Smell of firelighters/kerosene - unable to locate source

vicky_stuart

I am the owner of a semi-detached house.

2 weeks ago an extremely strong smell started (a kerocene/oil/fire lighter smell), it is concentrated in the master bedroom to the rear of the house and strongest in the walk-in wardrobe in that room. The smell is also present (and much stronger) in our neighbour's house, concentrated in their master bedroom (which backs onto our master bedroom).

We left the property for a night due to the smell, upon return the next day it had subsided somewhat, but was still present. 4 days later our carbon monoxide alarm went off (it was located our master bedroom).

We have oil fired central heating. The oil tank and boiler are located in the back garden. We have had our central heating boiler checked by our plumber who could not find any problem.
We had a pressure test completed on our chimney - which passed with no issues.

Our neighbours have had their central heating checked, have had a builder visit the property and will have their chimney cleaned tomorrow.

Vents have been checked at the smell is not sourced outside.

We are completely stumped.

Any ideas?

Could electrical wires be burning under floorboards?

Dtp79

vicky_stuart wrote: »

I am the owner of a semi-detached house.

2 weeks ago an extremely strong smell started (a kerocene/oil/fire lighter smell), it is concentrated in the master bedroom to the rear of the house and strongest in the walk-in wardrobe in that room. The smell is also present (and much stronger) in our neighbour's house, concentrated in their master bedroom (which backs onto our master bedroom).

We left the property for a night due to the smell, upon return the next day it had subsided somewhat, but was still present. 4 days later our carbon monoxide alarm went off (it was located our master bedroom).

We have oil fired central heating. The oil tank and boiler are located in the back garden. We have had our central heating boiler checked by our plumber who could not find any problem.
We had a pressure test completed on our chimney - which passed with no issues.

Our neighbours have had their central heating checked, have had a builder visit the property and will have their chimney cleaned tomorrow.

Vents have been checked at the smell is not sourced outside.

We are completely stumped.

Any ideas?

Could electrical wires be burning under floorboards?

How close to the house is the oil boiler and oil tank?also is your bedroom on the ground floor?

boiler break downs

Dtp79 wrote: »

How close to the house is the oil boiler and oil tank?also is your bedroom on the ground floor?

check for oil around tanks and burner in your house and neighbours.have imissions checked by someone with an analyser.get these things checked first before looking at a wireing issue.a small leak can smell a lot.if your co alarm went off then boiler may need to be serviced more than likely

boiler break downs

boiler break downs wrote: »

check for oil around tanks and burner in your house and neighbours.have imissions checked by someone with an analyser.get these things checked first before looking at a wireing issue.a small leak can smell a lot.if your co alarm went off then boiler may need to be serviced more than likely

Maybe neighbour needs there chimney checked

dpofloinn

Unlikely to be wires burning as that would smell like burning plastic and timber have you noticed what time the smell is strongest does it coincide with the heating being on also where does your boiler flue and your neighbors flue terminate ie how far away from windows etc i ask this because you say you carbon monoxide alarm went off so there are emissions getting into your house.Just because your plumber found nothing does not mean there is no spillage into your home

deandean

Have a plumber do a pressure test on the oil line between the tank and the boiler. ditto on your neighbours oil line.

The oil line is probably underground at some stage and you probably have an oil leak into the ground. The smell of oil might be getting into the wall cavity and from there, throughout the house where it can get into a room via a permanent ventilation opening is not properly sealed to the cavity.

It's a challenging problem, best of luck, and please do post as to how you get on.

whizbang

Check the route of the heating pipes from the boiler into the house. chances are oil leaks, (and flue gas) are being blown in thro this routes. Its been windy out recently!
If the insulation gets oil in it, it can travel unbelievably far along its length.

However, my house had a hot air oil burner system installed from new, and oil pipeline was run underground, and came up in what is now my sitting room. We noticed the smell immediately, even tho it had been 5 years since the system was removed!
After kango hammer and sealant job on 3 inches of floor, and another 5 years, you can still get a faint smell.

