Dead Body Smell in Books

[Hunter]

I'm assuming someone died in an apartment near me. Management is calling it the "situation in a unit near you." All I know for certain is that it is REALLY REALLY stinky here and management is working to reroute the ventilation systems that have been blowing contaminated air directly into our units. I live in a high rise building and ventilation is not in our control and windows barely open for safety issues and architectural reasons beyond my understanding.

 

I went and bought a candle at Marshall's. It was surreal to be hurriedly trying to choose the best scent to deal with the gases emitted from what I assume to be a decomposing body and catastrophic fluid leakage.

 

I bought Vanilla Cinnamon Brulee, because it was $6.99 and had a double wick and I think the more flame the better for burning the gasses in the air. It seemed less tacky than Birthday Cake and Tiki Vacation. But really, what is an appropriate and effective scent?

 

I thought of going to the closest Yankee candle in a very exclusive nearby shopping area and asking for help to choose the best scent, but a friend made me promise not to do that. I settled for what was at Marshalls.

 

I could really use some boots-on-the-ground advice if anyone has actually chosen candle scents best for decomposing bodies. And how to deal with the extreme odor in general. And how to keep my books from absorbing this smell.

 

I found the $25.00 reward gift card for Barnes and Nobles, they had promised me, in my PO box today. I bought Euclid's Elements which is exactly that price and came home with it to find this mess going on.

 

I'm thinking I might own the only copy of Euclid that smells like dead body and vanilla cinnamon brulee. I guess I could just run it back to B&N and return it and buy another copy later, but, what do I say for reason for returning? I don't want it to absorb dead body smell?

 

I swear to god I don't make this stuff up. Really, I don't have this much of an imagination. I don't. Truth is stranger than fiction. It really is.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Hunter

[Critterfixer]

Coffee grounds. Do not ask me how I know.

[Epicurean]

You can buy charcoal deodorizer that fit under your air vents. THey actually filter smells rather than just covering it up. They also sell charcoal deodorizers for cars that you could place on your book shelves. I don't know how well it'd work against dead body odors but it's the most scientific solution I can think of. Unless you also want to try closing and covering your vents with towels, but that would mean you couldn't use ac. Might want to set a rolled towel by the bottom of your door leading to the hallway though.

[Critterfixer]

I'm not entirely sure I'd be wanting to light a candle, either. 

[Critterfixer]

For the books, I'd be tempted to box them in plastic and try putting a ziploc bag full of charcoal in there. Leave the baggie open and keep the box shut until all the fumes are gone.

[Epicurean]

If you buy regular charcoal, just be sure it is activated charcoal.

[MotherGoose]

Just Ewwww! I may have had to deal with dead chickens, and drag a snake that's been decomposing in August heat for 3 days out of the chicken house, but at least they weren't in the house. And I can open the windows. You are supposed to put lime on a decomposing critter, but I guess that's not your problem. Ultra ZR odor neutralizer spray is advertised to cover the smell of dead animals. It works great for covering up other smells in the house.

[Terabith]

I don't know, but I don't think I've ever laughed so hard.  Open the door?  Go visit friends?  Dichotamous earth? 

 

Not sure a candle is going to help.  Lots and lots of baking soda, maybe?  Vicks Vaporub under your nostrils?

[Ravin]

Frankincense.

[Critterfixer]

Vicks under the nose does help.

[Hunter]

Management just put some big machines in the hallway. I don't know what they are. And there are cups that look like charcoal at each doorway. The hallway smells better already!

[Ravin]

Glad to hear they're handling it. 

[Hunter]

You all are awesome! Truly almost ANYTHING can be asked here and someone will have boots-on-the-ground advice!

 

There are very limited places you can ask about protecting your new Euclid from decomposing body gases. :lol:

[Critterfixer]

 

Glad to hear they're handling it. 

 

Me too.

[Hunter]

The closest place I know for incense is Whole Foods. It is a 4 mile round trip walk. I'm feeling lazy and my ankle is still a bit weak. Is it better than a candle flame?

