As I mentioned in another post, some critter (probably a cat) crawled up under our double wide mobile home and died. The stench is terrible. My grandson and my son took the skirting panel off and crawled under the house (twice). They know approximately where it is but it got up into the insullation and cannot be accessed. They tried spraying lysol air freshener and also dumping some eucalyptis oil under the house. Nothing has helped. Does anybody know if there is ANYTHING that will neutralize the smell in the house? I really am at my wit's end and don't have any idea how to handle it.
gmaewok..I once had an opposum crawl under one of my rentals, and I am afraid that the only solution is to hold your breath and get it out...The smell lingers on and on, and the only solution is removal....I also had a rat die under a bathtub, and that bathroom smelled so bad, that it took me 2 mos. before I found the dead rat. As far as I know, there is no way to cover the smell....and Unfortunately, the only way to locate the dead critter is to sniff him out and find out where it is. It is not a pleasant thing to do... An easy solution is to buy a bag of clothespins, and hand them out to everyone who visits.. Or fill your nostrils with cotton..... Tape them with duct tape.... Buy a gas mask.. Move to another house, Go on a vacation for about a year.. Mask the smell by spreading fresh manure under the double wide.... Call the police, and report that you think a homeless person died under the insulation, and request that they investigate... I hope all these ideas will help....
Thank you, doneit. I checked it out and came up with several ideas. I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction. I've put cups of vinegar in several rooms and will have my grandson take coffee grounds under the house tomorrow. And I plan to buy some lime. Don't know if any of them will work but is really gave me a lot more to work with than I had. And, Phranque, I do so appreciate all your suggestions. At least the laughter kept me from smelling it for a while. (I bet pig manure would do the best job, don't you?)
Until it is found and removed - or totally decomposed, the smell will stay. For in the house, an air purifier that puts out ozone is the only sure way to get rid of it. We have air purifiers and so do my sister - would not live without them. They were invaluable with my bil's sick bed smell, wet diapers and later the urine bag. We sold them as EcoQuest dealers. The new ones use 10% of the ozone and rely on new NASA technology to purify air. We prefer the older ozone makers - love the smell. Otherwise we are ozone junkies!!!
The alcohol burners - Brand name: Lampe Berger...many many similar ones..were originally developed to kill smells and bacteria in the air in French hospitals in the early 1900's. There are alcohols that are heavily scented or others like "Clean Linen" or such.. I have found that one will kill the smell of fried fish from a kitchen (and the house) within an hour or so... I don't know if burning one in your house would work or not.... You can always find them at Hallmark shops and other similar gift shops. OR, check with EBAY for Lampe Berger..(pronounced Lamp Ber-jer)
Deb, thank you for remembering the word my brain had "flushed". I couldn't think of catalytic for anything in the world. They really do remove odors from a room, and for some reason, are supposed to kill bacteria in the air at the same time. It's worth a try...but if it's as bad as you say, you'll probably need to bite the bullet and have a professional come in. They can and will knock out the odor the fastest.
We had an animal die under our mobile home. Our pest control man gave us a bag of something that took care of the smell in the house. Ask a pest control service about it. It really worked. (Thank goodness!)
I'd just 'gut it up' and call the pest control. That bacteria in the air can and will make you sick. My friend had a rad die under her house. She was a borderline COPD anyway, but having that there for a few days just pushed her over the edge and now she's on oxygen.
I know it will be expensive. Dang! It's always something, isn't it. But that's what I would do. Good luck.
Well, I think I may have come up with a solution. At least things aren't smelling very bad....just a whiff now and then. I keep a simmering potporri pot with white vinegar going all the time, plus candles, candles, candles. And I got some Lysol Neutra-Air spray that says it kills odor-causing bacteria. I hope it continues to work, but just in case, I am ordering the cat alytic lamp. Thank you all for the suggestions. Knew I could count on you. ('specially Phranque).
If that still does not work, buy a cheap fan, put it under the mobile home, facing your neighbors house....I am sure that they will solve the problem for you....
There is a product called AtmosKlear that really does work. You spray it up into the air and it neutralizes the smell. If you know where it's coming from you can spray a LOT of it into that area.
I just had the same problem. I don't know what it was, or exactly where it croaked, but there was a horrible decomposing animal smell coming from my kitchen sink area. Yeccch ! ! !
