Dead Rat Odor Removal?

Dusty R wrote:
One thing I didn't see mentioned is that L. P. gas smells like a decaying animal. So you could have a propane leak or if you are low on propane you can get the same odor.

Dusty

Now that is interesting as we do have a propane leak somewhere. I found one of hoses, the one that attaches to the bottle leaking, but it seemed very small. I replaced both hoses as they were very very stiff.

I still feel there is another leak somewhere else though, from the left side tank. In a 2 day period the entire tank drained but it is only the left tank. I sprayed gas detector over every joing I could get to but no results. I have a friend with a portable lp gas detector and he could not find the source.
We have a new detector inside the unit and it has NOT gone off so we are perplexed so far.
I am guessing I am going to be forced to drop the under pan for that reason as well.

Thanks for the heads up.

One thing I didn't see mentioned is that L. P. gas smells like a decaying animal. So you could have a propane leak or if you are low on propane you can get the same odor.

Dusty

Be careful with the ozone, it can eat certain plastics.

I've been through this animal infestation situation and just treating one area where the smell emanates is not going to bring good results. You really need to pull everything out where an animal could have traveled. They will chew through things you can't see like wires and ducts, where a fire hazard could be the result. They will also urinate and defecate through the entire area of their travels. Just pray that they haven't entered that space between the lining of an oven, if you have one. It is one of their favorite spots as the smell and fiberglass insulation draws them in. You will need to dismantle the oven if they've gotten in there.

opnspaces wrote:
Are you sure it's a dead animal? It seems that you said in one of your posts that the strong urine smell is in a basement compartment near the toilet. Maybe you have a toilet seal or black tank leak.

I don't know for sure that there is a carcus, only the smell and wires with the covering eaten off, lots of chewed wood on the inside of the electrical box and the floor vents where the plastic was eaten and the teeth marks are very clear.

I replaced the old toilet with a new one and the area around the floor fitting was in good shape and no hint of any issue there. This RV has two separate basements and the toilet is directly over the electrical box. The other basement, which has a heater vent is the one with the strong urine smell. there were also holes in the vent hose where the buggers ate through.

In the 2nd basement, where the bad urine smell is, there are some 6 inch diameter darkish circles where it looks like a cat pee'd. Did not find any cat hair as it looked like the basements were well cleaned and then loaded with dryer sheets.

Once the dryer sheets were removed the urine smell came back quickly.

Hopefully next week I can remove the carpet in the basements and super clean the remaining wood before installing new I/O carpet.

I received the Earth Care Odor Removing Bag today and will add it to the electrical box and heater area where the rat smell seems to be so predominate.

Really anxious to see how it works. Next plan is to obtain an ozone machine like suggested by others.

Are you sure it's a dead animal? It seems that you said in one of your posts that the strong urine smell is in a basement compartment near the toilet. Maybe you have a toilet seal or black tank leak.

Locating the cause of the odor is the first line of business. After removing dead carcasses or what ever, look for a good ozone machine to rent or buy. I purchased one of these Industrial Ozone GeneratorThis is what many hotels and motels use to remove odors.

Be sure to follow the safety precautions as breathing concentrated ozone is hazardous to your lungs.

We just had to clean an apartment where the tenant had cats that used the entire place as a litter box. I ripped up the carpet and the old linoleum tile underneath. Mopped the floor many times with soap/water, vinegar/water, ordorbane ( commercial stuff) and a few other things. I still could not get the smell out. I rented an ozone generator and ran it for four days. The smell is gone. I found a janitorial supply place than rented the machines for a small fraction of the price that general rental places got or restoration places got. Search around.

Francesca Knowles wrote:

BBdawg wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:

BBdawg wrote:

I am not going to mention the dealer where we bought the unit but they used lots of dryer sheets, everywhere (in every drawer, cabinet,and closed space).

This is a recent purchase, right?

The dealer putting in all those dryer sheets says to me that there was an active rodent problem that they were aware of- and probably "cured" by the simplest means: D-con or some other rat poison. It's commonly misbelieved that rodents go outside desperately searching for water after eating warfarin- nothing could be further from the truth. They usually curl up somewhere near their "home", die and decompose there.

I am afraid you may be right. The dealer was real helpful when I told them about the wiring being eaten up and burned where the bare wires touched.

They came from Ocala to Orlando to pick the unit up, take it back to Ocala where they replaced the wiring and then returned it to us the NEXT day. I was very surprised and pleased.

There was a isssue upon return but I only told them about it and did not ask anything of them but since that day they have now ignored my emails. I have NOT demanded a single thing from them except I asked for information to help in my search for more damage but nothing - they are just ignoring me.

Having conversed with the Owner I was and am hope full they will see fit to talk with me but I am guessing they are afraid I might come back at them if they admit something.

We will have to see what happens.. We are still climbing the discovery mountain but with the help of great RV.net members.

Thanks for the info,
Randy

See the red highlight above? I think that's important....it seems to me to constitute an admission of dealer responsibility for at least some of the rodent damage. I'm sure it's an as-is deal, but that means nothing in a situation where the evidence indicates that they knew of a defect and didn't reveal it.

But don't get all huffy with them yet...it'd be nice if you could just get them to cooperate voluntarily. You might try "thanking" them for having taken care of some of the problems caused by the infestation that existed prior to your ownership, and sorrowfully reminding them that they "forgot" to finish the cleanup by removing the carcasses etc.

Or some such "I know you'll do the right thing" blather.

Seize the trowel and slather on the butter as thick as you can spread it! ;)

P.S.

I wouldn't expect any cooperation from the previous owners... dealer's likely to blame them anyway and they'll of course deny it. Your deal's with the dealer. Let HIM deal with the p.o. if he thinks it's their fault. Nothin' to do with you...

I do expect You are correct and I have NOT asked the dealer for anything from or as a result of this challenge. Sure it would be nice but we knew there were some issues with the unit that we just accepted as upgrades we want to make.

And no, I am not going to blast the Dealer but it would sure be nice (and I believe very professional) if they would continue their dialog and maybe give a few hints as to how to resolve some of the issues.

My point of this thread was to explore means of resolving the dead rat smell. I've been getting lots of good information and I really appreciate it.

Dropping the bottom almost seems like a bigger challenge than I can handle but I will be diving in.
As a point of info, the dealers tech told me they dropped the bottom to repair some wiring there but never mentioned the smell or any remains.

We also had a dead mouse that we could see with a mirror, but could not get to. The odor lasted for a good two - three weeks. We would have had to tear a wall out to get to it.

The damage is done, you're the new owner of the problem. I wouldn't expect help from anyone on this.

The cure for this is something you're not going to like. You need to pull the underbelly cover, replace all of the ducts, and I think you'll find the insulation is bad, too. Mr. rat didn't know he only was to stay in one spot and do his business in a certain location. If the rats decided to chew through a duct, they will have moved entirely through the under belly area, may have chewed through floors or cabinet walls, too.

Sorry to hear of your problems but it's doable to fix the damage.