Edited September 27, 2016 by Hunter

[SparklyUnicorn]

Coffee grounds. Do not ask me how I know.

 

Ok, I gotta ask...how do you know.  LOL

[SparklyUnicorn]

I've seen incense in some convenience stores.  I wonder if they have it in smoke shops.  Seems like something they might have.

 

Walmart has it.  I recall you saying Walmart isn't close though.  I bet any super market has it.

 

 

[Hunter]

I miss Walmart, so much!!!!!

[Hunter]

UGH! the machines and charcoal and something new is flooding my unit, now. I don't dare add anything. There is actual grit in the air.

[Critterfixer]

Yuck.

So sorry you are having to put up with this, Hunter. :grouphug:

[Guest]

Can you ask management to provide you an air purifier? Mine does wonders for sleeping in a room with a gassy doberman next to the bed. It's not the smell of death, but it's close- I can't sleep without my air purifier.  :ack2:  :ack2:  :zombie:  :zombie:

[SparklyUnicorn]

yuck

 

 

[Guest]

That's awful! I'd probably use it as an excuse to visit the park or friends and leave all the windows open with a box fan set up. Ick.

[Hunter]

The library is open till 9, and some other places till 12 and all night, but I'm really tired the past couple days and dragging, though. I could fall sleep right now.

 

The air is gritty and very scented, but it smells like it might be a fixing it smell, rather than masking it smell.

 

I stuffed paper towels under the door, but the vents are still sucking and blowing.

 

I just really hope me and my stuff doesn't retain strong odors.

 

I think this might be worse than the roaches. What other crazy ways can I lose books? You all tell me I need to write a book. I could have a whole book on how it is possible to lose books. :lol:

 

It was kind of funny to lose Handbook of Nature Study to roaches, since before I threw it away I read the helpful chapter on roaches. I guess this time, I should be sure to read Journal of the Plague Year before tossing it if it stinks.

 

 

[fdrinca]

Febreeze might help. It doesn't mask odors, but chemically bonds to them so you can't smell them. 

[Hunter]

We have a beautiful sleek looking laundry room with an attached lounge with big screen TV and vending machines, but the washing machines are moldy. I recently bought some really expensive Tide detergent with Febreeze to deal with that. Mold smells heavenly compared to this!

 

I saw the spray bottles and such, but I don't have any cloth that doesn't get washed; I don't have a couch or drapes. I just moved here and might only be here a year. I'm pretty Spartan. I have some books and quite a few decorated cardboard boxes, though. Febreeze only works by soaking things, right? 

 

[Angie in VA]

Oh, Hunter. This is terrible! When I read your first post I immediately thought of the Collyer Brothers.

 

I hope this problem is solved quickly. 

 

 

[Guest]

Cardboard boxes I'd coat with charcoal or baking soda in a trash bag and then rub/shake/blow off after a few days in the bag, that should absorb any odors with minimal damage :)

[lanalouwho]

Febreze is meant for fabric. Activated charcoal is probably your best bet. We used to use it for decontamination. It absorbs odors.

I would also probably put open containers of baking soda in and around the cardboard boxes and books. Critter's suggestion of boxing them up with charcoal would probably work.

I'm sorry that you have to deal with this, but I have to admit I'm finding it a little funny. I never thought I would have this conversation.

 

Sent from my HTCD200LVW using Tapatalk

[AMJ]

 

I'm assuming someone died in an apartment near me. Management is calling it the "situation in a unit near you." All I know for certain is that it is REALLY REALLY stinky here and management is working to reroute the ventilation systems that have been blowing contaminated air directly into our units. I live in a high rise building and ventilation is not in our control and windows barely open for safety issues and architectural reasons beyond my understanding.

 

I went and bought a candle at Marshall's. It was surreal to be hurriedly trying to choose the best scent to deal with the gases emitted from what I assume to be a decomposing body and catastrophic fluid leakage.