Dtp79

whizbang wrote: »

Check the route of the heating pipes from the boiler into the house. chances are oil leaks, (and flue gas) are being blown in thro this routes. Its been windy out recently!
If the insulation gets oil in it, it can travel unbelievably far along its length.

However, my house had a hot air oil burner system installed from new, and oil pipeline was run underground, and came up in what is now my sitting room. We noticed the smell immediately, even tho it had been 5 years since the system was removed!
After kango hammer and sealant job on 3 inches of floor, and another 5 years, you can still get a faint smell.

Good point whizbang, kero would easily travel inside pipe insulation

vicky_stuart

Bedrooms are located on the 1st floor.
Oil tank is about 25 feet from back of house.
Oil burner is about 16 feet from back of house.
We've had an Environmental Officer from Health Board check the vents and he said the source does not appear to be outside.
Neighbour's chimney has been checked - no issues.
Our plumber checked our burner and tank. No leaks found.
We have had an environmental pollution company do an initial investigation, they could not find anything on their 1st visit and suggested air sampling to determine cause (a VERY expensive process!)

There is no smell at all in the downstairs of either property. It is centralised in the two master bedrooms, on the 1st floors of both houses. These bedrooms back onto each other. It is strongest in our neighbour's bedroom.

Next step appears to be lifting floorboards of bedrooms in both properties to see if we can see anything.

Will keep you posted.

Thanks for all the replies.

vicky_stuart

dpofloinn wrote: »

Unlikely to be wires burning as that would smell like burning plastic and timber have you noticed what time the smell is strongest does it coincide with the heating being on also where does your boiler flue and your neighbors flue terminate ie how far away from windows etc i ask this because you say you carbon monoxide alarm went off so there are emissions getting into your house.Just because your plumber found nothing does not mean there is no spillage into your home

Thanks for your response.

All heating has been off for 2 weeks and smell is still very strong.

Oil burner is about 17 feet from back of property.
Bedrooms on 1st floor.
Vents have been checked by an Environmental officer - he believes source is not external.
We're going to lift floorboards to investigate further.

Dtp79

vicky_stuart wrote: »

Thanks for your response.

All heating has been off for 2 weeks and smell is still very strong.

Oil burner is about 17 feet from back of property.
Bedrooms on 1st floor.
Vents have been checked by an Environmental officer - he believes source is not external.
We're going to lift floorboards to investigate further.

Firstly don't just check oil line for leaks visually. Make sure a pressure test is carried out on the line.
Is there by any chance a chimney breast going up through any of the walls in the bedroom joining the properties ??

jimjimt

Any updates on the smells ?

As anyone been using a small kerosene heater in the attic ?

Just something I came across once.

dfbemt

Would also be interested to hear the outcome of this, from a purely professional point of view.

boiler break downs

vicky_stuart wrote: »

I am the owner of a semi-detached house.

2 weeks ago an extremely strong smell started (a kerocene/oil/fire lighter smell), it is concentrated in the master bedroom to the rear of the house and strongest in the walk-in wardrobe in that room. The smell is also present (and much stronger) in our neighbour's house, concentrated in their master bedroom (which backs onto our master bedroom).

We left the property for a night due to the smell, upon return the next day it had subsided somewhat, but was still present. 4 days later our carbon monoxide alarm went off (it was located our master bedroom).

We have oil fired central heating. The oil tank and boiler are located in the back garden. We have had our central heating boiler checked by our plumber who could not find any problem.
We had a pressure test completed on our chimney - which passed with no issues.

Our neighbours have had their central heating checked, have had a builder visit the property and will have their chimney cleaned tomorrow.

Vents have been checked at the smell is not sourced outside.

We are completely stumped.

Any ideas?

Could electrical wires be burning under floorboards?

I have come across a co alarm going off resently. Pipes from stove put in upsidedown and flue was to close to a velux window

Ajellie

Hi, just wondering if you ever found the source of the kerosene
smell