I need your help bad. My apartment-mate moved out and unfortunately, his bedroom and bathroom smell to high heaven. It is a combination of body odor (he was very obese and sweated a lot) and rancid perfumes, he would put this cheap garbage perfume and oil on a lamp bulb and it now has fouled up the room.
The bedroom has unpainted walls and a 'popcorn' style ceiling. The bathroom has vinyl covered wallpaper. I tried bleaching using anti-mold cleaning solutions like tilex in the bathroom, but the smell is still there. I tried leaving white vinegar out and it didn't do much. I need to fix this so I can rent the room out since I cant afford to pay for both bedrooms. The landlord refuses to paint the walls or do anything.
I tried some air deoderizing sprays and right now am trying to use baking soda on the carpet to clean it. How can I get the smell out?
A good general cleaning should work. "Mr. Clean" is very good at removing stubborn odors. Evenly sprinkle a box of baking soda (or soda ash) over the carpet, tamp it in, vacuum the next day. Open windows as much as possible. You can use Fabreeze on draperies, walls, etc.
wrote in news:Yltyg.126013$ snipped-for-privacy@fe06.news.easynews.com:
after reading this request for help... i vomited a little bit in my mouth. ew.
first, every single porous surface (carpet/furniture/draperies etc...) need to be completely cleaned. (or, i suggest... destroyed!) steam clean the carpet. wash drapes, wipe the walls down. i'd use a degreasing-type product (kaboom or fabuloso has come out with a new degreaser) the heated cologne-stink is probably hard to eradicate.
since it's a rental.. it's not an option. (the security deposit is almost ALWAYS forfeited if you set fire to the dwelling)
i see a certain value in fabreeze. but i hate it. mostly i see it as a last possible resort. masking the stink does not eliminate the stink... it simply makes the stink more complex. bottom line... UNLESS the stink is located and destroyed it will NEVER smell like a spring day.
NOTHING makes for more fun on a saturday morning than a rousing game of "name that funk!!!" whew. (invite some friends over. you could make a DAY of it!)
if you live in a particularly hot area of the country i recommend a full airing. at a minimum you should turn off any vent that goes to this room and stuff a towel under the door. (the central air's return could be polluting the rest of the place with small bits of that room's pew. so you should do it regardless of your plans to vent the room to the outdoors) let this room get as much hot air as you can. i wouldn't recommend this, however, if you live in a balmy state. seems humidity does nothing but make the stink nearly bionic! if you live in a dry/hot state... think of it as your own room sized autoclave.
The smell is emulating from that popcorn style ceiling. Heat (like odors) rise to the top. This site will give you some insight on how to clean it:
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Hope you get rid of it.
I can't stand perfume. It's was originally created to cloak bad body odor. I can't stand being around people who splash themselves (w/ gas) everyday. (blah...cough..cough)
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