Strong unbearable chemical smell in bathroom (2023 Update)

[MCS_ RN]

replying to connie.steffey, MCS_ RN wrote: Has this every gone away? I’m having an issue with this chemical smell in my bathroom Post renovation. It’s horrible

[MCS_ RN]

replying to jkerr1635, MCS_ RN wrote: Did you install it? Did the smell go away? Help me!!

[MCS_ RN]

replying to matthewdavisclt, MCS_ RN wrote: Did you figure it out? I can’t figure it out. It’s so horrible in my bathroom.

[Coro Gi]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Evie Maddox]

[micky]

Is it possible your father was Man of Paris and your mother was Plaster Woman? They were famous souperheroes who disappeared about 40 years ago and may have married and gone into seclusion. Check ancestry.com. You may be bringing the smell with you into the shower. What is your brother's name?

[Jim Joyce]

I saw one of those home improvement shows recently where the homeowner attempts a major remodeling job but gets in over his or her head, so the star of the show swoops in to save the day. One of the homeowner complaints was a strong sewer smell in the bathroom. It turned out that the sewer pipe in the crawlspace under the house had been broken for years and the raw sewage was just dumping onto the ground under the house.

[Tekkie©]

On Sat, 24 Jul 2021 16:28:53 -0400, micky posted for all of us to digest...

sell at work. I leave my bathroom door open, so maybe it would be worse if I closed it up. But it definitely is strong when I get in the shower.

Your post is not helpful in the least. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[annamce]

I recently had a new toilet installed (nothing else done) and my bathroom smells like strong chemicals. Did you ever find out what was wrong with yours? I have a suspicion that it is the chemicals in the wax seal that are causing the smell. My plumber is being a jerk about it. I will probably hire a new plumber to come diagnose but thought I would see if you have had any success in figuring out where the smell is coming from.

[Tekkie©]

On Sun, 12 Sep 2021 14:45:03 +0000, annamce posted for all of us to digest...

but thought I would see if you have had any success in figuring out where the smell is coming from.

Seeing as you posted twice-why not call the person back that did the installation?

[Lin2021]

Hello, I know this post was years ago, but I found it b/c the same exact issue has happened with our new bath. However, I'd say that while the smell does build up when door closed, I think when the door is open it dissapates just as much but b/c there's so much more air the smell goes into, it's not noticeable. I am quite sure it's the Durock cement board, because when it went up is when I noticed the smell, it was not there prior, and this was before the entry of tile and grout. I'm debating to tear it all out and start fresh, but am interested in hearing if it improved for you over time (with the door closed and smell building up)? I wonder how long this product off-gasses and if the yucky plastic-y smell is harmful for us to breathe in. I noticed yesterday in Lowes the other Hardibacker cement board did not have a strong smell but the Durock is just awful and toxic smelling, with a Prop 65 cancer warning sticker right on the board. If you have any input into if it got better after a certain period of time or if it still smells when allowed to build up, I'd be most grateful. I hope it worked out for you in the end. Best, Sarah

[Lin2021]

Same issue here, smell is strong when the door is left closed and allowed to build up. Bathroom was done 1.5 mos ago. I'm certain it's the Durock brand cement board. That's when I noticed the smell once this was installed, and this was pre-tile obviously. Couldn't even enter bathroom at that point; told installer Durock smell was unbearable. Installer told me once the tile/mortar goes up I wouldn't be able to smell the Durock anymore. Not true, it's a strong plastic/chemical/adhesive like smell. Went to Lowes to confirm the smell again and sure enough their boards smell like plastic/adhesive. They also have a Prop 65 Cancer warning sticker on each board, so could contain a cancer-causing adhesive, or something of sort. Next to it was the Hardibacker, and I noticed no smell on those boards. Considering tearing out tile/mortar/cement boards and doing over with hardibacker brand. Have read in other forums of tile contractors who dislike the Durock due to smell (and way it cuts). Anyone have luck with the intensity of the offgassing going down to where you no longer smell when doors are closed and smell allowed to build up? If so, how long did that take for you?

[Ross Todorovic]

Hey everyone that may read this. I'm currently renovating my bathroom, I ripped out the old tub and old tub wall surround with tiles ready to install new. Put the new tub in and got all set with 2x4 studds ready to install new drywall. I went and bought Durock cement board thinking this is the way to do it. Its apparently better for tub and shower surrounds. Not sure if anyone has worked with Durock... but I'm telling you that stuff is STINKY!!! It's so powerful ... smells like a bad version of pinesol furniture cleaner. The boards sat in my living room for about 2-3 days before I was able to install them. Finally got them on the wall in the bathroom last night and let me tell you .... the smell in the bathroom is enough to give you brain damage. I'm wondering now, even after all the tiles and thinset which will applied, that there might be a possibility that the smell gets through the tiles/tile grout and manage to start to stink up the bathroom. I'm seriously considering taking them down now. Especially after reading this thread.

