Do you own a new Dell 6430u laptop computer? Does it smell like cat urine? If so, you are not the only one as several users have complained of the unusual odor coming from their machine CNET reported Wednesday.
"The issue was fully investigated and Dell has determined that the smell is not at all related to cat urine or any biological contaminate," SteveB, senior technical consultant at Dell told CNET. "Further testing revealed that there is no health hazard related to the smell."
The news began in June when Dell support employees advised people who noticed the odor, to spray and cleanse the keyboard on their machine with a cloth, and air can so the machine's vents can be cleared out.
This did not do the trick however as the odor was still noticeable according to owners of the laptop CNET reported.
Things changed for the better Wednesday when Dell announced the smell was due to the way it was making its products, and has since altered the method so the smell no longer shows up. Dell had previously given new machines to consumers, and looked into the issue on computers affected with the problem.
"The parts have been tested and we have confirmed this 100 percent," SteveB told consumers in the Dell forum. "If you order an E6430u now, it will not have the issue."
According to CNET, the company is also offering consumers the opportunity to set up a time to switch out their palm rest for a new one.
"The machine is great, but it smells as if it was assembled near a tomcat's litter box," said one user on Dell's tech support discussion about the topic: "New 6430u smells awful."
"I have been blaming a new kitten who I swore was creeping into my closed backpack at night and magically only hitting the PC with a concentrated urine stream which then magically evaporated," another user DaveFWA said.
