Mouse Smell In Ducts Over 1 year now - will it sell?

[jerendeb-CLIF]

We got invaded in the winter of 2017-2018. We have severe mouse smell. I have blown, with a leaf blower, out the 'nesting' from all of the ducts, used countless products,air it out through the winter in New York and still smells. Aside from taking the whole interior apart I can find no more evidence of mice. None from this past winter either. I don't want to redo the ducts.
What are the odds of somebody buying this camper?
Any comments welcome. (Please be polite though.)

[SoundGuy]

6.2Superduty wrote:
The ductwork is inexpensive flexible tubing you can purchase at home depot. I would remove the underbelly to investigate further.

The OP hasn't said whether his heating ductwork is interior or exterior so obviously it's the former, as was the case in my own KZ Spree, then there's no need to remove the trailer's underbelly. Interior ducting runs along the floor, behind & through cabinets, etc, so it's relatively easy to swap out, much more so than underbelly ducting.

[6_2Superduty]

The ductwork is inexpensive flexible tubing you can purchase at home depot. I would remove the underbelly to investigate further.

[westernrvparkow]

It would stop me cold. As an aside, any strong masking scent would move me along as well. I would assume the worst. Sounds like time for professional help. It would be money well spent.

[Y-Guy]

If you really want to get rid of it you need to hire a duct cleaning professional. Just running air through it won't cut it. You need something that pulls the air out and using a duct cleaning brush (google that) you can buy some off of Amazon if you want to try it cheap. You need to find away to get the dried urine out, and that's beyond what I'd know how to do.

[allen8106]

I'm guessing he's not talking about dead mouse smell but rather the mouse urine smell.

[ktmrfs]

If the smell is from the heat ducts, try what worked in our house. Somehow a mouse got in the heat ducts and eventually died. and smelled. the exterminator told us to just turn the heat up to max in the house and let the furnace run for for 6-8 hours with windows open. the heat will dry out the carcass and smell will go away.

He was spot on. so you might try this in the trailer as well.

[myredracer]

If you have an enclosed underbelly it's possible they were in there. Besides the smell from decaying carcasses, there could be pee & poop in the batt insulation. I would remove the underbelly (if so equipped) and replace as needed. Odor could be coming up through any holes through the floor for piping, ducts, etc.

Mice have poor eyesight and navigate by constantly dribbling a trail of pee. So if they're inside or under an RV, there can be pee all over, not just an isolated spot or area.

I had to pull part of our underbelly coroplast off last year. Found one very shriveled up carcass. Never smelled anything. Mice can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime and get into spaces you wouldn't expect. A few years ago I sealed up ALL the openings & cracks through our floor to keep drafts out in cold weather. Good thing because the mouse and his friends might have gotten inside.

Here is a little info. on how to get rid of mouse pee smell in RVs. Apparently a black light will show where there's been pee.

[SoundGuy]

jerendeb-CLIF wrote:
I don't want to redo the ducts.

Dead mouse smell happened with our KZ Spree when it was stored over one winter and I too thought I could just clean the ducts. Nope, had to remove and replace the ducts with new. Whether you "want" to do this isn't even an issue, you have no choice - I can't imagine anyone buying any trailer that smells of dead mouse. 😞

[Jebby14]

anything will sell if priced appropriately. expect something like this to reduce price significantly.

[winniman]

My mother had the same issue with her Toyota Carolla. After tearing the interior apart, we took it to a mechanic friend. He had a scope camera, and found the dead mouse in the air vent under the passenger seat. Unless you can find the dead mouse, it is pretty much impossible to get rid of the smell. It is almost as hard as trying to sell it smelling like that. Ask me how I know.

[bdpreece]

Have you tried an ozone generator? This is what motels etc use to get rid of smells. You can rent them or in my case I bought one on Amazon. They really do work wonders.

[gbopp]

It depends on how bad it smells. Ask a couple friends or neighbors to look at your TT and give you an honest answer.

Did you check Youtube for any ideas on removing the smell?

[Lwiddis]

Are you planning to tell them about the smell? You should be.