My house was built this year. I have several medicine/linen/towel cabinets
in and around the bathroom. All of them constructed at the same time,
presumably from the same wood. All of them painted at the same time, coat
for coat. All but one are normal. The abnormal one smells, from day one
till now, 12 months later, as though the paint isn't quite dry or something.
It's an unpleasant smell that has not faded much in a year. The cabinet
directly below it has no smell, despite being done exactly simultaneously
with the same materials. There's nothing in these cabinets. They're empty.
Except for the smell in one. What the hey?

Jim Beaver

Jim Beaver wrote:
My house was built this year. I have several medicine/linen/towel cabinets
in and around the bathroom. All of them constructed at the same time,
presumably from the same wood. All of them painted at the same time, coat
for coat. All but one are normal. The abnormal one smells, from day one
till now, 12 months later, as though the paint isn't quite dry or something.
It's an unpleasant smell that has not faded much in a year. The cabinet
directly below it has no smell, despite being done exactly simultaneously
with the same materials. There's nothing in these cabinets. They're empty.
Except for the smell in one. What the hey?

Jim Beaver



Hmmmmm......got me stumped. I would leave it open, run a fan to
circulate air best you can. Make sure house humidity is reasonably low.
The paint should cure....the fumes can't last forever unless contained
inside the cabinet. If it still remains, lay a tray of plain charcoal
inside the cab. If that fails, strip the stinky paint, repaint with
latex. I'm willing to bet it is just a matter of inadequate ventillation.

"Jim Beaver" wrote in message
om...
My house was built this year.

assuming you mean 2005 (see below)

I have several medicine/linen/towel cabinets in and around the bathroom.
All of them constructed at the same time, presumably from the same wood.
All of them painted at the same time, coat for coat. All but one are
normal. The abnormal one smells, from day one till now, 12 months later,

sure your house wasn't built last year (2004)?

as though the paint isn't quite dry or something. It's an unpleasant smell
that has not faded much in a year. The cabinet directly below it has no
smell, despite being done exactly simultaneously with the same materials.
There's nothing in these cabinets. They're empty. Except for the smell in
one. What the hey?

Jim Beaver


solution: remove smelly cabinet, wait a few days (or weeks) and see if smell
abates, then replace with nonsmelly cabinet if cabinet is indeed source of
smell

Zinsser Seal Coat is a dewaxed shellac product that often is used as a
barrier coat between finishes or a sealer for stains or odors. First
thing I'd try and if that doesn't solve it another coat of something
can be applied.

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 17:52:05 GMT, "Jim Beaver"
wrote:


"effi" wrote in message
...
"Jim Beaver" wrote in message
om...
My house was built this year.

assuming you mean 2005 (see below)

I have several medicine/linen/towel cabinets in and around the bathroom.
All of them constructed at the same time, presumably from the same wood.
All of them painted at the same time, coat for coat. All but one are
normal. The abnormal one smells, from day one till now, 12 months later,

sure your house wasn't built last year (2004)?

as though the paint isn't quite dry or something. It's an unpleasant
smell that has not faded much in a year. The cabinet directly below it
has no smell, despite being done exactly simultaneously with the same
materials. There's nothing in these cabinets. They're empty. Except for
the smell in one. What the hey?

Jim Beaver


solution: remove smelly cabinet, wait a few days (or weeks) and see if
smell abates, then replace with nonsmelly cabinet if cabinet is indeed
source of smell

House was built in 2003-2004, cabinetry installed and painted in 2004. This
is not a unit medicine cabinet like you'd install in a hole in your drywall,
it's a built-in cabinet, really more of a linen closet. I only called it a
cabinet because it is not floor-to-ceiling in height. It's 4 feet high, 17
inches deep, 27 inches across. There's another one roughly the same size
directly beneath it, built and painted at the same time, but which doesn't
smell. Removing either would involve ripping it out down to the studs,
removing casing, etc. -- in other words a task equivalent more or less to
removing a small closet from any room. Not very practical.

I'm just trying to figure out if anyone has an explanation for one
closet/cabinet smelling bad and the one below it not smelling, when built
and constructed identically and simultaneously.

