How to stop prempanel acoustic panels off-gassing?

[joel5217]

I recently installed 6 x prempanel black oak acoustic panels in my theatre/office and it looks great but the smell it gives off gives me a headache, learnt that this is called off gassing and it gives off strong VOCs that clearly affect me(cant walk into the room without getting a light headache)
I've given it a week and trying to ventilate it for the last 5 days with a fan and an air purifier on full and it smells the same as the day i put them on, just wondering if the smell eventually goes away or any ideas how to get rid of the smell and if even getting rid of the smell would get rid of the headaches, or do i cut my loses and just take them down.

ive seen people say leave them in the garage for a week before installing but saw that too late and i cut the panels and installed them on the day i got them using liquid nails, so if the answer is take them down then im not putting them back up even if the smell is gone. as I'm assuming the wall would be destroyed (would appreciate any removal of liquid nails tips so i can try avoid destroying the wall)

kind of disappointing as none of the reviews have had issues with this and i seem to be the only one, and the instructions don't say anything about VOCs or what to do about getting rid of the smell

Product: https://www.bunnings.com.au/prempanel-2700-x-600-x-21mm-black-oak-timber-acoustic-panel_p0455961?sto...

[EricL]

Hello @Kindrew 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having issues with your Prempanel acoustic panels. Please allow me to get in contact with you through private messaging so that I can provide you with further assistance.

Thank you for your patience.

Eric

[Rob31]

You are not alone. We have just been caught out by this product.

They keep the Formaldehyde issue quiet which doesn't help when you use them as headboards!!! Dangerous and should be shouted out load.

[Jason]

@Rob31,

I will ask one of our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. experts to reach out to assist you.

Welcome to the community. Please let me know if you need a hand getting the most from the Bunnings Workshop site. 

Jason

[EricL]

Hello @Rob31 

In order for me to provide you with further assistance, please allow me to get in contact with you through private messaging.

Eric

[Rob31]

@Nailbag @joel5217 @Kindrew 

Hi guys, having had the same issues with headaches and destroying our wall removing the black panels, we have had nothing but broken promises from Bunnings about making this right. This despite knowing and admitting there was an issue. Still can’t believe they advised buying a fan! This product cannot be found in any store near us now. We will be taking this further and if anyone is interested please reach out. Cheers, Rob. 

[Susantanner09]

Just found this post as I was googling the same thing, we have thousands of dollars worth of these panels install professionally 3 months ago and the smell is still horrid, strong chemical smell and slightly different depending on the colour of the wood as we have a few different colours, its STR so I'm finding im having to travel in before any guest arrives and put the air con on in every room to remove the smell, means short notice bookings are risky as the smell gives people headaches 😩 and even a bit cat pee smelling which is probably worse.

Did you get anywhere with Bunnings?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Susantanner09. It's wonderful to have you join us.

The best course of action is to contact the Bunnings store where you purchased the panels and flag the issue with them. Stores have been handling cases like this individually, so your first step is to speak with the store management. They should be able to guide you on the next steps and help you with any possible resolution.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell