Silicone smell in condo

April 18, 2009 9:48 AM

What is the cause of the slightly silicone/leathery/car interior smell in my condo?

I've just moved into a condo. The building is about 20 years old, but everything has been redone inside within the last two or three years.

When I walk in the condo, there's a slight smell of silicone or leather. It smells sort of like when you sit in a new car. The only thing in the condo at this point is a "bonded" leather couch, which may be the cause of the smell as I don't remember there being this smell beforehand, but when I go up to the couch I can't locate it. To be honest, I can't find any area of the condo that has this smell more than in other areas.

Is there a way of locating the source of the smell? Do air purifiers or filters work in these situations? Could it be the paint? The fridge?

What's my best next action in this instance?

Thanks so much for any help.

posted by fantasticninety to grab bag (7 comments total)

They may have re-caulked in the bathroom or kitchen.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 9:56 AM on April 18

Meant to add that if something was freshly caulked or re-caulked that the smell will go away in short order...proably within a few days to a week.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 9:57 AM on April 18

That smell typically comes from plastics and synthetics in general "out-gassing"; it could be Venetian blinds, a tub surround made of fiberglass or silicone caulking as mentioned above. The good news is that this smell, just like new car smell, will subside after a few weeks.
posted by littlerobothead at 10:05 AM on April 18

Thanks so much for the responses. I'm almost certain that this was done before they sold the place as both the kitchen and bathroom were redone.

Thanks again for such insightful responses. Yay metafilter!
posted by fantasticninety at 10:09 AM on April 18

Or the glue behind new drywall, if you got any. This would also outgas shortly.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 5:33 PM on April 18

It's probably one of the things people wrote above, but here's another alternative:
I just replaced the shower curtains in my bathroom and have the same sort of smell.

The first couple of days the smell was very strong and extended out of the bathroom and into the rest of the house. After leaving a window open for 3 days the smell is almost gone.
posted by KissesGalore at 12:41 AM on April 19

The place has successfully outgassed. All the answers above about this were totally accurate. Thanks for the relief.
posted by fantasticninety at 8:43 PM on July 1