Bad smell in rental house

katiek102010 · 25-06-2019 9:03am #1

Since yesterday there is a smell in my kitchen. I Litterly scrubbed everywhere and it persisted.

By last night it has got so bad you would get sick.
We have traced it to a small wall between kitchen and sitting room.

We had birds nesting in attic and we think one has got trapped between walls and died.

It's pointless passing it to landlady to deal with as it will pass in a few days and realistically there is nothing she can do.

However the smell is horrendous and airfreshner is just not masking it to any degree.

Any ideas besides vacating for a week

cruizer101 · 25-06-2019 9:07am

Candles, air fresheners just mask smells where as candles scented or not actually burn away odors.
Baking soda is good at absorbing odors though I've only used to clear smell from inside a microwave.
Other than that open all the windows, at least it is warm and you can.

Tabnabs · 25-06-2019 9:08am

Smelly rockers moved in?

mikemac2 · 25-06-2019 9:09am

+1 for baking soda

gozunda · 25-06-2019 9:10am

katiek102010 wrote: »

Since yesterday there is a smell in my kitchen. I Litterly scrubbed everywhere and it persisted.

By last night it has got so bad you would get sick.
We have traced it to a small wall between kitchen and sitting room.

We had birds nesting in attic and we think one has got trapped between walls and died.

It's pointless passing it to landlady to deal with as it will pass in a few days and realistically there is nothing she can do.

However the smell is horrendous and airfreshner is just not masking it to any degree.

Any ideas besides vacating for a week

I presume rather than 'band' smell ie a smelly bunch of musicians hanging out in your house you are referring to a bad smell?

Could be a dead rat perhaps? If is a wall then most likley dead rat in the wall cavity or similar.

Other than going at the wall to get access - the smell will dissipate over time. The bigger problem may be that you have rats etc accessing the house. Call in a pest control company for advice.

katiek102010 · 25-06-2019 9:31am

Definitely not a rat. No sign of any evidence. The attic is covered in bird poo. It's blackbirds nesting.

It stinks, othing worse than the smell off rotting flesh.

Here's hoping it goes in a few days.

The wall where it is, is not accessible. Will the baking powder work if I try scattering it around the kitchen and living room?

Ill get some scented candles too

Graces7 · 25-06-2019 10:57am

katiek102010 wrote: »

Definitely not a rat. No sign of any evidence. The attic is covered in bird poo. It's blackbirds nesting.

It stinks, othing worse than the smell off rotting flesh.

Here's hoping it goes in a few days.

The wall where it is, is not accessible. Will the baking powder work if I try scattering it around the kitchen and living room?

Ill get some scented candles too

How did it get into the wall space? it the bird did that there must be a way to get bicarb etc in? Or bleach etc

katiek102010 · 25-06-2019 11:04am

Graces7 wrote: »

How did it get into the wall space? it the bird did that there must be a way to get bicarb etc in? Or bleach etc

It's the opposite end of house to where loft hatch is and the ceing joists are not the most stable to be going up there.

The alternative is to cut out a huge hole in the plasterboard which I doubt landlady would be too happy with.

The flies are starting

gibgodsman · 25-06-2019 12:05pm

What exactly does it smell like? Does it smell like Fish by any chance?

dennyk · 25-06-2019 12:15pm

Not really anything you can do to remove whatever died in there if it isn't accessible, other than cutting a hole in the plaster (or several holes, if you guess wrong the first time and have a lot of interior joists blocking access). Just gotta hope the flies do their work quickly and the smell will fade away eventually.

rightmove · 25-06-2019 12:28pm

Foundations have a crack?

katiek102010 · 25-06-2019 12:32pm

gibgodsman wrote: »

What exactly does it smell like? Does it smell like Fish by any chance?

No not fish smells like vomit today but that's coming through the numerous air freshner. last night smelled like dog poo. It's very warm and humid so hopefully it will speed up.

The smell was so strong of poo last night we initially thought it was the bird poo in the attic reacting with the heat

petes · 25-06-2019 12:34pm

Check your Fridge (back and underneath).

the whole year inn · 25-06-2019 12:45pm

This is not a certain fix, but dont they rub vic vaper rub under your nose on your lip to mask the bad smells. I think I seen in in a movie. Maybe someone else has experience with that.

Oasis1974 · 25-06-2019 12:48pm

Dead body under the floor boards?

