Hello:
I have been searching the internet for a solution to my problem. I found a posting in this forum for a similar problem, and the community seemed very helpful, although the original poster did not indicate if he had ever found a solution.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/mysterious-house-smell-51473.html
I purchased a manufactured home several years ago. Late last summer (my third summer in the home) I started to smell a harsh plastic odor during the day. If breathed it causes severe coughing, and gives me a headache. The smell did not occur during the winter, but as temperatures got up to about 50 degrees out (and sunny), the odor returned.
The smell builds up during the day. After dark I use a fan to air out the house, and it stays odor free during the night (which has been cooling into the 40s and 50s). Then the next morning (the hotter the day the earlier it begins) the odor returns.
Luckily the odor only occurs in the main part of the house (living room, kitchen). So I can stay in a bedroom and block air from entering. However this is really only a stopgap solution.
I have not put in anything new - no appliances, carpets, furniture, electronics, etc. I do not have an air conditioner. And the problem apparently is related to the temperature outside the house, rather than inside. It will occur on a cool day with full sun, and on any warm day.
I have used a fan to air the house out during the day and then done sniff tests all over the room without being able to locate a source.
One thought that comes to mind is that there must be an attic space above the living room ceiling (although there is no way to get into it). Perhaps something up there is out-gassing and the fumes are coming in through the ceiling. Although I would think that this would affect the whole house, not just the living room kitchen area.
If this is the problem, there are vents on the roof that supposedly would remove any fumes from that space. However I don't know if they are really doing the job. So I guess one question would be: how do I tell if the vents are adequately ventilating the attic space?
And if this is not the problem, what might be the source of this out-gassing of plastic, especially so many years after everything was manufactured?
Any advice would be appreciated.
I have been searching the internet for a solution to my problem. I found a posting in this forum for a similar problem, and the community seemed very helpful, although the original poster did not indicate if he had ever found a solution.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/mysterious-house-smell-51473.html
I purchased a manufactured home several years ago. Late last summer (my third summer in the home) I started to smell a harsh plastic odor during the day. If breathed it causes severe coughing, and gives me a headache. The smell did not occur during the winter, but as temperatures got up to about 50 degrees out (and sunny), the odor returned.
The smell builds up during the day. After dark I use a fan to air out the house, and it stays odor free during the night (which has been cooling into the 40s and 50s). Then the next morning (the hotter the day the earlier it begins) the odor returns.
Luckily the odor only occurs in the main part of the house (living room, kitchen). So I can stay in a bedroom and block air from entering. However this is really only a stopgap solution.
I have not put in anything new - no appliances, carpets, furniture, electronics, etc. I do not have an air conditioner. And the problem apparently is related to the temperature outside the house, rather than inside. It will occur on a cool day with full sun, and on any warm day.
I have used a fan to air the house out during the day and then done sniff tests all over the room without being able to locate a source.
One thought that comes to mind is that there must be an attic space above the living room ceiling (although there is no way to get into it). Perhaps something up there is out-gassing and the fumes are coming in through the ceiling. Although I would think that this would affect the whole house, not just the living room kitchen area.
If this is the problem, there are vents on the roof that supposedly would remove any fumes from that space. However I don't know if they are really doing the job. So I guess one question would be: how do I tell if the vents are adequately ventilating the attic space?
And if this is not the problem, what might be the source of this out-gassing of plastic, especially so many years after everything was manufactured?
Any advice would be appreciated.