Strong chemical odor

[scoobnamos]

We have a 2007 Passport 200QS with a strong chemical odor. Pretty much anything that has been in the camper for any length of time absorbs the smell: clothes, hair, food, you name it. Thought maybe it would get better over time like a "new" RV smell going away but has gotten worse. The dealer contacted Keystone and Keystone sent two Northern Breeze fans to have installed. Dealer had the unit for two weeks to ventilate but still smells. Have tried other methods to get rid of smell including the dealer using an ozone machine for a couple of weeks and those didn't work either. Dealer mentioned sending to Keystone to have cabinets and other woodwork replaced but not sure this would help either since mattresses and other materials have soaked up smell. Does anyone have any other ideas or know of similiar issues and what, if anything Keystone did about it?

[Festus2]

Did you buy your Passport new or used and did you notice this odor when your first purchased it? Is it possible to be more specific about the chemical nature of the odor because formaldehyde popped into my mind but it could be a result of a number of things. I can't recall any other posts on this forum similar to yours other than concerns about a musty, moldy odor reported by a couple of members but those smells were the results of leaks and/or dampness and another post regarding toilet vent odors.
Has anyone accurately identified the odor or tried to locate the source of the smell rather than providing you with fans, ozone treatment and ventilation???

[scoobnamos]

We bought the Passport new so didn't think much of the smell since it was new. That was why we thought it might lessen over time. We thought formaldehyde also but Keystone didn't think that was it. Not exactly sure if I can explain the smell any more accurately because I've never smelled anything like it. They had the dealership check a number of possible issues, leaks were one but not sure what else and they couldn't find anything so they decided it was some kind of chemical. No one seems to be able to tell us what kind of chemical just that it "probably isn't harmful." Keystone asked that we try the ventilation first so that's what we did, dealer said next step will be to contact Keystone again. We were thinking maybe the flooring because the understorage smells too and that is about the only thing in common between the interior and the storage.

[Flyguy]

We bought our Passport new and the smell that we encountered was formaldehyde, it would burn our eyes until I vented the trailer which took about a minute or two, after about a year the smell was gone and I know it was leeching out of the wall material, it was never a problem for us because as I said it vented out in about a minute.

[scoobnamos]

The smell in our camper is not formaldehyde.. It does not burn your eyes and dealer confirmed it wasn't because of that aspect. Whatever the smell it stays in your clothes, hair, and all belongings that were inside the camper or the storage compartment. I can not describe it because i've never smelled it before. Once your in the camper for awhile you don't smell it, but when we come home it is very strong. We are going to live with it for this camping season as we have dealer contact Keystone AGAIN and take matters from then because we dont want to lose a whole season of camping.

[Festus2]

Not a "fix" to the problem but when it is parked in your driveway, I would open as many windows and vents as possible (and the door as well), all of the cupboard and storage doors and allow as much fresh air to enter and circulate within your unit. The addition of one or more fans to keep the air moving may help. I am sure you have probably tried this already. Is it possible that the smell may be coming from some vegetable or animal matter that has decayed??? People have found all sorts of things left or lost by factory personnel working on RV's -- in ducts, behind panels, backs cupboards, etc.