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Guide to Plastic, Vinyl, Chemical Odor Source Diagnosis - Vinyl Siding & Plastic Window & other Indoor Odor Sources
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This article discusses common odor sources observed some installations of vinyl exterior building siding or in other plastic or vinyl building products such as windows and trim. For a more broad approach to diagnosing building odor sources, see ODORS, Smells, Gases in Buildings-Diagnosis & Cure and see our ODOR DIAGNOSIS CHECKLIST. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Guide to Finding Plastic or Chemical Odors In Buildings

A variety of common building products, coatings, and furnishings may exude odors that disturb at least some occupants. Most of these occur in new building products and dissipate fairly rapidly. Other building odors or "house B.O." may be persistent or may be intermittent but unpleasant. Some of these odor sources in buildings can be tricky to track down. Here we list some common building products that may produce chemical or plastic like odors. We provide some suggestions for tracking down these odor sources in buildings, and we offer suggestions for removing or curing these odors.

Siding, window, screen, & other "plastic" odors: We've investigated a number of reports of strange odors in residential buildings that were ultimately traced to vinyl or plastic which was outgassing. We've observed this phenomenon with vinyl siding, plastic or vinyl window or door screens, and plastic or vinyl windows. A key diagnostic step was the observation that the odors were strongest when the material under investigation was exposed to sunlight or other sources of heat. [This article is under development, September 2007, and we welcome content suggestions or questions].

Some Common Plastic & Vinyl Building Products that May Emit Odors Include:

• Vinyl siding in certain product batches by some manufacturers may exude a plastic odor, especially when new or when exposed to heat or sunlight.
• Vinyl or plastic exterior trim in certain product batches by some manufacturers may exude a plastic odor, especially when new or when exposed to heat or sunlight.
• Vinyl or plastic windows, such as plastic-clad or vinyl clad windows by some manufacturers may exude a "chemical"
  odor or smell, especially when new or when heated.
• Window or door screens, plastic or vinyl, sometimes smell, especially when new or when heated.
• Vinyl flooring, especially when new
• Vinyl-covered furniture, especially when new
• Vinyl or plastic clothing such as raincoats or even plastic storage bags, especially when new
• Some glues and mastics used to apply flooring may off-gas a plastic-like chemical smell
• Plastic vapor barriers such as poly used as ground cover or dirt covering in crawl spaces can give off very strong chemical odors that can, in our experience, take four to seven years to dissipate, depending on the level of ventilation in the area, temperatures, and exposure to sunlight (unlikely in a crawl space)

Checklist for Diagnosing Plastic or Chemical Smells in Buildings

We offer below a list of clues, focused on common sources of plastic-like odors, that any home owner, home inspector, or other investigator can follow in seeking to pinpoint the source of an annoying or obnoxious odor in buildings. Readers are asked to contact us to suggest additions or corrections to this list.

Often people's perception of odors varies with time and exposure or with a number of other site factors that make it hard to track down just where a smell is coming from. But if we think carefully about when, and under what conditions we notice odors, often that information is instrumental in tracking down an odor to its source and thus in helping us decide if an odor refers to a potentially dangerous or unhealthy condition.

This list is in simple alphabetic order, not in order of probable cause, importance, or health risk, all of which can vary widely.

• Odors & Appliances: does the odor appear only when certain appliances are running: cook stove, air conditioner, heater, aquarium pump, fans, clothes dryers, clothes washers, dishwashers, or electrical devices such as TV's?
  
  
• Odors & Building Structure: does the odor relate to presence of a nearby air movement pathway such as a building stairwell, elevator shaft, or heating and cooling duct system?
  
  
• Odors & Fans: while exhaust fans are often used to move odors out of a building, a little thinking and investigating may be in order: does the exhaust fan or whole house fan or attic roof vent fan cause odors, dust, or even mold to move upwards through the building? (Be careful that your whole house fan or other exhaust fans do not overpower and cause improper operation of your radon mitigation system if you have one installed).
  
  
• Odor history: when was the odor first noticed? What date? For how long has it been observed? Who first observed it? Does the first occurrence of a smell relate to an event, change, or modification in the building? If so, what exactly?
  
