I think a mouse has died in the wall. How long does it take for the smell to go away or is there something I can use to make smell go away?
By Ramona from Tigard, OR
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I had an old mobile vacation home on 20 acres in the country that I only went to occasionally and boy did the mice ever love that place! The little varmints would crawl in the walls and die. It seems that no matter what I did, it always smelled like dead mice in that trailer!
Here's what I've learned:
The dryer the air is and the less humid makes the mouse mummify quicker and smell less. The only thing you can do is wait and keep the room dry. It could take weeks, but the smell will eventually dissipate.
If you're in a hurry (who isn't!), you can only do 2 things. Either open the wall, or rent an ozone machine and run the ozone machine in the room where the mouse is for 1 day. Don't be in the same room while the ozone machine is running, as ozone takes oxygen from the air and could be dangerous. Shut the door to the room or better yet, leave home while the ozone machine is on.
Ozone machine's can do miracles when it comes to removing bad odors! Also, it can't hurt to use an odor eliminate air freshener or incense, but "plug-in's" work best. If it's dry outside, you can leave a window open a crack, but if it's humid, keep the window shut so they're less moisture in the air.
One last thing, Everything in that room (including the carpeting) will start to smell like dead mice, so you'll need to spray Febreze everywhere! In the summer, open the windows as much as possible.
Sorry to say, the only really good fix is to cut the wall open and find the nasty critter. What I did to solve the problem? We got a CAT!
Stuff tin-foil in any holes to keep mice out, because they can't eat through tin-foil.
Hang (or place in bowls) activated charcoal close to the source of the odor. Activated charcoal, found at some hardware stores and home improvement stores, is a very good deodorizer. If you can't find it at these stores, check the cat section of the pet supply stores. Activated charcoal is sold for use near litter boxes. For strong smells such as decomposition, activated charcoal works much faster than baking soda. Good luck.
My basement smells mildew and urine. Please, please, help! How can I get rid of odors?
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