Smell/Odor from door frame?

Question

We sanded down years and years (old house, perhaps built in the 30s or 40s...maybe older) of paint (maybe 10 layers) down to the original wood on a bathroom door and also the woodwork on the door frame to this bathroom door. Doing so removed the paint that caused the space on the wood frame to breathe again. We painted a fresh coat on the door frame molding, but once it dried, we noticed an ammonia/pee smell coming from the area that can now "breathe." Any suggestions on how to combat this smell? It's pretty strong.

I should note that I do not want to use a product that will ruin/remove the paint. Also, it's a rental, so we can't just remove the frame to check it out....I'm too scared to anyway.

Answer 1

There are a few possibilities I can think of.

The most obvious thing would be the paint itself. Some paints contain a certain amount of ammonia and will smell a bit until the paint is fully cured. The smell can be noticeable for about a week, should be completely gone in 3 weeks or so. Since this is a small area, perhaps you notice it more because there is not as much air moving about.

The second possibility is that the frame was at one time soaked with urine. Not a happy thought, but could be. Shellac will seal any odor into a surface. Perhaps one of those layers of paint was really shellac? This property of shellac has been known for many years, so it could have been done as a solution to the problem. If this is the case, a new coat of shellac followed by another coat of paint should take care of it. Pigmented shellac would be best, BIN by Zinser is an example. Oil based stain block products (Kilz) do not work as well for this application.

Also, if it is some kind of urine smell the pet odor removers will not work without the added work of removing the paint you just put on.

And yes, latex paints do commonly contain ammonia. It is necessary to stabilize the ph of the paint. Without a stabilizer, the latex component causes the paint to become acidic over a period of time and develop clumps like cottage cheese.

Answer 2

I removed the bedroom carpets (and tack strip) in a house I bought, ammonia/pee smell about knocked me over. I tried a product I saw at Target for about $5 / 32 oz bottle, called "Kids & Pets".
I used a cheap paintbrush and really saturated the smelly areas in the bedrooms. It's been 4 weeks with temps in 80s & 90s and the odor has not returned. I also notice that it also cleaned up some visiable stains on the subflooring so I did the rest of the sub floor and it took care of the other odors I hadn't been able to identify. Target had another product as well, in the Pet supplies area,(64oz $10), appears to be the same type of product but the label on the K&P product was much more detailed in what it can be used on. If you try either product I'd be interested in hearing how it worked for you.
Take care

Answer 3

Number one: paints do not contain ammonia, there is no need to. Number two: the smell may be urine from the toilet if it's in close proximity to the door, from splashing, years of it. and, sometimes old wood just has a musty smell. I work with wood, have all my life and I have a large wood-shop in my basement.
Some woods are punky smelling, I toss them to the side to burn. Some pines, locally one is called a "Cat-Piss" pine you don't dare use due to the smell when it warms up.
I've seen people cut these down for Christmas trees, when it warms up in the house, it stinks like cat pee.

I would guess it's either old wood or it's been around the toilet to long.

Answer 4

We have the same problem, though ours is in a bedroom doorway and for some reason it smells like mold !

I've used lysol spray, sprayed over the area the smell is coming from until it mists up... that'll knock it out for a few days at a time anyway.

I think the smell is also more noticeable when the weather is damp or humid. Especially in hot, humid weather.

Answer 5

It could be the paint you have used. I've noticed some gloss paint smells like the armpits of people who don't use deodorant. Try covering a piece of scrap wood with your paint to find out if it's that that's causing the smell.

Answer 6

try vinegar or a pet stain/smell remover. even if it isn't a pet smell, that should take care of the odor. if not, you can always replace the frame.

Answer 7

1

Answer 8

My question would be ....what's causing that smell behind my wall....ewwwwwwwww !

Answer 9

maybe that's why there was 10 layers of paint on it lol... sorry but i never herd of this before..

Answer 10

try sealing the wood with polyurithane