To expect the Valspar paint we used not to make me ill and homeless at 34 weeks pregnant?

[virginiaejohnson]

I'm at my wits end.

We are getting ready for the baby, so whilst ex has the kid on holiday we decided to get the house redecorated in a oner. Stressful, but a short push and we'll be all settled for the baby.

One room from being finished we noticed a smell like cats pee coming from the newly painted bedroom. We checked with the upstairs neighbour who had cats, but her house was completely fine.

The next day the smell intensifies, now it smells like gas, so we get the gas board out to check us and next door. Everything's fine, it's probably the paint he says.

My partner Googles this and finds hundreds of people who have had this problem. People have been rehousing cats, ripping up carpets, getting rid of couches, all because they didn't know where this smell came from. Valspar removed an additive that prevents bacteria from growing, so now when this paint is exposed to light and/or damp the bacteria are activated and start giving off ammonia and hydrogen sulphide.

That night, we go out to a film to try and take our minds off it. We feel so much better to be out of the flat, when we get home we try to just tough it out, sleep through it. But our eyes are burning, our throats hurt, my ears are blocked and my stomach acid is really really bad. Not just late pregnancy bad, but 250ml of Gaviscon in one night, swigging from the bottle bad.

We flee the house at 1am to stay at a friends house. We spent the next 2weeks

What do you want anyone to do?
Have you complained?

I think you'll struggle convincing B&Q to compensate you for paint making you ill.

Could be coincidence you see.

Omg. We have this same problem. Smell won't go...! Time to contact manufacturer!

Sorry not finished obviously

I'm sorry but I can't see how paint can give you heartburn.

If it smells that bad paint over it with another brand to seal it.

My brother has had the same problem. I understand that B&Q are going to pay for the affected rooms to be treated and redecorated. Complaints department straight away, social media etc. You have urgent medical needs so they need to get it sorted proto.

OP there has been widespread coverage of this in the press and also on MN.

It's not coincidence. This has been widely reported and it's put some decorators way out of pocket where they've had to go back and repair the problem for people where they've used Valspar paint in good faith in other peoples' houses.

YANBU and how absolutely shit.

This was covered on radio 4 last week, it's a known thing. It's something to do with an ingredient they changed, which they have now changed back because of all the problems. I think it was a preservative. You need to contact the place you bought the paint. Apparently you need to repaint it, but they will pay for the new paint.

I used Valspar a couple of years ago and thought it was brilliant. Possibility of a change of ingredients? Wonder if affected paints are the same or similar colours?

There was a thread a few weeks ago started by a MNer whose DH is a painter and decorator. His livelihood had been absolutely ruined because he had used Valspar paints and his clients had had this same problem; he was making good from his own pocket and IIRC it was the end of his business.

Valspar are compensating, you do it through B&Q, they're gathering all the information at the moment.

Happened to us, bought a UV torch and everything as was convinced it was the cat.

Been 2 months now and smell has faded

Which paint did you use op? Valspar do many different types

This has been covered on Radio 4 recently. Valspar admitted the fault in their paint that made it smell like cat pee, the programme said that B and Q are compensating customers. Get in touch with the store.

Yes lots of coverage - even before this issue was publicised, it's been slated by decorators and consumers alike for being a really poor paint (some ranges / colours worse than others).

You need to contact the company you bought it from.

Yeah so we've spent 2 weeks living at 3 different houses. My DD had her birthday at a friend's house, and b and q and valspar keep assuring us the paint is "non toxic" so they won't pay for accommodation whilst they fix it. But they won't say what the chemicals are that I've been exposed to, so I can't get my doctor to confirm or deny if it's safe. Pretty suspicious to say something is safe, but not say what it is too tbh.

Besides which, I'm not prepared to live in an environment that gives me these symptoms whilst pregnant. And I'm certainly not going to expose my new baby to this.

We've painted the walls with the alkaline sealant they suggested, no change. We've stripped liner wallpaper from the walls in one room to get rid of this paint, but sadly we painted onto (washed and primed) plaster in the bedroom. So we rented a drywall sander and that didn't work, so now my partner is melting off the paint with a heat gun. Then we're going to replaster, then we're getting decorators in to finish up because we're simply shattered from dealing with this for 7 weeks now. And I'm due soon. My DD has had to live with their dad whilst we sort this out and I miss them terribly.

We'll have spent between £2,500 to £3,000 to fix two rooms by the time this is done. Valspar are offering £370 a room. They don't give a shit about the stress this has put me under, they don't care that I'm clearly experiencing symptoms from the chemicals given off by their faulty paint, they don't care that thanks to the poison on my walls I have nowhere to live.

Never buy valspar paint.

Never trust b and q.

I've been in tears about 7 times over this, I just want my home back

Was discussed on Radio 4 - You and Yours programme 19th July 2017.

Yeah I don't understand how paint can cause heartburn either, but I'm not the only one and it's very clearly related to my exposure. When I stayed at friends it wasn't so bad, when I'm exposed it's incredibly bad. I guess if my mucus membranes are exposed to ammonia and or hydrogen sulphide, it will dissolve into saliva, get swallowed then alter my stomach pH.

This isn't the first thread about this on here, it seems to be a huge issue.
I feel terrible for you, I hope it is resolved soon.

Yeah I know it was on you and yours, we bought the pain days before the Beeb broke it sadly. A few days later and we might have been forewarned :(

We have just done our sitting room in two coats of it, no issues at all.

I think I read somewhere that people were removing newly done plaster that they had painted with Valspar, and re-plastering.

Everyone we have spoken to has said the least they could do is put us up somewhere whilst this is fixed. But I guess they'd rather just leave me sleeping on friends floors. Cheaper for them, what do they care about the stress to my baby eh?

I'm really worried about whatever it is that is causing the symptoms. I've got environmental health coming round to test it, but I'm scared I've already been exposed to dangerous levels of toxins. A friend of mine who is a chemist has pointed me in the direction of a study that has linked hydrogen sulphide to pre term birth :(

householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/list?tbl=TblBrands&alpha=V

Valspar is American sold through b and q - this is the American info on ingredients

My husband was on telly about this last week. Valspar will pay for materials and labour. You need to push hard. I'll link you to.my thread