B&Q says sorry as customers cry foul over putrid paint

B&Q IS to compensate hundreds of customers who have complained that its paint smells like cat’s urine or rotting animals.

The smell, emanating from walls and cupboards painted with Valspar paint, is said to become worse in hotter weather and has led people to complain that it is causing headaches.

Baffled customers said they had removed furniture from their rooms, cleaned carpets and washed bedding before eventually realising the smell was coming from the paint.

Valspar, a US firm whose products are supplied exclusively in the UK by B&Q, said the “ammonia-type odour” was caused by the removal of a preservative.

Hundreds of people have complained online. One said his room smelled like a “dead soggy mouse” while another said their bedroom was “practically uninhabitable”. Another said she had paid an electrician, plumber and gas man to try to locate the problem before discovering the paint was to blame.

Valspar said the preservative had been reinstated and advised customers to paint over the offending walls with two coats of alkaline sealer, with their chosen paint then on top of that.

B&Q has not said how much it would refund customers in vouchers.

Charlotte Quine from Brighton told You and Yours on BBC Radio 4: “Until Valspar is prepared to investigate and say definitively what is causing this problem I’m slightly concerned about just painting over it.

“It’s kind of like sweeping it under the carpet. If there is a bacteria growing in my walls I want to know what it is and whether it’s going to cause any problems.”

Experts have said the problem was most likely to have been caused by a bacterial contamination in the can and was unlikely to be harmful. Graham Hill, managing director of ECHA Microbiology in Cardiff, said: “The bacteria grow in the can and release hydrogen sulphide gas which is the bad egg smell, and ammonia which is the urine smell.”

In a statement, Valspar said: “The ammonia-type odour occurs very rarely. The odour naturally wears off over time.

“We are working with B&Q to support our customers. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and ask that anyone similarly affected contact B&Q’S customer services.”