 

I bought Vanilla Cinnamon Brulee, because it was $6.99 and had a double wick and I think the more flame the better for burning the gasses in the air. It seemed less tacky than Birthday Cake and Tiki Vacation. But really, what is an appropriate and effective scent?

 

I thought of going to the closest Yankee candle in a very exclusive nearby shopping area and asking for help to choose the best scent, but a friend made me promise not to do that. I settled for what was at Marshalls.

 

I could really use some boots-on-the-ground advice if anyone has actually chosen candle scents best for decomposing bodies. And how to deal with the extreme odor in general. And how to keep my books from absorbing this smell.

 

I found the $25.00 reward gift card for Barnes and Nobles, they had promised me, in my PO box today. I bought Euclid's Elements which is exactly that price and came home with it to find this mess going on.

 

I'm thinking I might own the only copy of Euclid that smells like dead body and vanilla cinnamon brulee. I guess I could just run it back to B&N and return it and buy another copy later, but, what do I say for reason for returning? I don't want it to absorb dead body smell?

 

I swear to god I don't make this stuff up. Really, I don't have this much of an imagination. I don't. Truth is stranger than fiction. It really is.

 

 

 

Activated carbon filters, as many as you can afford and fit into your place.

 

In the meantime for your books (at least the most prized) -- get some oversized ziploc-type storage bags and start bagging your books.  Squeeze out all the air you can and keep them sealed until the air has been returned to normal.

 

If you like Paperwhites (a flower) you could go and get those, too, but personally I find their smell to be as bad as dead carcasses.  If you have some in the apartment, however, you could always tell visitors that the nasty smell is from the flowers....

[Hunter]

Febreze is meant for fabric. Activated charcoal is probably your best bet. We used to use it for decontamination. It absorbs odors.

I would also probably put open containers of baking soda in and around the cardboard boxes and books. Critter's suggestion of boxing them up with charcoal would probably work.

I'm sorry that you have to deal with this, but I have to admit I'm finding it a little funny. I never thought I would have this conversation.

 

Sent from my HTCD200LVW using Tapatalk

 

Right after my divorce I got a hold of a copy of The Healing Power of Humor. I kept the full copy in a locker at a homeless shelter, and carried around a chapter at a time in my backpack to study and apply. Somewhere in the book it says humor is tragedy plus time. I made it a goal of mine to start writing the tragedy into a joke while it was still happening and turn the time factor to zero.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0874775191/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=77UGSFY2WC1C&coliid=I3TFRGO2FI144A

 

Laughing actually releases hormones that not only reduce anxiety, but protects our central nervous and endocrine systems from being physically damaged by the stress.

 

I choose to laugh. I search for the humor and focus on that. I change the context so the humor is what I lead with. Instead of having a stream of sad stories, I prefer to have a stream of funny stories to tell. And this one is making people here in real life howl. 

 

I don't think the police are letting management clean this right up. I think it must sit until whatever needs to be documented is documented. This could go on for way too long.

 

I had actually thought abut buying a small bookshelf. I even looked at some. NOPE! I'm back into full Spartan mode again. Less is more. Less is more. Less is more. For me at least. What next? Really? What next?

 

I have a copy of Byrne's Eucid and Handbook of Nature Study from Interlibrary Loan. Sorry ladies if some of you get the dead body smelling ones in my room, right now! I better return all the library books tomorrow. I wish I had thought of that right away.

 

I'm not saying a thing. I'm just dumping them in the return box and skedaddling. 

 

I need to reread all the suggestions. I'm not sure how to get coffee grounds; I think I have an idea. Vicks, baking soda--that is easier.

 

I just keep looking at my new Euclid and laughing. I will forevermore laugh when I look at any Euclid. Euclid is now dead bodies and vanilla, cinnamon brulee forever, just like HONS is cockroaches.

[Hunter]

Most of my books are in  a big drawer in my desk. If I swipe a cup of charcoal out of the hallway and put the cup in the drawer will that help protect the books?

