Smelly Chinese Plastics

[Bill736]

In the last five months alone, I've bought three items made of plastic or hard rubber that had such strong odors that I had to throw them out. All of the items were made in China. This seems to be a new ( to me) problem with Chinese products; their rubber and plastics compounding can be improper, and result in excessive odors. The first item was a five outlet electrical strip, which was packed inside a box that contained the odor until I unpacked it. The second item was a four wheel furniture dolly. The wheels were a hard rubber, and smelled terribly. ( I have more of those dollys, but none of the others smells.) The third item was an emergency power light, made of hard white plastic. I allowed all items to air out for at least a month, but it made no difference. The only plastic or rubber items made in the USA that I've ever owned that smelled badly were clear flexible organizers for nutdrivers and chisels, which I believe were so full of plasticizer that they never stop smelling. Now, part of my product evaluation before I buy has become determining if it has a bad odor. So, if you see some odd guy in a store sniffing the wheels on a furniture dolly, it's probably just me.

[panchula]

My better half bought a mat to catch some of the dirt getting tracked in by our patio door. It had a noticeable odor at first. After a couple of days we moved it to scrub the floor, and there on the three year old flooring was a discolored pattern matching the design if the mat. Needless to say it went out in the trash, but the discoloration keeps getting darker. We are not at all pleased.

-Mike

[J Tiers]

Chinese rubber products do smell..... very strongly.

But older US-made plastics , often whatever was used as screwdriver handles, can stink worse. They not only stink, they become brittle.

I think they must have some type of mercaptan as a breakdown product, because they tend to smell like vomit.

[lugnut]

I had never been into a Harbor Freight store before untill I spotted one in Eugene Oregon a couple years ago. I was all excited and made a turn around the block and found a place to park and entered the store. The smell that hit me was more than I could stand. After about 10 min. in there, I had to leave. The smell of Chinese rubber and plastics is like going to garbage dump.
Mel

[lazlo]

Chinese rubber products do smell..... very strongly.

It's because Chinese plastic is made from a witch's brew of melamine and lead

[Fasttrack]

Chinese rubber products do smell..... very strongly.

But older US-made plastics , often whatever was used as screwdriver handles, can stink worse. They not only stink, they become brittle.

I think they must have some type of mercaptan as a breakdown product, because they tend to smell like vomit.

Yessir. Those plastic handles can stink big time and it's darn hard to get the smell out of old toolboxes. After trying the cursory bleach, baking soda, etc. I finally settled on just letting it sit outside in the sun for about a week. That made a difference.

[chrsbrbnk]

I've always thought that the Plano tackle and tool boxes smell horrible inside. I suspect most of the plastic odors are not real good for you, When I worked as a mold maker in a relay plant we were right by the mold room and I used to get nose bleeds all the time got a different job and they went away.

[oldtiffie]

In the last five months alone, I've bought three items made of plastic or hard rubber that had such strong odors that I had to throw them out. All of the items were made in China. This seems to be a new ( to me) problem with Chinese products; their rubber and plastics compounding can be improper, and result in excessive odors. The first item was a five outlet electrical strip, which was packed inside a box that contained the odor until I unpacked it. The second item was a four wheel furniture dolly. The wheels were a hard rubber, and smelled terribly. ( I have more of those dollys, but none of the others smells.) The third item was an emergency power light, made of hard white plastic. I allowed all items to air out for at least a month, but it made no difference. The only plastic or rubber items made in the USA that I've ever owned that smelled badly were clear flexible organizers for nutdrivers and chisels, which I believe were so full of plasticizer that they never stop smelling. Now, part of my product evaluation before I buy has become determining if it has a bad odor. So, if you see some odd guy in a store sniffing the wheels on a furniture dolly, it's probably just me.

I'd be more concerned if it were me and I got caught sniffing the seats on the furniture that the "dolly" sat on.

We recently had a politician here in OZ lose his job because he got caught sniffing chairs that women sat on and another that got caught sniffing ladies bicycle seats.

Jeez, I'm sure glad I'm careful - or very lucky - as I haven't been caught yet - but I'm no politician either.

[JoeLee]

Yessir. Those plastic handles can stink big time and it's darn hard to get the smell out of old toolboxes. After trying the cursory bleach, baking soda, etc. I finally settled on just letting it sit outside in the sun for about a week. That made a difference.

Well I was going to comment on the same thing but you beat me to it.
I have some hand tools, screw drivers etc. going back into the mid 70's US made and they do stink. Every time I open up that drawer it smells like crap. I'll try sun drying them.

JL.................

[CCWKen]

Had to return a Mr. Coffee maker a couple of years ago. Couldn't get the stink out of it. Tried water, vinegar, cleaner. Still had a plastic smell. The newer ones seem to be better.