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wimsey70

Aerosol Smell

wimsey70
15 years ago

My house has now smelled like aerosol for the past couple weeks. It doesn't smell like gas (I've dealt with a gas leak before) but it persistently smells rather like slightly off hair spray.

I had hoped it would disappear but it hasn't. I changed the furnace filter, and that helped slightly, but now I don't know if I should be worrying about this, and whether I should be calling my heating/AC guy or my plumber.

Both my furnace and hot water heater are on their last legs, but both are still working fine. I do run my fan full-time so any smell anywhere in the house tends to get dispersed throughout. Unfortunately, that makes it difficult to isolate where the smell might be coming from.

If anyone has any advice, please let me know! Thanks.

Comments (10)

  • cuffs054
    15 years ago

    Have you done any painting,staining type work recently?

  • wimsey70
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Nope. No painting, no staining. Well, I painted in November but that's not particularly recent. It seems to be concentrating in my upstairs bathroom, which makes me think I should call a plumber. (Still doesn't smell like gas, though.)

  • klaire2001
    15 years ago

    I think it would be a very good idea for you to call in an HVAC professional. If there is any problem with your furnace venting, you want to know immediately.

    Just a reminder, CO is colorless, odorless and deadly. Better to have the furnace checked out.

  • Debra Beavers
    8 years ago

    Wimsey 70 If you can read my post did you every find out, about the aerosol scent that you were smelling came from, If you did, could you please let me know, yes in 2007 -20014 i used to smell a fishy like smell like cat litter type of smell in the air. Now just about a month ago, I am beginning to smell this strong aerosol toxic fumes smell air all around my house, i would appreciate if you could let me are someone on this post to know, if you found out where the smell is coming from.

  • Josh Gleason
    4 years ago

    I recently started smelling this outside of my house in 2019!

  • Larkin Donna
    2 years ago

    The past couple of days, it smelled like hairspray in my first floor bathroom. I thought my daughters might have been playing with an old can from under the sink but they swear they haven’t. Has anybody figured this out??

  • HU-15687903
    2 years ago

    Any responds on the hairspray smell outside of house...I live in northern mich and just the last month or so I can smell the hint of hairspray...not every day but often enough to notice and only when the windows are open...I see others are experiencing the same through the last couple years and this is first time it has been happening here 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

  • Becky Moskowitz
    2 years ago

    I am house/dog sitting and after immediatey arriving I asked if anyone else smelled hairspray? No one else smells it but I have been here for 2 days now and it seems to be getting stronger for me. I am kinda nervous about being here with the smell (and there are 2 dogs). Has anyone gotten an answer to what this smell may be?

  • K
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Locate and smell plastic storage containers or other plastic objects that may off-gass fumes. If the plastic feels oily, it is likely off-gassing. I trashed over $100 of clear storage bins from a major retailer due to the odor. The odor increased over several weeks when the windows were closed until I could no longer tolerate it.