Problem of strong chemical odor 2020 Premier 22rbp

[rogertraveler]

Hi guys,
We have a 2020 Keystone Premier 22RBP and since we bought it , there is a strong odor that we can’t get ride of. The smell is so strong that all our clothes, dishes, books, glasses, food packaging ... everything smell that odor.

We have discussed that issue with our dealer and checked for mold , propane/ac leaks , death animal , grey/black tanks odors and tried odor purifier, windows and bathroom fan open for days without any success . The more it goes, the more we're starting to be afraid for our health.

Does anyone is aware of that problem and if so, any idea that could help us to solve it.....already sent an email to Keystone ...no reply so far

Thks and have a great summer

[notanlines]

Roger, do not expect a reply of any kind from Keystone. They stand to gain nothing by responding to a problem for which they have no solution and the RV is long out of warranty.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by rogertraveler

Hi guys,
We have a 2020 Keystone Premier 22RBP and since we bought it , there is a strong odor that we can’t get ride of. The smell is so strong that all our clothes, dishes, books, glasses, food packaging ... everything smell that odor.

We have discussed that issue with our dealer and checked for mold , propane/ac leaks , death animal , grey/black tanks odors and tried odor purifier, windows and bathroom fan open for days without any success . The more it goes, the more we're starting to be afraid for our health.

Does anyone is aware of that problem and if so, any idea that could help us to solve it.....already sent an email to Keystone ...no reply so far

Thks and have a great summer

Most of the odors you enumerated have distinct smells. Propane smell would be dangerous and they add some odor to propane to give it specific smell. Tank odors have a specific smell. Dead animals smell then don't as they desiccate. Formaldehyde has a specific and distinctive smell but if you are not familiar it would be hard to describe or characterize and that stuff is often used in manufacturing such as RVs. I am sure there must be a way to test for concentrations of this toxic chemical. It is used in many products that make up an RV.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/Health/sto...3240532&page=1

A specific meter is needed to determine the concentration such as these:
https://vipforair.com/how-to-choose-...ctor-for-home/

[sourdough]

Can you not "sort of" identify the odor? As George mentioned you can tell what most things are; chemical, dead, septic, LP, natural gas, sulphur and the list goes on. Some things need to be dealt with asap, some are just irritating but you need to know which you are dealing with.

[Canonman]

Check with your local Fire Dept. The "HazMat" unit may be able to come on site and identify the smell. They have the ability to test for hazardous materials of origin. Make sure they know you have health concerns.
Worst case, you'll know what isn't.

[flybouy]

It's not uncommon for trailers to smell of formaldehyde when new. Many of the interior materials and adhesive used will "gas out". Typically the smell will deminish over time snd the more air you can exchange the quicker the process. Without kjowing what the smell is limits the recommendation. I kjow restoration companies that do fire clean up will use ozone generators to rekove odors. You might see if you can rent one locally.

[rogertraveler]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Roger, do not expect a reply of any kind from Keystone. They stand to gain nothing by responding to a problem for which they have no solution and the RV is long out of warranty.

Hi Jim ...I would expect some answers from Keystone , still have a full warrenty up to mid july of this year ....thks

[notanlines]

Roger, good luck in that case. Being a 2020 I ‘assumed’ it hadn’t sat on a sales lot for an extended time and the one year would be up.
Be sure and fill us in as soon as that reply comes.

[rogertraveler]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Most of the odors you enumerated have distinct smells. Propane smell would be dangerous and they add some odor to propane to give it specific smell. Tank odors have a specific smell. Dead animals smell then don't as they desiccate. Formaldehyde has a specific and distinctive smell but if you are not familiar it would be hard to describe or characterize and that stuff is often used in manufacturing such as RVs. I am sure there must be a way to test for concentrations of this toxic chemical. It is used in many products that make up an RV.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/Health/sto...3240532&page=1

A specific meter is needed to determine the concentration such as these:
https://vipforair.com/how-to-choose-...ctor-for-home/

Hi George very interresting and a bit ''scary'' web links... good feedback thks

[rogertraveler]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Can you not "sort of" identify the odor? As George mentioned you can tell what most things are; chemical, dead, septic, LP, natural gas, sulphur and the list goes on. Some things need to be dealt with asap, some are just irritating but you need to know which you are dealing with.

Hi Danny ....yes you're right , that something that I need to solve asap 'cause
like you described most of the smells I,m familiar with ...had trailers for the pass 25 years ....but that smell it's a first for me....thks I'll keep you posted

[rogertraveler]

Originally Posted by Canonman

Check with your local Fire Dept. The "HazMat" unit may be able to come on site and identify the smell. They have the ability to test for hazardous materials of origin. Make sure they know you have health concerns.
Worst case, you'll know what isn't.

Hazmat...good suggestion I'll follow up with one ..Thks Canonman

[Northofu1]

I had a bullit, that smell is from the plywood. I tried everything. The only thing that worked was getting rid of it. The Cougar smells awesome, unless it's chili night.

[dutchmensport]

Our first travel trailer had really strong formaldehyde smells and it drove us batty. I solved that problem, kind of by accident when camping shortly after we purchased the camper. All the windows were open and we had a really, really smoky campfire. All that smoke poured right into the camper. The smoke alarm went off, it was awful.

Once we got the campfire under control, and the camper aired out, we never smelled the formaldehyde again. For the remaining time we had that camper, it always smelled like campfire smoke!

[wiredgeorge]

You could take several dogs that love to play in the rain and mud camping with you. Bring them in and the smell of wet dog will linger and you will never smell anything else. Seriously, I was a volunteer fireman for 12 years till I got too old and fat and there was no formaldehyde detector in our inventory. It was a rural VFD but maybe a big city VFD might have such a thing.

[NH_Bulldog]

Try a spider plant, they work on formaldehyde odors. I used to work in the manufactured home industry and we staged every display model on the lot to include spider plants.

Here is a blurb:
CHLOROPHYTUM (SPIDER PLANT) – The well-known Spider Plant is also a champion cleanser of air. The NASA tests showed it to remove around 90% of the potentially cancer-causing chemical formaldehyde from the air.

[wiredgeorge]

Great info Rob! Formaldehyde is also used as a binder in OSB which is more likely in the floor than plywood in some campers as it is CHEAPER.