this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2024
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followup to smell
So I feel pretty sure it's probably something dead in the roof now. I called, but it doesn't qualify as urgent, so I have to call back tomorrow. Fucking lucky I haven't invited anyone over for tomorrow or NY.Tbh the idea of showering in the dead animal room isn't actually what's getting me, I'm mostly worried about the smell transferring (even a little bit) to me or my clothes. I'm very very self conscious about smells and the idea of having to walk around smelling like the grim reaper honestly makes me wonder if a sponge bath in the kitchen sink would leave me better off
Now that I think about it, I've noticed a lot more flies around the place as well. I was actually gonna complain about that earlier, but I just assumed a few got in when I've had to leave the door open a few times recently to bring stuff in, etc and it was my own fault
One things sure, I don't really feel like making, or eating, dinner anymore. Oh well. At least the smell is contained to the bathroom, at least for now. There's no vents or ducts in any other rooms. Although the laundry has a manhole, and the laundry door doesn't stay closed, so if it starts to seep out of there, I'll have to tape the bloody door shut or something
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nothing smells worse than ratUm, dead possum is worse imo. The smell hangs around forever and can't be cleaned out even when the body is removed.
TIL
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Whatever the hell it is is seared into my memory now. I can't actively smell it while I'm not near it, but i still get random little whiffs. Even while I'm outsideFuck this, I'm lightning incense
E: apparently rats will only reek for a few days, but if it's a possum it can stink for a few months. On the one hand, I guess that's good if the LL doesn't want anything to do with it and would rather leave it, on the other, it's a fucking dead animal - in the same way I wouldn't leave a raw chicken breast on my bench for months, I sure as shit don't want a dead rat or possum in my roof
Deceased rodent is a smell you won't forget. Hot weather is kinda helpful because it mummifies them a bit quicker. Our chimney debacle winter last year reeked for months.
I can assure you it will be stuck in my nostrils for the next 3 months at least. Every now and then I'll probably get a tiny whiff out of nowhere :/
I hadn't considered that! I guess that's one positive from the warm weather. Hopefully it makes it less habitable for maggots or whatever else is trying to get up there for an easy dinner. I really don't want to have to deal with an infestation one week after moving in
Dead rat stink is so bad. Close the bathroom door, open the window, air freshener, scented candles can all help a bit, but it’s a waiting game until the corpse is either removed or decomposed past the stink stage. So sorry it happened to you so soon at your new place. It’s happened to lots of us at some point. It’s bad right now but will be a good story to laugh about down the track.
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Tbh I can already see a bit of humour in it. The idea of trying to scrub rotting flesh stench off myself directly underneath a decomposing rat carcass with magots wriggling around is somewhat funny in a morbid, "what the actual fuck" kind of way.This does solidify that if I ever have enough money to buy land and draw up plans to build my own house, I am 100% investing in a very easily accessible ceiling cavity with multiple access doors. Even if I owned this house, I'd probably still pay somebody else to do it, but I want them to be able to find it quickly and dispose of it easily. I did some googling and found horror stories of this happening to people in houses with no roof access at all. That sounds like a nightmare honestly
I had a possum or something do that… it was the worst.
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If the flies are grey with stripes then those are flesh flies and you know for sure.Ironically I found opening the windows and doors to air the place out just created a low pressure zone that let the stink come fully out of the wall and spread through the house.
I ended up closing all windows and doors and then directing a fan at the exit point (the gap in the wall under where the heater was installed) to keep air pushing against it so it couldn’t come out.
Because I can’t use traditional air fresheners around my cat I set out dishes of white vinegar to deodorise the air. Then dabbed 1-2 drops of Nilodor on cotton balls or a tissue, put it in a paper cup, then tied a paper towel over the top.
If the hole the smell is coming from is a fan vent you can leave the fan on. If you have a manhole into a ceiling cavity you might be able to see if you can reach it with a rubbish bag pulled over one of those long grabbers.
Obviously don’t put yourself at risk by going to the top of the ladder or crawling into the space! It’s possible to step off a rafter and fall through the ceiling.
If you can’t get it out you need to wait for it to decompose… I forget how long it took but it was at the very least a few weeks. Maybe longer
Edit: If you’re struggling with the smell you could wipe some Vicks under your nose
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Not sure about the colour of the flies, I really struggle with seeing nuances in insects unless they're glaringly obvious. Even struggle differentiating wasps and bees, but that's a whole other problem. I'm pretty sure they're just fat blowflies though. They buzz around a lot and either seem to be quite resilient to fly spray, or the one I have is shitThere's no window in the bathroom, just a skylight (which can't be opened) and the extractor fan. I've been running that all day, but I'm not sure it does anything. In fact, it doesn't even seem to go to a vent or anything. I shined a torch into it, and it looks like it just leads directly into the roof cavity, with no filter or ducting or anything. No clue if that's conventional, it's broken, or the people who installed it just wanted to save money
The smell has started to spread into the hallway despite the closed door to the bathroom. There's not much more I can do to stop the spread, though I can open the back and front door to create a cross flow if need be (not ideal because the front door has a clear view into my house from the street even with the screen door closed). Otherwise I can use windows
Luckily I don't have a cat yet, so I can be very liberal with incense and air freshener. I'm not trying to give myself lung cancer though, so I'll be as sparing as I can while still making it bearable
There is a manhole, but it's a few rooms down from the fan. I definitely don't feel comfortable getting in there, mostly because knowing my luck I'll fall through the roof and snag an electrical cable or something on my way down turning myself into an air fried Baku with a light coating of mildew and generous dusting of plaster dust and paint chips. But also cause I'm shit scared of spiders, and, again, knowing my luck, shortly before I fall through the roof, I'll get bitten by a redback, probably what will make me fall through the roof 😂
If I have a chance tomorrow, I'll nip down to woolies and buy some glen 20 then walk across to Kmart cause I know they sell odour absorbent beads (not sure how well they work). Besides that, I think all I can do is listen to music and try to create some good vibes/not think about it, and pray somebody comes out to remove it tomorrow. I'll probably also ask whoever comes if they can determine if there's a nest or where they're getting in, and then ask the LL to fix it. At this point I'm mostly worried about an infestation either already existing, or developing because of whatever's up there (ie cockroaches or other pests)
Vicks is a good idea. Might see if I can get some tomorrow as well. Unfortunately, I threw mine out because I'd had it for a couple of years and only used it once. Didn't think it was worth bringing. But it's been mentioned in my comm servs course that Vicks in a face mask is near essential for entering some types of homes. People with hoarding issues, etc. I've heard nurses/doctors use it, too, and it wouldn't surprise me if cleaners have worked it out, too