How to fix off gassing?

[donno]

Okay so I'm going on my second week of owning a Flagstaff 21 FBRS and the off gassing is searing my eyes. I've had the exhaust fan in the bathroom running since I got it home along with an open window in the front.

After a week it still burns my eyes, is there something I can do?

[Wobbles]

Perhaps opening it up as best you can and put in an oscillating fan or two and leave them running. Let your vent fan rest as the life expectancy for it will be shortened.

[MacGumbo]

Stay away from starches.

[racer4]

Warmer air temp will speed the process.

[Flybob]

If it is in a secure location, open all the windows. Use a Box fax in the door.

[Rollin Okie]

Beans are not your friend!!!!!!!!

[wildcatter]

What you are smelling and burning your eyes us formaldehyde, it is toxic and some people are more sensitive to it, here is a link that explains how to get rid of it. It can and will impact your health, be careful you do not spend a lot of time in there until you can get the smell and odder out.

Formaldehyde Odor - Bob Scott RV

Here is a link about how toxic it can be,

https://abcnews.go.com/US/Health/story?id=3240532

[donno]

Originally Posted by wildcatter

What you are smelling and burning your eyes us formaldehyde, it is toxic and some people are more sensitive to it, here is a link that explains how to get rid of it. It can and will impact your health, be careful you do not spend a lot of time in there until you can get the smell and odder out.

Formaldehyde Odor - Bob Scott RV

Here is a link about how toxic it can be,

https://abcnews.go.com/US/Health/story?id=3240532

Interesting information, thanks. Since it's in the middle 90's right now I think what I might do is close it up during the heat of the day and air it out at night.

[jimmoore13]

The formaldehyde off-gassing could be endemic to the build or it could be isolated to one or several products in the RV. More likely, it's isolated. Endemic would suggest a bad batch of adhesives.

A prime suspect might be foams in cushions, mattresses, or carpet padding. Some of the worst problems come from the kinds of carpet pads made of chopped and re-bonded foam particles. While the foams themselves are typically recycled and have out-gassed long ago, the bonding agents can be horrible.

Another may be foam insulation. While most insulations are solid sheets cut and fitted around the frame, and while those are likely to have been manufactured long before installation and had plenty of time to off-gas, any spray-in-place foam MIGHT be suspect. Modern spray-foams don't use formaldehyde, but it's hard to know what might have been used in some applications.

All of the above advice about venting is great advice. But if you don't notice big improvements quickly - in weeks - that may be a sign that something in your RV was not "cured" properly. If so, it may off-gas formaldehyde for a very long time.

I don't envy the effort this might take, but you might remove all the cushions and mattresses and see what happens inside the RV. Sadly, this may include upholstered furniture padded with foam, as any individual foam application might be the culprit.

[danc]

we bought a new 2014 Flagstaff 21 FBRS and I too had trouble with eyes and throat issues.
I think the majority of the off gassing was coming from the Cheap bed spread and the window treatments they use.
We removed the bed spread and washed everything we could.


This is one thing I don't like about new.

[Steveboe]

My RV has no carpet at all but a ton of Cabnets that were so bad, we had to limit our time inside. Purchased in January too. Open all cabnets and windows for weeks! Big fan in window to get it out. Hot weather is a plus.

[klickitatjim]

Under $10 on eBay

[missonyxk9]

I have a super sensitive nose and have had various physical symptoms from exposures, so much so that we instructed the dealer not to clean the interior before we picked up our new TT recently. They repeated that back a few times to be sure as it was an unusual request, but I didn't want any additional toxins on top of the tons of vinyl and adhesive toxins that are already in this thing. Plus, yeah you're probably right - formaldehyde too even though I was told they aren't supposed to use it anymore. In our new TT I found the biggest offender to be the shower enclosure. Also inside some of the cabinets and the roller shades are pretty toxic as well as the OSB that says right on it that its exempt from formaldehyde regulations. Ha! I took the better part of a few days and had every window open, exhaust fan running, and used straight vinegar (can add essential oils if you wish) and cleaned literally every surface of our TT interior. I got a migraine, red, inflamed & burning eyes and throat (though could've been from the vinegar - ha!) the first day, but after that I either started to build a tolerance or it was reduced by my cleaning and the airing out while doing so. The shower enclosure still almost takes my breath away when I walk in the bathroom. I've cleaned it multiple times, we've left the exhaust fan open continually, and I put a few of those charcoal odor absorbing bags in the bathroom last week. Not sure how effective they are, but figure they can't hurt. We camped one night the day after the charcoal bags were placed and it was still pretty strong but I didn't get a migraine. However, I did wake up in the middle of the night choking with a tickle in my throat that would not go away and a congested nose. That could just be my pollen allergies though!

Another option that I'm also considering would be an air purifier that is rated to clean VOCs out of the air. I got the charcoal bags from Amazon. I've used Moso brand in the past and this time was California Home Goods.

I rented a house once with very old stinky cabinets that someone told me to put ground up coffee beans in little open containers inside. It really helped! Could also put a few open bowls or jars of baking soda too. Let us know if you come up with anything else that is effective. I do think cleaning what I call the "factory residue" off anything new helps...it's probably just a placebo effect but hey, whatever works! It was pretty shocking to see how dirty every surface in that TT was though - this was a new TT and the paper towels were orange, brown, and in the case of the slide wall interior - black when I got done wiping it down. Good luck!

[Roll]

Time, it just takes time. Can be awful but it does not last forever. Leave vents and windows open when you can but you just have to wait it out.


Roll

[missonyxk9]

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to update OP and anyone else interested.


Our RV was purchased new mid May and by end of August with vent open 24/7 and windows open every chance we got, it still smelled like the day we bought it. It seems to be mostly coming from the shower enclosure or maybe I just notice it more in the bathroom/bedroom because that's a smaller area. Regardless, I am extremely sensitive to lots of chemicals to the point I have been sick after camping 1 night.


We had a week long trip coming up and I was nervous about it. I hadn't had any time to do any research but I purchased an air purifier I happened to spot on a Costco run. I left it running for a week 24/7 in the trailer before our trip. It was noticeably better even after 1 day and tons better after a week. While, somewhat large, it is lightweight, and at the last minute I decided to bring it with us. For travel it fit under our bed lying on its back wedged in next to an elevated dog bed. When we arrived I left it running a lot of the time. When turned it off, I was able to put it in the corner and still able to walk between it and the bed. I'm not a little person either.


The other times we camped prior to this, I would wake up in the middle of the night gagging, coughing, eyes burning and watering, throat on fire, and heart racing - my typical exposure symptoms. Didn't sleep much after that and ended up with a headache to top it all off. With the air purifier, the smells have been greatly reduced overall (even when it's not running like right now), and I used it during the night while I slept. Not once did I wake up with any of the symptoms I'd had previously. Not to mention, on the higher settings it provides a nice breeze/air circulation in the small bedroom, and drowns out other campers' noises enough I was able to sleep in much later than I had been. It is now a fixture in the RV!


It's a Winix C535 purchased at Costco. It's now $10 cheaper than when I purchased it. I'd pay double for the relief I got. After we got back from our trip 3 weeks ago, I didn't turn it on while the RV has been parked. I just went in there the other day. The "new car smell" is detectable but nothing like it was. I'll run it again for a few days before our next trip and, of course, it's coming with us too!