# Insulation odor



## tornstrom (Sep 5, 2012)

Hi,
I'm about to order insulation for the house I'm building. After some reading I see that many people have been complaining about the smell of the Owens Corning batt insulation. 

OC Switched to using a bio based formula in 2011 which is what produce the "burnt caramel" smell. Supposedly that smell can linger for weeks or months.

Have anyone recently installed these OC batts? If so, are they still that smelly or it's been corrected? If so, what insulation brand would be a better choice?

Thankful for any input!


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

Roxul


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## eclark (Jan 23, 2012)

I just did abed room that was down to the studs with Roxul. First time with that stuff and I would never use any other typed cavity batt. What a pleasure to work with and good r value too.


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

the guys here had to really talk me into roxul. but i am so glad they did.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

That smell is only present on defective insulation.

Both fiberglass and rock-wool insulations use a bit of "binder" to hold the fibers together. If the binder does not cure fully, it can have an odor. You can find anecdotes of this occurring for both fiberglass and rock-wool. The traditional binder pretty nasty and includes formaldehyde. At least that "bio" binder does not (or at least, is not supposed to have) the nasty chemicals that the traditional binders have. Often described as a "burnt sugar" smell rather than the "chemical" smell of the traditional binders.


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