[gstharr]

if you are truly only worried about your new book,  baggie it or leave it in the car.

[Rachel]

If the air is gritty, you may want to consider wearing a mask. I would be concerned about the grit lodging in my lungs. I can't tell if you mean literal grit like dust or if the air just smells really thick because of the strong odors.

 

I suspect the book smell isn't as bad as you think. When the smell goes away the books will air too.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Rach

[fralala]

Ugh. Wish I could send my MIL over-- no, no, wait, let me finish-- to go on a cooking binge. She cooks curry, and the smell of frying onions and spices and oil really masks all kinds of things.

 

But I will say that my childhood home is filled with the odor of cigarette smoke, stale and fresh, along with all kinds of mildew and mold smells, but also with many books that are great treasures, and it's amazing what fresh air, sunlight, wind or fans, and time can do for getting rid of the odors in the books. Your smell is worse, much worse, than those, but hopefully your books will also prove resilient.

 

(When I first saw the title of this post this morning, I rubbed my eyes and thought, "Those spammers have gotten really disgusting! Shame on them!")

[katilac]

Febreze has both fabric and air refreshers. 

 

 

[Hunter]

if you are truly only worried about your new book,  baggie it or leave it in the car.

 

Here is a picture of my "car". I don't think my new Euclid will fit. :lol:

 

 

The situation is escalating here, and I am no longer worrying about books as my primary worry. The smell is seeping into everything: the walls, my "car", my jacket, the mattress, everything. Just everything.  Even if I could protect the books, they will reabsorb the smell from the other things.

 

When things get this bad, I just give up and reevalute when things are clearly getting better. Clearly getting better isn't even on the schedule yet. The body is gone, but no cleaning has taken place at all. And the unit isn't even scheduled to be cleaned, yet. Other residents are fighting to have the unit gutted, not just cleaned. I'm not sure what happened in there, and am not even asking.

 

And air circulation is what it is, in a building this size. I know from my past building that water and air is really really complicated. You cannot just shut stuff down. 

 

I think there is actual charcoal grit in the air. It is like being out on a dry windy day and breathing in grit.

 

I'm just moving into survival mode and worrying about first things first right now. This is going to be ANOTHER major loss of belongings. I don't know how bad, yet. I just have to wait and see.

 

And I have to immediately get moving on other stuff, as I just got notification in the mail that I need to immediately provide all my income stuff or lose a major service. That it will be better for me if I have it all in by Oct 3rd, because they are inefficient and if they don't manage to have it all done by the 26th, my benefits are cut off on the 30th. So typical.

 

I don't have a TV anymore. Is there still a commercial for "Calgon take me away"? Actually I don't even have a bathtub right now and just a shower stall. And it stinks in there. Never mind. "Calgon take me away isn't even funny to me anymore.

 

I need to make a list of what I CAN do, and start working my way down that list. I don't have time to  :willy_nilly:    and  :scared: . I need to tie my  :driving: on and get moving.

 

  fralala, spammers.  :laugh: Nope just me living my  :biggrinjester: life.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Hunter

[bibiche]

I would contact management, tell them the situation is untenable and that you will be checking into a hotel that they will be paying for until things are back to normal. I'm sorry you are dealing with this.

[Vida Winter]

I would either be camping at management's door or contacting the police, or both. Do you have renter's insurance? Your belongings may be covered under a renter's policy. So sorry you are dealing with this. I can't believe they aren't cleaning it up. What are they waiting for?  :grouphug:

[Alessandra]

For a skunk, we used

 

Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda mixture in flat aluminum roasting pans

 

A product called Rx 60 Foul Odor Eliminator. I was lucky that I found it locally, but Amazon has it too. It does not eliminate the odor, but it desensitizes your nose.

 

None of the usual air fresheners worked at all.

 

I remember opening every single winow in the house. It was winter and snowing, so dd and I curled up in sleeping bags and watched the snow pile up -- inside, lol.

