why does my rad stink

unwashed potato! · 24 Oct 2007 at 12:38

well it's time once again to be sticking those blooming radiators wihch would be all ok but some reason mine is really stinking and im not sure why.

at first i thought it mihgt be because it hasn't been on since march/april sort of time so its just like the old water or something stinking it out but now its been on 4 times though only for about 20 minutes each time and it still stinks really bad.

Can anyone venture a guess as to why my rad would stink? its the only one in the house that does stink.

The only thing i can think of is that when i repainted my room i put white gloss on the radiator which may have not been radiator paint, i think it was but not sure. Would that make sense as to why it stinks? if so how do i sort it out?

thanks

Tom0 · 24 Oct 2007 at 12:43

What does it smell like? rotten eggs by chance?

unwashed potato! · 24 Oct 2007 at 12:46

no not rotten eggs, its hard to explain as its not a smell i have ever smelt before other then on my radiator. the ebst i can describe is warm old clothes sort of smell maybe, like the smell clothes get if left in a chest of drawers for a few years but warm. Like i said it's hard to explain as its not really like anything i'd usually smell.

camels5 · 24 Oct 2007 at 12:47

Sounds like damp / mouldy kind of smell perhaps it is just the new paint on it.

Tom0 · 24 Oct 2007 at 12:47

hmm if it did smell like eggs, i was going to say its the paint cos you can get that paint that stinks like rotten eggs.

Sorry out of ideas

apart from maybe buy a new rad? can get them cheap as chips from some places these days.

unwashed potato! · 24 Oct 2007 at 12:50

camels5 said:
Sounds like damp / mouldy kind of smell perhaps it is just the new paint on it.

well the paint on it is well over a year old now so it's not like it's new but it did make the smell last year again i thought it was down to not really using it.

helmet · 24 Oct 2007 at 12:53

Possibly the insulation on the wall behind?
The underfelt of the flooring underneath?

Best way to find out... Come off the PC and go looking

.

Wiggins · 24 Oct 2007 at 13:13

You sure it isn't the dust that has settled on the radiator over time?

It will smell if heated up.

basmic · 24 Oct 2007 at 13:33

Give it a good hour on full heat - if the smell doesn't go after that, then I'd be suspicious.

platypus · 24 Oct 2007 at 13:38

There's probably a dead body inside it.

woodsy · 24 Oct 2007 at 13:51

This sounds like the after math of a incendiary squirrel strike, you need to check behind the rad for the charred remains of a Flaming kamikaze squirrel. What I think has happened here is the said squirrel has chewed a power line outside your house, fell down and slid in though an open window before getting lodged behind your radiator.