stephanie Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Over the past few days I've noticed a faint scent in my home that smells like something has spoiled. I've checked the trash, emptied some old potatoes and garlic, checked under the couch for someone's leftovers:ack2:, checked for wet towels from swimming, changed the ac filter, made sure all the toilets were flushed, and rinsed the disposal. What am I missing? Please just don't say there could be a dead rat in the walls!! This morning we rescued a possum out of our pool who had his lean on after struggling all night in the pool. I hope he doesn't have family hanging out inside my walls who have died! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaNY Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Um, yep, could be a dead animal, I'm afraid. Most likely a mouse. BTDT :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Um, yep, could be a dead animal, I'm afraid. Most likely a mouse. BTDT :glare: Ok.....and how long does that little body take to decompose so he's not stinky anymore? I've got a big party at my house on Friday,and the old dead rodent just isn't working for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamom3 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I washed everything and could not get rid of the smell! One day I just happened to think what if it is the plant?!?!? it WAS! It smelled like sour milk! I repotted it and it did not help. I had to take it outside..where it eventually died! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 I washed everything and could not get rid of the smell! One day I just happened to think what if it is the plant?!?!? it WAS! It smelled like sour milk!I repotted it and it did not help. I had to take it outside..where it eventually died! No cactus, but I'll check my other potted plant. Good thinking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamom3 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Ok.....and how long does that little body take to decompose so he's not stinky anymore? I've got a big party at my house on Friday,and the old dead rodent just isn't working for me! You can set it to spray every 9mins..hopefully this would hide the smell! My favorite scent is Spring Blossom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamagistra Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Find thee a janitorial/cleaning supply place and get what's called chemical sponges...little cartons containing an odor-absorbing sponge. You simply open the little carton(s) and leave in the area/closet/room. This is the ONLY thing that worked for us in a similar situation. A wayward raccoon trapped himself beneath our house in a space where no one could reach. :eek: We did not even learn his identity for many months, so the chemical sponges saved us. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 This happened to me about a month ago. I smelled something and had no clue what it was! I sniffed around everywhere, emptied the trash, cleaned the cat's litter box, ran the disposal, etc. Turns out, one of the cats had stepped out of the box with poop on his foot and got it on part of the cage, that I didnt see. It sure didnt smell like poop, but I cleaned that up, and the smell was out of the house the next day. So that must have been what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaNY Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Ok.....and how long does that little body take to decompose so he's not stinky anymore? I've got a big party at my house on Friday,and the old dead rodent just isn't working for me! It could be close, but it *should* be mostly over by then. I feel (or should I say *smell*) your pain! It is SO gross! We just dealt with this a few months ago. The darn mouse had the nerve to die under one of my kitchen cabinets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Find thee a janitorial/cleaning supply place and get what's called chemical sponges...little cartons containing an odor-absorbing sponge. You simply open the little carton(s) and leave in the area/closet/room. This is the ONLY thing that worked for us in a similar situation. A wayward raccoon trapped himself beneath our house in a space where no one could reach. :eek: We did not even learn his identity for many months, so the chemical sponges saved us. Good luck! You know, it's funny you mentioned raccoons because two nights ago the kids and I caught 2 huge raccoons outside our back door, within a few feet of us. They looked at us like, "What are you doing here?" I'm going to look up the nearest janitorial store. The problem is that there isn't one particular room that it's in that I can identify. We do have some birds living inside the walls of our house from a small hole in our siding from the hurricane. Maybe one of the babies died. Hmmm.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseballmom Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I had the same thing happen last week. I threw out the potatoes, took out the trash, cleaned the disposal and nothing worked. Finally I realized I had drained some hamburger grease into a cup and left it on the stove and forgot it was there. That was where the rancid smell was coming from, I think it was even bubbling or something. It was gross! Dorothy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogpond1 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 It takes at least 3 weeks for the dead mouse smell to go away. Ughhh.... Hopefully for you it is just a smelly drip pan under the fridge, or a kitchen cloth in the laundry that is going sour??? Are there any wet items anywhere?? Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magistramom Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Over the years, my nose has hunted out the following dead stuff... here are a few clues that might help: ~mice have a strong musky scent but quickly go to a faint sweet smell ~lizards have an acrid, sort of garlic/onion smell that goes musty over a day or so ~birds just smell foul (no pun intended) - they smell like rotting compost and used horse hay You can cover the smells with peppermint or tree tea oil on cotton balls - just stash them in a few corners and freshen them each day needed. I hope everything returns to normal soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runamuk Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I had the same thing a fee months ago and it turned out to be coming from the underside of my disposal collar. I popped it out, saw what was on the underside and gagged. I scrubbed it with some baking soda and an old toothbrush, then sprinkled some more baking soda on it and let it sit overnight. A leak under a sink can cause a rotting sort of smell, too. I hope you find the source soon! Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolash Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 .... Hopefully for you it is just a smelly drip pan under the fridge, or a kitchen cloth in the laundry that is going sour??? Are there any wet items anywhere?? Good luck. I was going to suggest that very thing. When I was first married, our parsonage kitchen always smelled "funny". I would clean and clean and it still smelled. Someone suggested cleaning the pan under the fridge. I didn't even know there WAS a pan under the fridge! But it did the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Finally I realized I had drained some hamburger grease into a cup and left it on the stove and forgot it was there. That was where the rancid smell was coming from, I think it was even bubbling or something. EWWWWWW! EWW! Double EWWW! Between that and Anj's nauseating meat post in the 'What's for dinner' thread (were those worms?), you guys are quickly pushing me over the edge towards being a vegetarian. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Thanks for all the suggestions, ladies! I've never thought of the drip pan under the fridge. Yesterday my baby girl was on the floor in the kitchen and said, "Mommy, I think you missed a spot under the fridge when you were cleaning the floor." Yikes! I'm scared to even see what may be lurking under there. This morning I pulled out a cocoa puff peeking out from under it. There may be more where that came from! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 If you have more than one bathroom in your home, but you never use the second tub/shower, the water may have evaporated out of the drain and then you'd smell the sewer pipe which can smell pretty rotten. Just run water in said tub/shower and that would take away the smell. If it's your kitchen sink drains, you could dump a little bleach down the drain, then put the stopper in and fill your sinks a little bit with bleach water and let it sit overnight. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanie Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 I found the smell!!!! Dd7 decided to "cook" weinies and set them in a bowl of water in the house! They were stuffed in a warm little corner of the house so they could really ferment! Yippee! Woohoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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