 

Hunter, I am so sorry for what you are going through.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Alessandra

[Miss Tick]

What a cute car you have! And what a fabulous sense of humor!

[Another Lynn]

(((Hunter))). I hope it resolves and improves quicker than you guess.

[Hunter]

I can't believe that dead body smell is actually moving to the bottom of my list today.

 

I walked and ran at least 7 miles today, some of it up and down hills steep enough to ski down. And I have nothing to show for it.

 

So Social Security doesn't even stay open until 3 on Wednesday anymore? Somehow I missed that. Knowing that would have saved me some running. At least those hills are good for toning my butt. I'm vain enough to say my butt look pretty good for my age. :D There are actually some perks to living in poverty.

https://ssaadvantage.com/blog/index.php/social-security-offices-closed-at-noon-on-wednesdays

Starting January 2, 2013, Social Security field offices around the country will close to the public at noon each Wednesday. Members of the public will not have access to Social Security staff at the local offices on Wednesday afternoons. The move is intended to reduce overtime costs in light of Congressional budget cuts to SSA’s administrative funding. The Wednesday closings are in addition to the November change to close SSA offices at 3:00 pm each day.

 

The only thing the republicans and democrats seem to agree on is to outlaw euthanasia, but from there on they do nothing to agree on how to pay for the disabled to actually live, and they create a nightmare of paperwork meant to close every loophole the other finds or creates. Really euthanasia would be more compassionate. 

 

I didn't manage to acquire a single piece of paper today that could be faxed in my only opportunity to do so before Tuesday. The paperwork is more impossible that the last time I did this. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. I'm not republican or democrat and don't even claim the disabled have the right to live. But really, this paperwork mess does no one any favors. No one.

 

Yup, dead body smell was near the bottom of my crises list day today for awhile. Imagine that. It is moving back up the list, now that everything is closed and I can do no more to work on the bigger crises.

 

Do people sometimes pop? Everyone is trying to be discreet and respectful and not reveal more information than necessary, so I'm often left trying to guess things before having them confirmed. We residents feel awful that we are not only and firstly concerned about the person that passed, BUT it really stinks here. Like a scary feeling stink.

 

I can smell us when we run into each other outside the building. The air freshener smells more than the stink. Our neighborhood contains an architectural boo boo that makes it REALLY windy here some days, and today it is pretty windy. I can smell people coming as soon as they get upwind of me.

 

All the books are back at the library. Be careful about ordering Byne's Euclid and HONS through interlibrary loan. Sorry ladies, I would have run them back to the library quicker, if I had thought about it, but I just was so overwhelmed it took me awhile to process what I could and could not do that mattered. That actually mattered.

 

Edited September 28, 2016 by Hunter

[Hunter]

I just tagged this thread with "euclid". I couldn't help myself. :lol:

 

Now, for years and years this will pop up when anyone searches for "euclid". Hunter and interlibrary loan both have a copy of Euclid that smells like dead body and vanilla cinnamon brulee.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Hunter

[Guest]

Oh man, I'd be so mad about the SS office, as if the hours aren't already super limited for people who work and/or don't have easy transportation.

 

What is building management saying about this? Do you have renter's insurance or any recourse for things damaged by the smell? Can you call county health and ask what resources might be available? Inhaling that can actually be considered unsafe because of the offgassing and bacteria.

[Hunter]

Management looks traumatized.

 

This is a very high income building. There a couple nooks and crannies where a few low income units are offered in exchange for the building getting a tax break. I am in one of those units. I don't want to disrespect dead guy by talking about him, but I don't think he was one of us. He had full maid service.

 

This is a big building. Marble floors, restaurant, and ATM machine in the lobby. Some seriously rich people. And then a few of us tucked away and sometimes causing the stereotypical low-income problems. But I don't think he was one of us. I think there are few middle income units instead of the larger number at the more extreme ends of the spectrum.

 

Management is trying to do damage control and looking traumatized. I'm not faulting them.

