How do I prep 'smelly walls' ?!

[arianna]

Hi I'm a complete novice and have never painted anything in my life but I am planning on painting my hallway. There has been quite a strong damp smell in my hallway for nearly a year, it smells very similar to clothes that have been left in the washing machine too long! I have read quite a lot online about certain paints causing these smells, although my hallway was painted with B&Q matt emulsion (around a year ago) and the problem seems to be with Crown breatheasy. No other part of the house has been painted with the B&Q emulsion and there is no smell anywhere else. Assuming that it is the paint/walls causing the smell can anyone tell me the best way to prepare the walls before painting them to try and eradicate the smell? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

[theshedman]

Hi arianna, if it's a damp smell then first I would suggest you have that checked out. The problems people have had with Crown have mostly been a Sulphur type of smell, like gas not damp. Crown do make a sealer for this type of problem. If you are sure it's just the walls then have a look at the link below. If you decide to use it then afterwards I would use a couple of coats of Dulux emulsion. I do not like using B & Q type paints as they are not as hardwearing as Dulux, not a lot of them are washable and they don't cover as well so often they actually cost more as you need more coats to cover properly.

Search for "askcrown.co.uk/faq/applying-alkali-resistant-sealer/"

[JRS]

Agreed with the above on all points. Get the dampness sorted 1st. I would under coat the walls too if they are quite bad. Had to do a full room which had very bad dampness, Seals the walls and makes it easier to hang paper and strip in future. :wink:

[arianna]

Thanks both, will take your advice on board and get them checked for damp first. I'll definitely be giving the b&q paint a miss too, it was terrible!