to blame bacteria in the walls despite the fact that only surfaces where Valspar paint was used stink (not the surfaces where another brand was used). They suggested using a sealant and then redoing the entire house. I cannot even fathom this right now. I haven't heard from B&Q yet.

Thanks for the suggestion davygravy73 - I will investigate that product and give it a go.

I am so infuriated by this. I will let anyone and everyone know to not use these paints. I would not wish this on anyone.

[Janeholla]

Ok - do a while since I posted and I am now really angry with b and q and valspar

Quick revisit - whole house done except 2 rooms. Smell unbearable
New carpets and parquet flooring down after painting. New doors hung walnut with aluminium- gorgeous

All new filleted wardrobes. And a huge glass cabinet that took 3 men 4 hours to construct. How the hell do I paint all this - primer and paint.

I have been offered


Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Valspar have come back to me and advised they are offering free replacement vouchers for the paint and to cover the cost of the Primer once you send us the receipt.

Not good enough - I am livid and want to take further. Whose up for a battle and wants to join me

Jane

[lindylu]

The good news is, treating with Zinsser BIN and repainting with Zinsser emulsion has definitely cured the gas smell. We have had a long hot spell, windows throughout the house have been open all day, and there isn't a hint of the disgusting gas smell. Thank you Zinsser!

More than half of my house had been decorated, and it was a huge expense as we had to pay the decorator again, but what a relief to have a fresh smelling house again. The gas smell was stomach churning.

Blaming bacteria is pathetic, three rooms we had painted just before this lot (with a different product), did not give off the smell.

[Beany]

Thanks for the update Lindylu. We're just about to start repainting our 4 rooms with the Zinsser BIN and Zinsser emulsion so good to hear from you and Tubararowl that it works.
I'm also 'in discussion ' with B&Q about this so I'll report back later. When I called Customer Support they said they know about this issue and have had other complaints..... I'll keep you posted.

[avatamsaka]

Hello Everyone,
A month ago I read this forum for about 3 hours straight. I was desperate to get answers and very relieved in a way to find I was not alone, nor crazy, but I was at the end of my rope due to the wall odour/ stinky paint smell phenomenon. Only those who've experienced it can really understand, I think, how awful it is.

I had just moved into a new apartment which had been painted a couple of months prior by the landlord. The landlord just shrugged.

I will get to the point: I did further research after reading this forum and another forum, and further research and I decided to try something and IT WORKED. It's been a month and the smell is still GONE.

So, I wanted to share it with you all here.

I decided to spray the entire apartment - every single wall and in every closet - with hydrogen peroxide, to kill the bacteria. Then, after letting it dry over night, I wiped down every single wall again with hydrogen peroxide (literally dipped the mop into 100% H2O2).

I read on this forum and another forum that bleach did not work. Then I read on another site about bleach v.s. hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant which said that bleach is not porous, so will not penetrate the surface of things, but hydrogen peroxide is porous and will penetrate. So, that's why I decided on hydrogen peroxide.

You will need:
- to pull everything away from the walls.
-Get a really good spray bottle (I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond).
-A lot of bottles of 3% hydrogen peroxide (grocery store or pharmacy).

In hindsight, a hat and goggles or glasses, and maybe a mask to cover mouth and nose might have been helpful but we did it without any of these. My eyes were watering like crazy by the end (but not at first) and I only have a one bedroom apartment so, I can't imagine the work involved to get a whole house done this way but having more than one person on the job sure helps. For moral support too!

Letting it dry means streaks on the walls the next day but if you wipe every wall down the next day (I used a mop, also from BBandB) with Hydrogen peroxide again, you get rid of the streaks and give it a second go for good measure.

The apartment smelled SO CLEAN after this, I cried.

I hope this helps someone!!!

P.S. The apartment I am in has plaster walls I think - not drywall (it's an older building).

Good luck!

