A Dead Rat In My Bathroom for SEVEN Months!
fairequeen
21 years ago
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dancnbns
21 years agoRelated Discussions
Is dead rat smell harmful to health?
Comments (57)" I bleached everything - walls, ceilings, floors - cleaned all the furniture and covered every vent in the house. Had the carpets and ducts professionally cleaned, and there it is - faint, but still it's there." One recently divorced woman never did find the cause. On the first day, he sadly packed his belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases. On the second day, he had the movers come and collect his things. On the third day, he sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining-room table, by candle-light; he put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of wine. When he'd finished, he went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimps dipped in caviar into the hollow center of the curtain rods. He then cleaned up the kitchen and left. On the fourth day, the wife came back with her new boyfriend, and at first all was bliss. Then, slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning, mopping, and airing-out the place. Vents were checked for dead rodents, and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which time the two had to move out for a few days, and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.. Nothing worked! People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit. Finally, they couldn't take the stench any longer, and decided they had to move, but a month later - even though they'd cut their price in half - they couldn't find a buyer for such a stinky house. Word got out, and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls. Finally, unable to wait any longer for a purchaser, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. Then the ex called the woman and asked how things were going. She told him the saga of the rotting house. He listened politely and said that he missed his old home terribly and would be willing to reduce his divorce settlement in exchange for having the house. Knowing he could have no idea how bad the smell really was, she agreed on a price that was only 1/10 th of what the house had been worth ... but only if he would sign the papers that very day. He agreed, and within two hours her lawyers delivered the completed paperwork. A week later the woman and her boyfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home . . . . . . and to spite the ex-husband, they even took the curtain rods!...See MoreBad Smell --- Dead Rat?
Comments (4)davidandkasie, Thanks for your post. The smell has been around for more than 2 weeks. My wife is much more sensitive to it than I am -- no surprise, because women are supposed to have a more sensitive sense of smell than men. To me it seems that the smell comes and goes, and I cannot figure out what that fluctuation might be due to. It's not related to when the AC blower goes on. I haven't had the HVAC duct cleaned even once in the 17 years we live here (the house is 23 years old). We were told that it is not necessary. Now I wonder. We do, however, put in expensive filters (FILTRETE) that are endorsed by the American Lung Association, and change them every 3 months as per directions. And our vacuum cleaner has a HEPA filter. Our crawl space has a kind of musty smell, different from the smell in the house that we're worried about. The crawl space is well ventilated. We have a dehumidifier there, but used last about 10 years ago to dry it out after a water leak made a mess. Since then, we haven't felt the need to use it. But I might use the dehumidifier for a few days, just in case the problem is caused by humidity that's seeping in from the crawl space. It wouldn't hurt any to try that. Any other suggestions would be welcome....See MoreSeven months late, but now done
Comments (13)jennybeth, Easter went great and everyone loved the kitchen (or lied convincingly). My mother, who has seen the kitchen evolve as my father, brother and I did the work, commented on how pleased she was that the layout facilitated several of us cooking at once without bumping in to one another. (That's pretty amazing given that the kitchen also qualifies as "small" on this site: it's only 14'x10'.) On the down side, it seemed like the meal was a bit rushed. I think that having dual-ovens all but eliminiated the usual "digestion" time between the first and second courses. Also, to "keep some veggies warm," my mom put them in an oven that had been turned off 30 minutes prior. She didn't realize how well the Gaggenau ovens hold the heat and didn't warn anyone that the bowls had been "warmed" to 303 degrees. (Hilarity ensued... ;-) For those interested, those courses consist of the following home-made items: First course: meatballs, sweet and hot sausages, and gravy; ravioli and manicotti (of course). (OK, you caught me, the sausage wasn't homemade.) Second course: two turkeys; one ham; white and sweet potatoes, broccoli rabe, and string beans; bread, pineapple, and meat stuffings. Dessert: Italian run cake (store-bought for a cousin's birthday); vanilla, chocolate, and ricotta cannolis (bought from the same store); maple, lemon, and Amaretto pana cotta (I made those); and ricotta and rice pies (from my mom). flyleft, 3Form doesn't seem to like to deal direct. They work with independent firms to represent them in different cities and who handle sales and quotes. I never met my local rep in person, but we spoke several times and exchanged email a lot. I can tell you that the panels that we got (which were the longer 10'x4' size) cost almost $900 a piece plus a few hundred for shipping across the country....See MoreBathroom and Cabinet Repaint with BM Advance and Regal Select
Comments (6)Nice job. I finished my cabinets with Advance also, they will tell you it takes 30 days to cure max hardness; that is true for all latex paints. Also used Advance on doors and paneling with Insl-x Stick primer which may be better for cabinets advised my BM dealer. Prime or not. Probably safer to prime, peace of mind. Write back in a few months, it seems that after a few months the Advance is very durable and no problems. As always, touching up may be necessary, after all it is just paint. We learned that after painting our floors; got rid of our old vinyl and carpet floors and painted 2 coats of SW Porch and floor over bare wood. Good enuf so far, not sure whether paint or polyurethane is better. So we are testing both on various floors. Edit: your room looks so much brighter with the new paint!...See MoreMarsha_OK
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