Strong smell from heating radiator, need advice (Paint: landlord, safety)

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

I think it's possible that a cat sprayed on the radiator(s), and dampness would definitely make that smell come out, but very low humidity (hot & dry air) might make it disappear. You'll have to either get your nose down there and determine where the smell comes from ( floor, carpet, rad itself?) Or go spend $25 or so at a pet store for a blacklight kit that helps you locate pee. (Phosphorous in urine will glow under black light.)

I was really reluctant to post anything about cats, because I knew that's where everyone would naturally gravitate to. Believe me, I did too, but I just can't get there - it's not an easy place to spray (most cats would slide off the thing), it's virtually impossible to spray the ENTIRE thing (it's about 4 ft long and smells pretty uniformly throughout) and the smell isn't exactly like cat pee (believe me, I'm all too keenly aware of what that smells like). And, most importantly, I do have a black light and nothing is showing.

A really heavy buildup of dust on a hot radiator can have an odor, and if there's enough dust, it might be a sort of scorched smell and you'll see dust particles floating over the rad if there's sunlight backlighting it. I had to literally scrub down radiators in a house I rented because I could smell and taste the dust. That's another reason to closely inspect and or scrub the rads.

Yeah, I get a feeling scrubbing it might definitely be on the cards. What kind of chemicals/brush would you recommend? I've vacuumed the slots, but get a feeling that wasn't nearly enough.

[highlanderfil]

I guess what I am mostly after is what is a professional who deals with radiators called? I can spend days trying to figure out what the issue is, but I'd much rather pay someone to come over and tell me. Obviously, I'd call an electrician for a faulty outlet or a plumber for a leaky faucet...whom would I call for a stinky radiator?

[guy2073]

You would call a plumber, make sure they work on boilers and radiators. Do not call gallice plumbing or stahl plumbing.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by guy2073

You would call a plumber, make sure they work on boilers and radiators. Do not call gallice plumbing or stahl plumbing.

Thanks!!

[SorryIMovedBack]

I just washed them with dishwashing liquid and a rag. I used a small scrub brush where it would fit in.

Noxious Odor from Steam Radiator - DoItYourself.com Community Forums
^ That might be the answer, if there are no water leaks from the rads themselves.

Aslo see: http://homerepair.about.com/od/heati...Air-Valves.htm about venting. SO, maybe it is the H2O in the system and you get the odor when the air is vented?

Try "cook it out", LOL. Open the windows and crank the t-stat. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/bo...ues-smell.html

[villageidiot1]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

Hiya, folks, hoping to get some help from my fellow C-Ders. I just moved into a place in Shadyside that is equipped with old-school water radiator heaters. Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed a rather unpleasant smell coming from them - musty and best described as a smell of cat pee that someone has tried to clean up*. A quick Google search suggested that the ammonia-like smell may be due to a leak. It gets worse when it rains, so moisture definitely has something to do with it. Spraying it with Odor-Off, as my landlord suggested, has accomplished nothing as the lemony scent wears off in a day and the original smell returns. The landlord has told me that the radiators were recently re-painted - could that be a contributing factor?

I guess my question is as follows - whom would I need to contact in order to figure out what the problem is? Having never lived in a building with these kinds of heaters, I'm not exactly savvy about whom to go to for help.

*(I'm pretty sure it isn't actually cat pee, as the entire radiator smells from top to bottom, both in the living room and bedroom (worse in the living room than the bedroom). It would be pretty difficult for a cat to perch itself on top of this thing, let alone pee all over it.)

Have you had the heat on since you moved into this place?

I'm wondering if the radiators were disconnected when they were painted. That doesn't explain why the smell gets worse when it rains, however.

There are issues with painting radiators. I bought a house that was built in the 1930s with hot water heat and cast iron radiators. I moved the radiators outside to strip and spray paint them. I ended up having them sandblasted since there were numerous coats of paint on them. You need to lightly spray them with heat-resistant paint. I reinstalled the radiators, refilled the system and bled the radiators to get rid of air in the radiators. I remember having some leakage at the valves but never a problem with odor.

I agree with the other poster who said to call a plumber who works on boilers and radiators.

[Der Schwabe]

Originally Posted by villageidiot1

Have you had the heat on since you moved into this place?

I'm wondering if the radiators were disconnected when they were painted. That doesn't explain why the smell gets worse when it rains, however.

There are issues with painting radiators. I bought a house that was built in the 1930s with hot water heat and cast iron radiators. I moved the radiators outside to strip and spray paint them. I ended up having them sandblasted since there were numerous coats of paint on them. You need to lightly spray them with heat-resistant paint. I reinstalled the radiators, refilled the system and bled the radiators to get rid of air in the radiators. I remember having some leakage at the valves but never a problem with odor.

I agree with the other poster who said to call a plumber who works on boilers and radiators.

How easy was it to disconnect them to spray paint? I've thought about it but am worried about reconnecting them etc and suffer broken hardware or similar issues (mine are likely as old or nearly as old as my 1910 house). I'm planning to paint them in place for now and screen the area with plastic as well as possible. I am fortunate in that there is one coat or less on these as far as I can tell.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

I just washed them with dishwashing liquid and a rag. I used a small scrub brush where it would fit in.

Noxious Odor from Steam Radiator - DoItYourself.com Community Forums
^ That might be the answer, if there are no water leaks from the rads themselves.

I can't see any, to be honest, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any. I'll give them a brush.

Aslo see: Steam Radiator Air Vents and Air Valves about venting. SO, maybe it is the H2O in the system and you get the odor when the air is vented?

Not sure. Really not sure when it's vented and I won't be able to

Try "cook it out", LOL. Open the windows and crank the t-stat. new CI radiator continues to smell - DoItYourself.com Community Forums

do that because I don't have control of the thermostat. The building's manager turns on the heat, I would suspect.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by villageidiot1

Have you had the heat on since you moved into this place?

Nope, I haven't. I am not in control of turning the heat on and off and I only just moved in, so it's been too warm for it to have been turned on.

I'm wondering if the radiators were disconnected when they were painted. That doesn't explain why the smell gets worse when it rains, however.

I am willing to bet that they were not. I can tell there are at least a couple of layers of different paint on them and I sincerely doubt the owner took them down to paint them. But I'll ask him.

There are issues with painting radiators. I bought a house that was built in the 1930s with hot water heat and cast iron radiators. I moved the radiators outside to strip and spray paint them. I ended up having them sandblasted since there were numerous coats of paint on them. You need to lightly spray them with heat-resistant paint. I reinstalled the radiators, refilled the system and bled the radiators to get rid of air in the radiators. I remember having some leakage at the valves but never a problem with odor.

I wonder if my place's owner skipped a step or two...

I agree with the other poster who said to call a plumber who works on boilers and radiators.

Yep, will do.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by Der Schwabe

How easy was it to disconnect them to spray paint? I've thought about it but am worried about reconnecting them etc and suffer broken hardware or similar issues (mine are likely as old or nearly as old as my 1910 house). I'm planning to paint them in place for now and screen the area with plastic as well as possible. I am fortunate in that there is one coat or less on these as far as I can tell.

I wouldn't dare do it myself, that's certain.