Thank you very much for the reply. Microban is a hospital grade germicide/fungicide/moldicide. It deodorizes and kills just about everything. It's odorless and very powerful. Google it if you're interested. The Damprid was for excess moisture after saturating the walls with bleach and water. I know that the water can sometimes leave the surfaces damp. The Cinderblocks and wood studs were installed in 2004 along with the slab, so 10 years seems like a reasonable amount of time to cure ;) The other two walls are still up, and the paint is the same throughout. The paint used on ALL the walls (in the entire house) is the same. Behr Premium Plus Ultra - two coats over the original coats. I should also mention that I originally removed two feet of drywall all the way around the room as part of a mold remediation. I can be fairly sure that the paint is not the issue, as the odor is not similar to any paint smell, and I've also used this exact paint throughout the house without any type of odor issues. This particular room is a bit sub-grade as well. It looks like they filled the dirt line outside a bit too high, but the slope is proper. As a precaution, I installed a french drain (corregated slitted pipe w/ a pipe sock burried under rocks around the perimeter of the front of the house, wrapping around the outer walls of this room with a 4" pipe running to a pop-up at the curb) This has removed any water from going underneath the house in the subgrade areas. It should also be noted that the windows are fully sealed all the way around and the stucco is also in great shape with no hairline cracks or leaks. The attic vents are underneath the eaves, but I have no attic access to check them out. any further ideas???

Been checking back in on this thread with interest and hope the original poster lets us know how it might all be resolved. I have a few random thoughts that I hope doesn't put me in the grinch category: 1. Even though the mother is housed comfortably elsewhere and not in need of funds, the possessions left behind are still, in effect, hers. If she wishes that someone benefit from the sale of the things left behind, that "someone" is the person who should be doing the lion's share of the work to dispose of them in a meaningful way. If the OP is the one expected to take care of things, she should have carte blanch to handle it how she sees fit - possibly not taking the niece or brother into account. 2. Again, read up on the possible IRS pitfalls of going over the $500 non-cash donation threshhold. 3. How much time does one wish to spend going through and pricing things right down to the last Flintstone jelly glass everyone seems to have in the far reaches of kitchen cabinets? How much is that beloved family dish really worth to someone not in your family? 4. What charity is going to send a truck to pick up everything that doesn't sell? How many trips do you want to make to the dump or how many months of storage fees at a U Rent It place would you agree to? How much time do you want to devote dragging things back and forth to flea markets? 5. You need a few people to help with garage sales - someone to watch the cash box, and one or two more to see that items don't simply walk away while you're distracted. I'm not heartless when it comes to the disposal of other's things; but I've never had to do it while the owner was still living so that sense of "violation" never came into play. But since the responsibility of having to do these things fell to me and my brother on a couple of occasions, doing what was easiest and most expedient for us was the most basic consideration.

Iloveexcercise, I did go Saturday and got some Aspen bedding. I put that in first and follow it with a smaller layer of the softer pulp, it smells great (actually there is no scent, but it absorbs the odors better) and they seem to like it. I also bought a new "house". The old one was getting nasty, I tossed it. This one is actually smaller, about 4" square, and all 4 of them pile in and sleep together. Coconut, I have to disagree that there isn't enough room. These are Dwarf hamsters, so they are the size of mice, they aren't the large teddybear hamsters. The petstore people and other experts have said that this is plenty of room for these girls, especially since they are a very social breed and like to pile up together and be close to one another. Thanks again for all the help, I think the Aspen bedding is the solution!

Our first home had been lived in by a smoker for 20 some years and this lady SMOKED!!! We wondered why she left the bathroom rugs on the floor when she moved--turned out it was because there were tar "outlines" of where the rugs were.....We painted the whole house, ceilings, top to bottom with Kilz paint--oil based. Sealed in the smell. We ran an ozone thing but I don't think that helped at all. Kept the windows open as much as we could. Got rid of all of the carpets and scrubbed the wood floors. Scrubbed all the woodwork with wood soap. I never got the stains out of the bathroom floor vinyl---I used everything but that stuff would not come out. To be honest it was a complete nightmare but we sold the house a few years later for a profit so the work was well worth it. Get a respirator now and start painting:)