We had Mannington Hatteras Red Oak hardwood floors installed by professionals in March of 2004. This is an engineered floor (tongue and groove) with an UltraWear Plus polyurethane-aluminum oxide finish. Prior to installing the wood, vinyl sheeting was laid down on the entire cement floor. Our problem is a lingering odor that has gotten worse over time. By closing and sealing off rooms, even to the point of removing furniture in the rooms, we have now isolated the major source of the odor to our master bedroom. The odor smells almost like sulphur. Everyone that comes to our home notices the odor and family members say that they noticed it soon after the new flooring was installed. At times I would wake up during the night and would notice the odor. Since we have emptied the room of the bed, the odor is worse. If we completely close off the room (that is shut doors and windows) the odor is horrible….almost like rotten eggs. By the way, there is no warping or buckling of the wood. Can you please help us? Has anyone ever had a similar problem and been able to resolve it? Does it sound like it could be the adhesive that was used when installing the flooring? Please note that we previously had wall to wall rug carpeting and never had any odors. Any other thoughts or suggestions? Please help us.

Hmmmm? Is there a master bathroom in the master suite?

I'd seriously check the toilets, wax ring! Sounds like sewer gassing, which isn't healthy at all.

It is not the master bath room. We also thought so, but when we sealed off the bath room it did not smell i.e., we closed the doors and put down towels at the door footings. The master bed room did smell. Any other thoughts.

Is there a gas fireplace in that room or a gas line running thru any of the wall studs?

No there is not a fireplace or a gas line or any other plumbing running through our master bedroom. The smell seems to come from the seams on the hardwood floor, but as mentioned in the original notice there is no warping or buckling or discoloration.

While flooring adhesives do emit odor prior to curing, once fully cured, they are inert and odorless. And they do not have a sulfur (rotten egg) smell. I am fairly certain it is not you floor or the adhesive. If that were so, there would have been MANY complaints about this and I have never heard this before. However, you're saying the odor is emminating from the surface of the floor. Vinyls can offgas for awhile and perhaps that is the odor you're smelling. I would go the the company that put the flooring in and ask which adhesives, type and brand, were used. Usually, a "generic" multi-purpose latex would be used for the vinyl. And Mannington's own adhesive (Bostick's Best with green dye) should have been used for the floor. Neither of these are very odor producing so this is why I doubt it is the flooring or the adhesive. There are companies that test for and investigate indoor air pollution. I think you will need to hire one of them to discover the source of the odor.

Thank you for all your suggestions. The company that I bought the floors from also installed them. They went out of business. However, I tracked down the salesman and the person who installed the floors. They now together have started their own flooring business. He is having the Mannington rep call us. I have already spoken over the phone with the (800) Mannington customer service rep and they indicated they have never had this problem. In our research on the WEB we found that there was an old adhesive that has not been in use for a long time that emitted odors. However, when I asked about this, the salesman also indicated that in California that adhesive had been discontinued years ago.

rotten egg odor? What other trades worked in the Room. What other work in the room?
If the floor was to have an odor, it would be in the adhesive. Latex can have that odor if the adhesive was latex based. Urethanes are distinctive so if you had a urethane odor, it would not be rotten egg.
Is the floor cupping or end peaking due to moisture? Did you check the air exhaust?

BTW, Do you have radiant heat in your slab? Or any heating element under the floor?