Jim Beaver

"effi" wrote in message
...
"Jim Beaver" wrote in message
om...
My house was built this year.

assuming you mean 2005 (see below)

I have several medicine/linen/towel cabinets in and around the bathroom.
All of them constructed at the same time, presumably from the same wood.
All of them painted at the same time, coat for coat. All but one are
normal. The abnormal one smells, from day one till now, 12 months later,

sure your house wasn't built last year (2004)?

as though the paint isn't quite dry or something. It's an unpleasant
smell that has not faded much in a year. The cabinet directly below it
has no smell, despite being done exactly simultaneously with the same
materials. There's nothing in these cabinets. They're empty. Except for
the smell in one. What the hey?

Jim Beaver


solution: remove smelly cabinet, wait a few days (or weeks) and see if
smell abates, then replace with nonsmelly cabinet if cabinet is indeed
source of smell

House was built in 2003-2004, cabinetry installed and painted in 2004. This
is not a unit medicine cabinet like you'd install in a hole in your drywall,
it's a built-in cabinet, really more of a linen closet. I only called it a
cabinet because it is not floor-to-ceiling in height. It's 4 feet high, 17
inches deep, 27 inches across. There's another one roughly the same size
directly beneath it, built and painted at the same time, but which doesn't
smell. Removing either would involve ripping it out down to the studs,
removing casing, etc. -- in other words a task equivalent more or less to
removing a small closet from any room. Not very practical.

I'm just trying to figure out if anyone has an explanation for one
closet/cabinet smelling bad and the one below it not smelling, when built
and constructed identically and simultaneously.

Jim Beaver

"3rd eye" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 20:43:42 GMT, "Jim Beaver"
wrote:

My house was built this year. I have several medicine/linen/towel
cabinets
in and around the bathroom. All of them constructed at the same time,
presumably from the same wood. All of them painted at the same time, coat
for coat. All but one are normal. The abnormal one smells, from day one
till now, 12 months later, as though the paint isn't quite dry or
something.
It's an unpleasant smell that has not faded much in a year. The cabinet
directly below it has no smell, despite being done exactly simultaneously
with the same materials. There's nothing in these cabinets. They're
empty.
Except for the smell in one. What the hey?

Jim Beaver

Since you are trollin (or maybe notr) I'll bite
Assuming this is a medicie cab, Take ir out.
I'll bet you find a surprise in the wall.


Why on earth would you presume I'm trolling? I'm trying to figure something
out here that doesn't make sense to me. I thought maybe someone on this ng
had the expertise I lack to decipher the situation.

It's not a medicine cabinet. It's a 4' by 2 1/2' closet, 17" deep. Built
into the walls like any other closet. An identical (but non-smelly) one is
directly below it. Smells bad like paint, not like a dead rat.

Jim Beaver

Jim,

I don't think I have any solutions, but answers to the following
may help someone diagnose the problem.

What is the basic material? MDF, ply, unknown, or other.

Primed? with what
Painted? with what

Is the smell like oil based paint, latex, raw wood, other?

There must be some variable in the pile. Sunlight, bleach, and
baking soda come to mind as the most gentle first attempts at
dealing with odor/mold/smell. Scuff sanding and fresh primer and
finish sound like the next step.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Jim Beaver" wrote in message
om...

"3rd eye" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 20:43:42 GMT, "Jim Beaver"
wrote:

My house was built this year. I have several
medicine/linen/towel cabinets
in and around the bathroom. All of them constructed at the
same time,
presumably from the same wood. All of them painted at the same
time, coat
for coat. All but one are normal. The abnormal one smells,
from day one
till now, 12 months later, as though the paint isn't quite dry
or something.
It's an unpleasant smell that has not faded much in a year.
The cabinet
directly below it has no smell, despite being done exactly
simultaneously
with the same materials. There's nothing in these cabinets.
They're empty.
Except for the smell in one. What the hey?

Jim Beaver

Since you are trollin (or maybe notr) I'll bite
Assuming this is a medicie cab, Take ir out.
I'll bet you find a surprise in the wall.


Why on earth would you presume I'm trolling? I'm trying to
figure something out here that doesn't make sense to me. I
thought maybe someone on this ng had the expertise I lack to
decipher the situation.

It's not a medicine cabinet. It's a 4' by 2 1/2' closet, 17"
deep. Built into the walls like any other closet. An identical
(but non-smelly) one is directly below it. Smells bad like
paint, not like a dead rat.

Jim Beaver