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Circle-D Posted: Jun 19, 2008 09:21 PM	smelly foam Hello Mason, I had an environmental engineer call me today with an issue. He was in a house that had been sprayed with a brand name foam about 10 years ago. I think this brand only makes closed cell. I have not seen it to know for sure. This was sprayed directly to the underside of the roof deck. Apparantly the roof has sprung a leak and now when it gets hot they are getting a "chemical smell" in the attic. The engineer figures the foam is getting wet from the leaky roof and transfering heat and releasing a smell. Have you or any of the other message board members here ever ran across this. He said he had it tested for mold and that was not an issue.It was more of a chemical smell than a musty smell. Any input would be appreciated.
mason Posted: Jun 20, 2008 07:13 AM	Wet foam would not release any more odor than dry foam unless there was mold associated with the wet foam. Sprayfoam should not be releasing any odors after a few weeks. Make sure it is the foam and not some other factor such as dead varmints stuck in the attic or decaying wood. Is it possible the foam was sprayed off ratio or poorly mixed? That is the only circumstance that I could see where the foam would have an odor after a period of time. Poorly mixed or B rich foam would smell like the catalyst (rotten egg type odor). When you say chemical odor, what type of chemical smell? Ammonia, sulpher, xylene, toulene, alcohol, other?
Posted: Jun 25, 2008 01:39 PM	Help me out here. I have been getting information that some brands of foam have an odor that stays longer than others. What is causing this? Is the choice of catalyst the issue?
mason Posted: Jun 26, 2008 11:51 AM	Foamdude< Yes the type of catalyst affects the odor of the foam. think of spilling ammonia and catalysts are similar. If you do not mix the foam well, some catalyst may remain in the foam causing a lingering odor. If the foam is sprayed correctly the odor should dissipate within a few hours to a few days. In extreme cases a couple of weeks. But if it lasts longer, there was some poorly mixed or off ratio foam.

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Circle-D

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 09:21 PM

smelly foam

Hello Mason,
I had an environmental engineer call me today with an issue. He was in a house that had been sprayed with a brand name foam about 10 years ago. I think this brand only makes closed cell. I have not seen it to know for sure. This was sprayed directly to the underside of the roof deck. Apparantly the roof has sprung a leak and now when it gets hot they are getting a "chemical smell" in the attic.
The engineer figures the foam is getting wet from the leaky roof and transfering heat and releasing a smell. Have you or any of the other message board members here ever ran across this. He said he had it tested for mold and that was not an issue.It was more of a chemical smell than a musty smell. Any input would be appreciated.

mason

Posted: Jun 20, 2008 07:13 AM

Wet foam would not release any more odor than dry foam unless there was mold associated with the wet foam. Sprayfoam should not be releasing any odors after a few weeks. Make sure it is the foam and not some other factor such as dead varmints stuck in the attic or decaying wood.

Is it possible the foam was sprayed off ratio or poorly mixed? That is the only circumstance that I could see where the foam would have an odor after a period of time. Poorly mixed or B rich foam would smell like the catalyst (rotten egg type odor).

When you say chemical odor, what type of chemical smell? Ammonia, sulpher, xylene, toulene, alcohol, other?

Posted: Jun 25, 2008 01:39 PM

Help me out here. I have been getting information that some brands of foam have an odor that stays longer than others. What is causing this? Is the choice of catalyst the issue?

mason

Posted: Jun 26, 2008 11:51 AM

Foamdude<

Yes the type of catalyst affects the odor of the foam. think of spilling ammonia and catalysts are similar. If you do not mix the foam well, some catalyst may remain in the foam causing a lingering odor. If the foam is sprayed correctly the odor should dissipate within a few hours to a few days. In extreme cases a couple of weeks. But if it lasts longer, there was some poorly mixed or off ratio foam.

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