strong chem smell in painted bathroom

[ps56k]

We have an interior 2nd floor bathroom that had wallpaper. We steamed the wallpaper off, patched the pulled wallboard areas with joint compound.

There were no signs of mold, water spots, leaks, soft material, etc.

Then primed with Zinsser Bulls Eye 123.

After the primer, we used Zinsser Perma White bathroom paint.

This was back in Feb.. it is now May.

There appears to be something weird in this room that we can't determine.... A random very strong "chemical" smell that appears for several hours or days, then goes away. It's not a paint smell, or a methane/bathroom odor, but more like gasoline-type smell. I've looked in the attic, and no roof leaks, no dead animals or droppings, etc.

Wondering if:

1 - primer or bath paint "go bad" ? 2 - any kind of interractions ? 3 - any other thoughts that we can chase...

The other thing - need to clean out the clogged cutters, as they tend to collect a years worth of rotting leaves, twigs. Not sure how that might be involved or not.

Also - the strong odor appears maybe 2 days after a rain downpour. But again, don't see any water marks in the attic or around the areas. Have even removed the bathroom vent bezel and put plastic up to block outside air.

I'm stumped !!

Bulls Eye Lot #

5146-11 N 5094-13 N

Perma White Lot #

2199-10 D

[hrhofmann]

Any air gaps around the exhaust fan or the medicine cabinet. Is there an exhaust fan???

[DD_BobK]

Maybe a partially blocked vent pipe (leaves, bird's nest)

cheers Bob

[ransley]

Its not the paint, maybe bad toilet wax ring or some body

[norminn]

Can it be a dead mouse inside the wall? My experience with that was very long ago, but it had kind of a natural gas smell.

With the smell appearing after rain, think of mold/mildew. Had a mildewy refrigerator that was left off for quite a long time - the odor was very acrid, almost hurt to smell it :o) Any chance there is a leaky plumbing vent on roof above the bath? Such that rain enters and follows the vent stack down inside the wall?

[Jay-T]

This is a longshot, especially since it is an interior 2nd floor bathroom, but is there any chance that there is an undergound gasoline tank or leak anywhere on your property or nearby?

Or, do you have well-water?

The gasoline smell after a rain downpour just makes me wonder if the heavy rain isn't causing some type of underground gasoline contamination to be brought up to the surface or through a floor or wall into the home.

I know this seems unlikely, but the "gasol> We have an interior 2nd floor bathroom that had wallpaper.

[ps56k]

Any air gaps around the exhaust fan or the medicine cabinet. Is there an exhaust fan???

[ps56k]

Maybe a partially blocked vent pipe (leaves, bird's nest)

cheers Bob

[ps56k]

Will get back into attic and check the vent pipe path for any signs. It is near the ceiling, then runs horz to some other area, and down...

[ps56k]

It may not be gasoline, but some kind of chemical smell vs the usual farts :) and it appeared right after we finished painting the bathroom, which still makes the whole painting process suspect....