  
• Odor location: does the odor appear throughout a building or only on certain floors, in certain rooms, or at certain walls?
  • What is different about the room where an odor appears:
    • What side of the building is the room on? What conditions are different there such as sun exposure, wind exposure, nearby trees, prevalent wind direction, outdoor possible odor sources?
    • What side of the room, what wall, has the strongest odor: is it an exterior or interior wall?
    • What materials are unique to the odor-source room, such as carpets, carpet padding, drapes, window shades, kind and type and age of windows, screens, heat, air conditioning, pet occupancy, people occupancy, laundry storage, proximity to baths, kitchens, laundry, openings between floors?
  • What is different about the floor or level in a building where odors occur? Proximity to basements, attics, leaks, rodents, pests, animals, heating equipment, pesticide treatments
    
    On request we can describe a procedure that assists in pinpointing odor sources to a particular surface or piece of furniture or carpeting, using aluminum foil, paper towels, and simple masking tape.
    
    
• Odors & neighbors: does the odor correlate with activities by building occupants or building neighbors? What about trash burning, level of septic system usage, use of woodstoves, coal stoves, home improvements, building projects.
  
  
• Odors & occupants: does the odor occur when the building is occupied by large number of people, visitors, or specific individuals who may have brought something new into the building?
  
  
• Odor perceivers: who notices the smells? Is the odor perceived only by certain occupants? Is the odor more noticeable to building occupants or to occasional visitors.
  
  People's sensitivity to many odors tends to diminish over longer exposure times as the odor-sensing neurons and brain response become desensitized. Such individuals may notice an odor only upon entry to a building and not after being indoors for a time; people can also become desensitized to an odor such that even after leaving and returning to the building they do not notice the odor as much as is noticed by visitors. This seems especially true with animal and pet odors for people who live with pets.
  
  
• Odor strength: is the odor perceived as strong or mild?
  
  
• Odors & time of occurrence: does the odor appear all of the time or only at certain times. For odors that come and go, does the time of the odor correlate with:
  • Time of day, sunlight, operation of heating or cooling equipment
  • Time of year, season, foliage, outdoor or indoor activities
  • Heating or cooling season: does the odor appear when the heating system comes on? Check immediately to assure that there are no carbon monoxide hazards or flue gas hazards. See CARBON MONOXIDE & GAS HEAT ODORS
  • Cooking activities may be an odor source
    
    
• Odors & local temperature: does the odor appear or disappear in relation to changes in building temperature?
  • Sunlight striking plastic window screens may make a distinctive odor only on the sunlit side of the building
  • Plumbing system drains or vent systems may release odors when a private septic system is under heavy use or in certain weather conditions - see SEWER GAS ODORS in COLD WEATHER
    
    
• Odors & weather conditions: does the odor correlate with weather conditions such as humidity, temperature, rain, snow, wind?

Health Effects of Exposure to "Plastic" Odors or "Vinyl" Odors

The jury may be out on this question. Plastics are used in an enormous range of building materials and consumer products, and plastics vary widely in their properties, chemical composition, tendency to give off gases, smells, odors, and in possible health concern.

One of the plastics that has received a lot of study are those using vinyl chloride. This product might be present in some common building products such as vinyl siding and vinyl windows or screens. The US EPA has classified vinyl chloride as a Group A, human carcinogen. Vinyl chloride might be present in gas form as a colorless, flammable gas with a faintly sweet odor at levels of about 3000 ppm (the odor detection threshold). We provide the US EPA health report on vinyl chloride at Vinyl Chloride EPA Info

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ODORS, Smells, Gases in Buildings-Diagnosis & Cure
ANIMAL ODORS IN BUILDINGS
CARBON MONOXIDE & GAS HEAT ODORS
CARPETS & PADDING ODORS IN BUILDINGS
HEATING OIL EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS
HEATING SYSTEM ODORS
HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS
MOLD ODORS, Musty Smells in Buildings
ODOR DIAGNOSIS CHECKLIST
ODORS, SEPTIC or SEWER
ODORS IN WATER
OIL HEAT ODORS
OIL TANK LEAK ODORS
OZONE for MOLD OR ODORS
SMELL PATCH TEST to Track Down Odors
PAINTS & COATINGS ODORS IN BUILDINGS
Particulates & Allergens Indoors
Pesticide Exposure Hazards
PET ALLERGEN REMEDIES
PLASTIC ODORS-SCREENS, SIDING
PLUMBING SYSTEM ODORS
SEPTIC METHANE GAS
SEPTIC SYSTEM ODORS
SEWER GAS ODORS
SEWER GAS ODORS in COLD WEATHER
VINYL Siding or PLASTIC Window ODORS in Buildings
VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO
WATER ODORS

• "Vinyl Chloride, Hazard Summary-Created in April 1992; Revised in January 2000," US EPA, available at epa.gov/ttn/uatw/hlthef/vinylchl.html
• American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).  1999 TLVs and BEIs. Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents, Biological Exposure Indices.  Cincinnati, OH.  1999.

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