Graces7 · 25-06-2019 12:49pm

the whole year inn wrote: »

This is not a certain fix, but dont they rub vic vaper rub under your nose on your lip to mask the bad smells. I think I seen in in a movie. Maybe someone else has experience with that.

mentioned in cop novels.... can;t do any harm..not on the lip as that would smart, but between lip and nose

katiek102010 · 25-06-2019 12:59pm

petes wrote: »

Check your Fridge (back and underneath).

Definitely not fridge. That's in a utility and the smell is not in there

rightmove · 25-06-2019 5:20pm

Smell like rotting eggs?

beveragelady · 25-06-2019 5:28pm

Something similar happened in my house. I tore the place apart looking for the source but I never found it. It was in my bedroom so I had to move into the spare room for a while and I left a jar of this as close to the source as I could get. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004AOWHUI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I'm afraid it takes a while for the stink to leave completely. In my case it took a number of weeks. Might be worth bothering the landlady about it as you can't vacate your kitchen until it's gone. I'd say if you explain that you want to find a way to stop it happening again she'd be helpful.

vriesmays · 25-06-2019 5:53pm

Have you got a washing machine in the kitchen.

Deadlift kid · 25-06-2019 6:55pm

katiek102010 wrote:

Definitely not a rat. No sign of any evidence. The attic is covered in bird poo. It's blackbirds nesting.

Dunno about blackbirds nesting in attic walls/roofing etc its not impossibly but highly unlikely id say its starlings the noisey type are a pest for getting under roof tiles into attic spaces/walls thatd be my guess have had issues with them before

katiek102010 · 25-06-2019 9:12pm

vriesmays wrote: »

Have you got a washing machine in the kitchen.

No not in kitchen

katiek102010 · 25-06-2019 9:13pm

Deadlift kid wrote: »

Dunno about blackbirds nesting in attic walls/roofing etc its not impossibly but highly unlikely id say its starlings the noisey type are a pest for getting under roof tiles into attic spaces/walls thatd be my guess have had issues with them before

Definately blackbirds. We see them flying in and out. Little blue eggs in the nests

Deadlift kid · 25-06-2019 11:04pm

katiek102010 wrote:

Definately blackbirds. We see them flying in and out. Little blue eggs in the nests

Ok so but starling eggs are blue very similiar too id a put my bet on starlings

elperello · 25-06-2019 11:12pm

Deadlift kid wrote: »

Ok so but starling eggs are blue very similiar too id a put my bet on starlings

Sounds like starlings to me too.
You might invest in some chicken wire to cover up where they are getting in or else they will get in again next year.

katiek102010 · 25-06-2019 11:57pm

Deadlift kid wrote: »

Ok so but starling eggs are blue very similiar too id a put my bet on starlings

Definately blackbirds. Blackbirds with yellow/orange beaks. The facials are rotten and they are getting in there in some spots flus the roof tiles are arches and getting in under there too.

They got in to the metre box also. As soon as babies were old enough we opened it and resealed it up completely

stop animal cruelty · 26-06-2019 12:13am

That needs to be checked out ASAP, a family member had the same issue.. . Turned out to be a ma-hoo-sive fungus mushroom growing under the kitchen floor.

gozunda · 26-06-2019 10:00pm

katiek102010 wrote: »

Definitely not a rat. No sign of any evidence. The attic is covered in bird poo. It's blackbirds nesting.

It stinks, othing worse than the smell off rotting flesh.

Here's hoping it goes in a few days.

The wall where it is, is not accessible. Will the baking powder work if I try scattering it around the kitchen and living room?

Ill get some scented candles too

Nesting birds will attract rats btw. Also unlikely 'black birds' - as these do not nest in groups.

Starlings also have a yellowish beak and dark plumage and hang around in groups.

Could you post a photo perhaps ...

iamwhoiam · 26-06-2019 10:05pm

Cut an onion in half across rather than down its length . Put lemon juice on a saucer and place the onion face up on the saucer . The onion will absorb smells and the lemon make it less oniony

katiek102010 · 26-06-2019 11:19pm

gozunda wrote: »

Nesting birds will attract rats btw. Also unlikely 'black birds' - as these do not nest in groups.

Starlings also have a yellowish beak and dark plumage and hang around in groups.

Could you post a photo perhaps ...

I will try and get one tomorrow. These are jet black starlings are not usually as dark

Bad smell in rental house

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