I used the AtmosKlear several times a day for several days. Every time I sprayed it, I could tell it helped clear out the bad smell. Of course, eventually, the carcass finishes rotting and then the smell goes away on its own. Yecch ! ! !
i sure wouldnt use lime under my house. the fumes alone could cause lots of health issues. cant you just call the pest people and get an estimate to see if its reasonable.? that smell can last a long time if it has to decompose. yick. divvi
My dad always put lime around all the openings to under the house to keep the skunks out. If it had been too long between a skunk always seemed to 'perfume' the place. Lucky for us we had an older house that was not sealed like houses today so it aired out quickly. We always had lime around for the outhouse. One time my brother and I mixed it with water and painted mom's car with it. Fortunately for us it came off with some good elbow grease (ours).
Around here lime is associated with a gruesome murder a few years ago - the Brendels. A couple and their little girl went missing shortly after a business associate of the husband picked the child up from Y day care - he was a designated person to do that. There was blood all over their old barn/garage, and a crossbow. A couple of days later the man was arrested having made up some wild story he told the husband's sister; they found blood in the trunk of his car. And lime. But no bodies were found. THis all happened within walking distance of my house - across a big field. Everyone was scared to go walking in the area with our dogs, for fear they'd find something in the field. About six or eight months later, sure enough, a woman was walking her dog in the adjacent field and the dog smelled something and started digging. There was lime everywhere around. Of course she called the police and they found the bodies. I think only the husband had been shot with the crossbow; the others had been strangled, I think.
So watch out for bodies, there, when you see lime!!!
Having been a Girl Scout/G.S. Leader for over 35 years, I had lots of experience with Lime. We put it in old socks, tied a knot in the top and when whacked our shoes and socks with it to keep ticks and other creepy crawlies away. Considering everything else we did back in those days, from the canvas baby seats that hooked over the car seat, to the tipsy plastic baby seat we'd put on the kitchen table, wooden slat playpens, glass baby bottles.....etc. .it's a miracle our children survived at all.
My son, DIL, and sole grandchild visit approximately once a month - they live about 1.5 hours away in MA. This is about as much as any of us can take on either side. This one grandchild is protected like a Dresden figurine. All the things you mentioned - I would get scolded if I mentioned ANY of them. Before they sit down at the table, the table is wiped by mom, then a fresh tablecloth is put on top - this although I had done that in the morning. The child, now almost 10, is nice enough; I haven't had the opportunity to really get to know her bec. they're afraid I'll contaminate her with .. I don't know what. The Wizard of Oz (violent). Uncooked cookie dough (salmonella - maybe that's not so irrational nowadays). Pictures of raptors (they're predators). The old cat who might die before she comes down again (death is to be denied). I'm exaggerating a little but not a lot!
My son is fine and will do what I ask him, although it takes awhile and I always feel I'm intruding; my DIL is okay on her own; it's just when they are "protecting" their daughter that they're (in my eyes) unreasonable. Can't wait until she gets old enough to have a mind of her own!! - and it's coming!
briegull, my son and dil are very protective of their children. They are now 21 and 16. The 21 year old was not allowed to date until 17. Growing up they condemned Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Halloween. Home schooled the kids and monitored any friends as only those in their home school group and Church. Never, did they spend time alone with their aunts or me. TV was monitored and they did not watch the news, Little Rascal's (still can't figure that our). Made for strain between their cousins and they still have little in common.
On the plus side they are so polite, mannerly and well-behaved. Dutifully sit and visit with grandparents for a time when visits with parents. Both families worried about what would happen when they hit the Real World. Following graduation from home school they let daughter go to Tennessee to a Bible College for a year. The next 3 years they let her choose a college and she chose a bible college in California. They live in Pa. She will graduate in December with a degree in Church Music and throughout has worked part time at Talbotts and given piano lessons. Grandson is still home Schooled and recently obtained a job at Staples and is still closely supervised. (Sounds much like that TV show with 18 children, doesn't it.)
Sorry to be off topic again, but this is important health information. Eating raw cookie dough that is made with unpasteurized eggs is just asking to get salmonella poisoning. Now back on topic: believe me, you will be experiencing a bad smell ! ! ! LOL
Try giving them something with chlorophyll in it. It is a natural deodorizer. My nephew had bad odor that deodorant never helped. He started shaving his underarms but it was taking chlorophyll that did it.