Chemical odor

[Cddbrown]

We purchased a1995 Excella two years ago. It had been in storage prior to the purchase. We noticed an odor but thought it was from not being used. It’s a chemical smell not black tank or dead mouse. We have tried cleaning, airing out, baking soda, dehumidifier, nothing seems to work. Suggestions anyone?

[NoResults]

Could it be from the batteries, or possibly a propane leak.

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
👍


Sulfur smell?

If it was plugged in to shore power, start with the batteries.

Bob
🇺🇸

[Cddbrown]

Not a sulfur smell. The previous owner had Damp Rid packs in each room. I thought removing them and cleaning everything would do the trick. Cleaned curtains, sofa, mattresses, walls, everything. It’s still there. Almost like bug spray. It’s strange.

[Mansderm161]

Coffee grounds

[Mansderm161]

I've used the hotel like packets that are like over sized tea bags. At first you smell coffee but as it absorbs the oder, both the odor and coffee ground smell goes away

[Mansderm161]

Make sure there isn't an exploded can of bug spray somewhere from the heat.

[Cddbrown]

Thank you for the coffee grounds idea. I’ll try that.

[TimnKathy]

We have the same exact problem with our '99 Excella! We noticed this was posted a while back so have you found the source of the smell? We've tried everything you have to get rid of it.

[richard5933]

Our 1994 Excella had a particular 'funk' to it when we bought it. Best way I could describe it was that it smelled like my grandmother's house on steroids - a combination of her awful bathroom deodorizer combined with Aqua Net with a touch of moth balls thrown in for good measure. On hot days you could add a bit of formaldehyde smell as well likely coming from the black tank treatment used by many back in the day.

It wasn't from the mice, a leaking battery, or from propane. It wasn't mildew of mold (no water leaks in our trailer and no wet spots).

Our trailer did have the original carpeting, which was in surprisingly good condition. We wanted to keep it, so I proceeded to clean it the best I could. In the end I removed all the living room cabinets I could and called out a commercial carpet cleaner. After they were done about 50% of the smell was gone.

Putting my nose to the floor I isolated the bathroom as a problem area. Something had spilled in there. When I had the toilet out for repairs I more thoroughly cleaned around it as well as in the lower section of the bathroom cabinet. More improvement.

When the fridge was pulled for repairs, I noticed a funk coming from the heat-damaged vinyl ceiling covering. The foam back had turned to dust and had a peculiar chemical odor. As much of that section of the ceiling was removed. It helped a bit.

We have an ozone generator which we've used to defunkify a porch where previous owners of our house kept their dogs. I put it in the trailer and ran it for 12 hours. Aired it out and then repeated a few days later. Continued this cycle a few times. This helped a bunch.

In the end, after about 2 years of ownership, I say that unless someone told you the smell used to be there you wouldn't notice. There's still a slight hint of it on hot days if there is no air moving (like when it's closed up while we're not using it), but not enough to keep us from thoroughly enjoying it.

The point of my long rambling post? There may not be one single cause of the smell. Likely it's a mixed soup of chemical odors ranging from spilled black tank treatment, years of someone spraying Aqua Net, moth balls being used in the wardrobe, foam backing breaking down, mouse urine, and who knows what else.

Keep at it and you can most certainly get rid of it. But just putting coffee grounds or some other deodorizer in the trailer will only mask you. You've got to find all the places in the trailer holding the funk and remove it little by little.