DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

I'm very confused, woke this morning to a smell of glue/putty in the airing cupboard ?

I'm a novice so assumed could be gas - NO
Checked for dangerous Monoxide fumes - NO

Any ideas? its very strong could it be the water tank? (3bed house,boiler in garage)

HELP!!! Please!......... Lisa

Where's the pump, if the pump is getting very hot - it does give off a very strong chemical type smell.

Check the pump isn't covered - will lots of towels and linen. Also check pump isn't too hot when running - could be worth changing the pump if it is over-heating.

As it could be a fire hazard plus - you may have spotted a fault so why wait til it does go off and you have no heating at all.

Hope this helps.

MUST BE TIGHT SQUEEZE, SLEEPING IN AIRING CUPBOARD!!!

JOKING ASIDE, I'M AT A LOSS WITH THIS ONE BUT WILL GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT AND GET BACK WITH ANY IDEAS THAT MIGHT COME TO MIND.

THINKING CAP ON!!!

LISA

IS HOT WATER STORAGE TANK IN AIRING CUPBOARD?

IF SO, DOES IT HAVE ONE OF THOSE INSULATION JACKETS ON IT THAT ARE MULTI SEGMENT COVERED IN RED PLASTIC?

IT MAY HAVE STARTED TO BREAK DOWN/MELT RELEASING FUMES THAT YOU DESCRIBE!!!

THINKING CAP OFF!!!

ALDA.

Thank you all,

Pump was replaced not that long ago, not covered but thanks for the heads up ( I have covered it before! )

YES IT'S TIGHT, BUT VERY WARM AND COSY :-)

Alba,
yes it is, yes it has, so I'll remove it right now, then see and replace. Thank you for that suggestion.


Oddly, I needed to bleed 1st and last radiators this morning also?

LISA,

IT MIGHT JUST BE RESIDUAL AIR LEFT IN SYSTEM AFTER YOUR RECENT PUMP REPLACEMENT.

OR

SYSTEM MIGHT BE DRAWING AIR IN THROUGH FEED OR EXPANSION PIPES IF SYSTEM ISNT FULLY PRIMED.

CHECK WATER LEVEL IN FEED AND EXPANSION TANK.

IF THE WATER LEVEL IS VERY LOW.
BALL VALVE MAY HAVE SEIZED OR JUST NEED ADJUSTING TO KEEP THE WATER LEVEL 1" BELOW THE OVERFLOW PIPE AND WELL ABOVE FEED PIPE.

ALDA.

THE PLOT THICKENS.

- red sectioned tank jacket is off over night - smell still as strong as ever
- 1st (bathroom) rad needed bleeding again this morning

Alda, (sorry for spelling error before)

Gonna check out the air probs after your suggestion, didn't know about that.

Thank you so much for your posts,

A STILL MYSTIFIED - LISA...

Try removing all clothes from the airing cupboard to see if smell goes.
Remove all red tank jacket from airing cupboard.

Hi again Lisa,

When you removed the segmented insulation jacket, did you look at the surfaces that are in contact with the hot water cylinder to see if any part had melted at all?

If it has, then check the cylinder again to see if any is still stuck to it particularly where the hot boiler flow pipe enters the cylinder.

While your at it, ensure any other types of plastic/polythene bags, nylon materials, lycra and tights etc have'nt fallen against cylinder or pipework.

Seek and thou shalt find.

What was the score with the feed and expansion tank etc.

Alda.

The funny smell continues......

When I removed red jacket all seemed fine, nothing melted and by that time we had emptied the airing cupboard altogether, so no tights etc...
(for info jacket back on and cupboard got its contents back now)

Rads seem OK now, but when you say feed AND expansion tank are we talking two different tanks? (sorry humble homeowner here - and blonde one at that!) The water levels in big water tank and what I think to be the expansion tank are OK.

Meanwhile the smell goes on... not as strong that it infiltrates the house any more, but I know it's not right. I know it's strange but i get the feeling it is stronger at the top of the cupboard than the lower half.

LISA,

SNIFFIN HELL!!!

THE F & E TANK IS THE SMALL ONE AND IS FOR HEATING ONLY.

THE LARGE ONE IS THE COLD WATER STORAGE TANK .

SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE JUST HAD A BIT OF RESIDUAL AIR IN RADS AND YOU HAVE BLED THIS OUT!(THIS PROBLEM SOLVED HOPEFULLY)

IN YOUR AIRING CUPBOARD, IS THERE A TANK ABOVE YOUR HOT WATER STORAGE TANK?

IF SO, COULD SMELL BE COMING FROM HERE?

TANKS DO GET RUSTY COLOURED GUNGE FORM IN THEM OVER TIME AND CAN GIVE OFF ODOURS!

PEG ON NOSE ODOURS SOMETIMES!!!

KEEP ON SNIFFING.

ALDA.

The feed and expansion is one tank that has two functions, FEED the system with water, and take the EXPANSION that may occur. The one you want is the smaller tank in the loft. This is for the central heating system. The larger tank is the F&E for the hot water cylinder.

Look for mould/damp as well. THis may be the smell, MAYBE