B&Q customers compensated after complaining that paint smells like cat urine

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

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

Baffled customers said they had removed all of the furniture from their rooms, bleached the carpets and washed the bedding before eventually realising it was the paint.

Valspar, a US firm whose products are supplied exclusively in the UK by B&Q, said the problem was caused by the removal of a preservative which has since been reinstated.

Hundreds of people have complained online. One said his room smelt 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 and locate the problem before discovering the paint was to blame.

Valspar, a US firm whose products are supplied exclusively in the UK by B&Q, blamed the removal of a preservative for the "ammonia-type odour" and said it had now been reinstated.

It has advised customers to paint over the offending walls with two coats of alkaline sealer with their chosen paint then on top of that.

But B&Q did not say how much it would refund customers in vouchers or whether the cost of repainting would also be included.

Some customers pointed out that they had paid a significant amount for professional decorators to paint their homes and demanded to be compensated.

Charlotte Quine from Brighton told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours: “What concerns me is that it seems the problem is caused by bacteria growing in the paint.

“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.”

Several customers complained online that the hideous smell was giving them headaches.

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 that changes to EU law, which restricts the types of preservatives paint manufacturers can use, means the problem is becoming more common.

“It's a well known issue in the paint industry," he said.

“The bacteria grow in the can and release hydrogen sulphide gas which is the bad egg small, and ammonia which is the urine smell.”

In a statement, Valspar said it had re-added an additive previously removed from eight of its 140 paint products, having identified that “in exceptional circumstances” the paints emit an ammonia-type odour.

It said: “The ammonia-type odour occurs very rarely and when used on walls that are particularly porous, and where the wall is exposed to excessive heat or direct sunlight. 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.”