[DSBL]

Hi All,

Still in a cat pee smell house and still corresponding with both B&Q and Valspar. I have just pulled all receipts and sat with my decorator for nearly two hours going over what it would take to re-do the house (last resort for me). Bottom line is that it would be roughly 85% of the house and not at all cheap. My decorator does not feel comfortable using Valspar again and frankly, I agree.

davygravy73 - unfortunately, that product did not remove the smell where I spot tested it. How did you use/apply it?

avatamsaka - did the hydrogen peroxide affect the colouring of the walls at all?

Janeholla - I, too, am absolutely livid. I am happy to make as much noise as possible. This is appalling.

I want to be sure that no one else has to suffer this way from simply wanting a fresh coat of paint. I call bs on their stats of 1 in 100K - just look at this forum (as well as several like it). Plus, how many people don't realise what's going on and are giving away their pets or replacing carpet without understanding the smell is coming from the walls.

Disgusting business practices.

[Beany]

Hi All
just a quick update but also a call for advise.
I lodged a complaint with B&Q who, i have to say, were very quick to respond. They have given me a voucher to cover the Zinsser BIN I will need to rectify the four rooms, reimbursement for the Valspar paint used and some to cover the cost of brushes etc. Overall, I'm happy with the way they handled things.

So, I have started with the smallest room, the cloakroom. I BIN'd it, then painted over with emulsion. I used a tinted Zinsser PermaWhite to be on the safe side.
The BIN is awful stuff - I can't get a smooth, even finish. It's streaky, runny and dries within seconds. When i put the emulsion on top, it 'slides' over the wall and 'sits' on the surface (if you see what I mean). After a second coat of emulsion is looks passable but I can still see some of the BIN streaks where I couldn't smooth it out properly.
I'd be grateful for any advice on how to apply the BIN - I used a brush for the edges and a roller for the larger areas.
Thanks in advance.

[lindylu]

Beany, my decorator didn't like using the BIN and said it dried very quickly, but it looks great. He did one coat of the BIN and two coats of Zinsser emulsion.

Call Zinsser for advice, their tech guys are very helpful

[avatamsaka]

DSBL - the walls in my apartment are off-white and white. I did not notice a difference except, perhaps, maaayyybee a slight lightening of the off-white walls. But that was not a concern for me at ALL. I think even if my walls were painted fabulous colors, I would do anything to get rid of that smell. Could always repaint (with caution) afterwards.

Good luck.

[Beany]

Thanks Lindylu, spoke to to the tech guys at Zinsser and they gave me advice on the type of roller / brush to use. I think my amateur decorating skills were to blame especially as the BIN is very unforgiving.
Here's hoping I can do better next time....

Avatamsaka - how is the hydrogen peroxide holding up - has the smell returned at all? How long since you used it?

Thanks all

[Melja]

Unfortunately the hg eliminate spray davygravy recommended did not work on my walls. I sprayed it on the walls and used a rag to spread it around. Seemed to help for a couple of days maybe, then the stench returned. So I have the option of stripping the paint and backing paper it's painted on or covering the paint with BIN then reprinting. I'm thinking of stripping off the paper as I don't fancy my little ones having the BIN fumes in the same room as them. For those who got money back/vouchers from b&q did you have all your old valspar paint receipts to show them? I got rid of my receipts ages ago so do you think it is still worth contacting them? Thanks to everyone posting. It's very helpful to read.

[Beany]

Hi Melja,
I have received a voucher from B&Q and I did not have my receipts. They were happy for me to send them credit card details ; they needed the date, £ value and the last 4 numbers of my card. They can then trace the transaction through their records. However, I did have most of the paint pots and I sent them photos of each pot.
To be honest - there was quite a bit of emailing to and fro - initially they could not find the paint purchases. It was only when I realised there was a date on the paint label that I could direct them to the exact transactions and also prove it with the photos of the paint pot labels.
All in all I'm happy with the way they dealt with things.
It might be worth you calling Customer Services and explaining you don't have receipts - they were very helpful to me.
Just a point about the BIN - it only smells when it's going on - once it's dry there is no smell at all and it dries really quick.
Hope this helps, good luck.