[Ross Todorovic]

Hey everyone that may read this. I'm currently renovating my bathroom, I ripped out the old tub and old tub wall surround with tiles ready to install new. Put the new tub in and got all set with 2x4 studds ready to install new drywall. I went and bought Durock cement board thinking this is the way to do it. Its apparently better for tub and shower surrounds. Not sure if anyone has worked with Durock... but I'm telling you that stuff is STINKY!!! It's so powerful ... smells like a bad version of pinesol furniture cleaner. The boards sat in my living room for about 2-3 days before I was able to install them. Finally got them on the wall in the bathroom last night and let me tell you .... the smell in the bathroom is enough to give you brain damage. I'm wondering now, even after all the tiles and thinset which will applied, that there might be a possibility that the smell gets through the tiles/tile grout and manage to start to stink up the bathroom. I'm seriously considering taking them down now. Especially after reading this thread.

[Lin2021]

Hi, I hope someone else with this past experience can offer their thoughts for you/us as to if the smell from the Durock ever went away after job completed. For us it is now ~2 months completed and when I close the door the smell still builds up. How long it takes to off-gas is my question, especially now that there is the tile/mortar barrier. I can tell you after ~2 months the smell is still there, maybe not AS strong, but strong. We'll likely end up ripping out tile/Durock soon and start over with Hardibacker. Sad to have to tear out an expensive job, but w/ a smell so chemical-like you have to wonder how that affects health. Our bath window remains open and door stays shut. When I close windows the smell builds up over several hours. I wish we had ripped it out at the stage you're in, w/ so much less demo work. I hope others who also have this experience can give their thoughts too. Keep us posted as to what you end up doing once you do all your research!

[Bob F]

You could coat the board with redgard to seal the surface, but the smell might still get through the wall space and leak into the house.

I never had any such problem years ago when I used Durock. I wonder if they changed the material.

What does the manufacturer have to say about this problem? You certainly should call them.

I have used hardieboard more recently, and have never had such a problem with that.

[gfretwell]

I never noticed it with the cement board either. It should outgas and be OK in a while tho. Maybe the stuff I got sat around a warehouse long enough to get the stink out. The one that got me was particle board. I used some for underlayment and it took 6 months to stop stinking.

[Lin2021]

Thanks for these replies. Next time you're at the big stores you should smell the Durock, I can't imagine you wouldn't find it powerful. When I get close to the Hardiboard next to it (the one with the squares) it has almost no smell. And yes to the particleboard someone mentioned, I have found that too. Some of the fiberboard used in the backs of cabinets is bothersome to me too. Real potent stuff, I'm guessing adhesives. I envy the above commenter with the same issue that only has to rip out the Durock. Mine has 12 x 24 tile and mortar on it, so I'm full demo. Do wonder what it'll be like, the previous demo was old smaller tile with mud/mesh - very messy.

[Retirednoguilt]

If you examine the safety data sheet:

you'll get a real education. No wonder you sense obnoxious odors and are feeling poorly. No saying how long it would take for all that volatile stuff to fully off-gas.

[build.austin]

Well a year has passed and it's time to bump this thread. Summary of above: no one knows. Suspects include toilets, toilet seats (especially the squishy ones), seals, poorly made sinks, grout, and the cement board brand Durock. But no one has posted a definitive answer or solution.

I am the contractor, and my renovation from about three months ago has a persistent lingering, but intermittent chemical smell. Not septic. Not sulpher. It's not the water. It's not the Ptrap or pvc related. The smell is most similar to wet kitchen/bath silicone caulk, but that's not a perfect description. The smell is strong and unpleasant when it is present. I have not yet discovered a causal link to bathroom activity/use and the presence/absence of the smell. It is bad, and I want a solution.

Shower was a full gut due to mold remediation. Rest of the bathroom had all sheetrock removed up to about 2', vanity removed. Floor tile stayed, toilet stayed, ceiling stayed. Old exhaust/fan/heat was replaced with new, ducted properly. All old insulation was removed from shower area and exposed studs. Room was sterile and passed its mold test, I got the green light to start the rebuild.

New custom fiberglass shower pan. Those always smell overpowering, for a few days, and this one was the same. After about a week cure (smell gone) we passed a 24hr flood test. New fiberglass bat insulation. New Hardi backer cement board (NOT Durock) in shower and new drywall everywhere else. Red-gard waterproofing applied over cement board, fully cured to red. Then normal tile/grout, glass shower door (the old one, reused), re-assemble vanity that was removed and mold-cleaned, sink is hammered copper so it doesn't smell, no overflow.

I've got nothing. Even though the toilet is original and unchanged, and I reused the glass shower door/panel, this smell is new. It did not exist before my renovation. I've done fifty or so bathrooms myself, and been on teams doing many more and never come across this issue. I know about VOCs, I know some products STINK but it always goes away after two to ten days, and this project is several months old. Obviously I have run the exhaust fan and it helps, a bit. But the smell is intermittent, and today it was there again. Ugh.