 

I think this might be a veteran PTSD thing. With my own PTSD this is really hitting home. Our country's PTSD treatments are not working. Society kinda got away with it a bit when women were the primary patients. Now that there are so many men, men are just different. Failed treatment makes a bigger mess with men. Everyone gets caught up in their failed treatment.

 

I don't own much. Others have a lot more than me. I don't have insurance.

 

My income keeps getting slashed and I have not been jumping through the hoops to keep it. The problem isn't that I have much to lose, but just that I have no way to replace it on my current income. I'm not a veteran, but PTSD really messes with my thinking I have a right to survive and confrontation especially over money and benefits and charity really makes that worse. I have let too much slide. This is going to force me to have to fight for stuff if I expect to survive longer than this guy. I need to fight even if I question my right to survive. No one benefits from a repeat of this. No one. Dead bodies are sometimes more in the way than living disabled people. I don't mean to be crass but this guy made a really big mess. I don't want my end to smell this bad and literally make people unsafe.

 

Not too long ago a big name celebrity hung himself. With all the options open to him, it really isn't all that easy to kill yourself without making it hard on others somehow and being certain that you don't just merely damage yourself into being more of a nuisance. We declare people in the way, but don't really provide a way for them not to be in the way, or a way to better integrate them into society. So we get messes. Ugly smelly unsafe expensive-to-clean-up messes.

 

I have the feeling management isn't allowed to touch the scene. Red tape. Agencies with competing agendas. Agendas that don't factor in air quality in a high rise that is in a wind tunnel created by a nearby architectural boo boo. Air movement is just tricky, here. And I guess there is a scary mess in there. Fermenting. Remains of a hero, I think. I probably shouldn't be saying that, but...this is something our country is going to be forced to start dealing with. What are we going to do with people with PTSD? Or current default plan isn't working so well.

[Okra]

Hugs.  I'm sorry you are going through this.

[Hunter]

I guess corpses do pop and cannot collect insurance under "explosion".

 

http://nypost.com/2014/04/27/neighbor-must-pay-for-damage-caused-by-an-exploding-corpse/

 

http://gawker.com/woman-has-to-pay-for-apartment-damage-from-neighbors-ex-1568780262

Edited September 29, 2016 by Hunter

[Hunter]

One of our Spanish speaking tenants cornered a mostly Spanish speaking staff person, today, while I was there. I guess disabled people committing suicide and overdosing has been happening here a lot lately and bodies not being found for days. I guess this body was about a week old, we are now being told. And our non-American staff especially is having trouble coping.

 

"Take care of your people. Check on them!" He said to me. He meant more than finding bodies quicker. He meant build community and include the isolated.

 

I guess contacting families to claim possessions is often shocking to staff. There is no one that cares.

 

Are there any studies done on what the smell of dead bodies does to the brain? Like we know how the smell of cinnamon or lavender works? People are getting shakier after days of this, and I guess the context of what has been going on on other floors and before I came.

 

I'm running around again today trying to get paperwork. Instead of giving up, every time I stop at home to take a break, drink some water, and gather what I need to head out again, the smell encourages me to fight. The smell is triggering some instinct in me. For the past year or so people have laughed and been concerned at my loss of any sense of right and wrong. This smell. It fires some primal instinct. Dead bodies are wrong. Something is wrong here. This primal instinct is stronger than religion or politics or theories or ideals. Unnecessary dead is wrong. Primal instincts, triggered by this smell tell me so.

 

I think I'm going to write some of this in the front of my Eulid and keep it because it DOES smell like dead body. Maybe I really need to smell dead body to trigger my primal instincts. Maybe I'm going to need to take a whiff of Euclid whenever I question my right to survive.

[fralala]

I'm so sorry, Hunter. I have suffered from PTSD, too, and know that smells can be a major trigger. And any kind of conflict. So dealing with the odor-- in your home!-- and then the social security office issues seems doubly horrifying. Yuck. Can't give you anything for the mental/emotional side of it, but...did you get a mask, at least?