Why Is The Inside Of Our RV Giving Us Teary Eyes and Headaches?

by Susan
(Phoenix, AZ)

A dear friend just bought a used 2005 fifth wheel to live in temporarily. While moving in, his eyes started tearing up and within a couple of hours he had a severe headache. He cleaned his black tank as recommended but symptoms returned in 2 days time.

He says the smell is like methane. Visitors seem to develop the same symptoms. The home has been checked for vent problems, leaks etc, but no problems found. The new homeowner has cleaned the tank several times now using different products .... nothing works. Please help!

Sincerely,
Susan

ANSWER: Greetings Susan thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.

I am going to assume that the 5th Wheel was inspected by a Certified RV Technician for possible loose or broken holding tank vent pipes in the interior of the RV. I am also going to assume that the Propane system was thoroughly inspected for leaks.

Here are some other possible causes for the smell.

1. Check for any critters that may have gotten into the RV and died. Some of the places to look are in storage pods, closets, furnace vents, etc.

2. A good possibility is that the smells are coming from the materials used to construct the RV. It was widely publicized that the FEMA trailers used to shelter people who were made homeless by Hurricane Katrina had and still have problems with formaldehyde gassing out of the material used to construct them.

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The symptoms that you are describing sound very similar to the ones that were experienced by the people living in these FEMA Trailers. It should also be noted that some people are more sensitive to these types of chemicals and smells then others.

Since several people are actually getting physically ill after spending some time in this trailer, I strongly suggest that you contact a company that specializes in taking and testing air samples for chemical content to come in and test the trailer for chemical gassing.

Obviously there could be other causes of these smells, but these are my two best guesses at what could be causing the odors.

Hope this helps.

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RVing Al

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