Help me unravel this mystery before I burn the contents of this room down

Burn it! Could you in good conscience let someone else sleep in it????

@NotAgainWilson you don't need a whole new bed frame if you get a new mattress, you can get European size mattresses in the UK, I bought one for my DD from wayfair. Hopefully you don't have to replace it.

I've only skim read but have you tried onions cut in half?

Also, want to add, depending on the type of plastic mattress cover(s) you had, some of them can still let smells through. Were they bedbug proof? If they were bedbug proof then they shouldn't have let any odors through, but if they're just the standard type, they tend to be a bit porous and could have bacteria seep through slowly over time. This type of bacteria is only "harmful" if someone were to put their feet on a spot where bacteria was still thriving. It could be spread. That being said, odors can still linger after bacteria has been killed, so it may be "clean" enough in the room but still just needs the stinky, gaseous chemicals removed.

This sounds awful, I don’t know what to suggest I’m sorry but I do want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading what you wrote. You write so well, it made me laugh a little, it shouldn’t have done but it did. I hope the smell ( was once stench) goes soon xx

I know the EXACT smell. I'm not pregnant, I've just always had a super-sniffer! I dated a man years ago (luckily it didn't work out haha) who had THE WORST smelling feet. I mean...gag inducing. He spent the night only a few times before we broke up for other reasons, but I remember desperately trying to get his foot stench out of my new mattress. I had a mattress cover on as well as a bottom sheet. My duvet had to be cleaned 3 times before I stopped smelling it faintly. As for the mattress, I ended up doing the hydrogen peroxide method where you soak the foot area with hydrogen peroxide (the strength you buy at any drugstore) and then let it evaporate. It may take a few hours for each go. Then you spray/soak again, let dry again, and repeat until you smell nothing at all. For something like foot odor, it will smell faintly of vomit just before it completely disappears. So even if it gets worse before it gets better, keep going! It did ultimately work for me after just 3 rounds, but you may need 5 or 6 rounds it sounds like if he was there longer...

You can use the peroxide on most other surfaces too, but do a test spot on carpets/rugs/upholstery. For things like the curtains, it would likely only need a single spray down. The carpets where he may have had his feet, socks, and shoes sitting (upside down maybe, so stench could've been transferred to the rug/floor) will need 3 rounds probably. Is there a chair somewhere? Spray where his feet would've been. Did you ever notice a laundry pile? Spray that area because his socks would've been soaking in, even if it's a wood floor.

Put the mattress and armchair and any other fabric items outside on a sunny day. That will help with the smell.

the combo of UV and fresh air should work wonders on the soft furnishings. Don’t forget the fabric lamp shades getting some air too.

the rest of the room you need to wipe down every surface with an appropriate cleaner. Leaving a tray of fresh charcoal in there with door and window shut can help absorb the last of the smells.

My husband did a project using yeasts. It made him smell weird and gave him dandruff. Ironically I'm now yeast intolerant 😂.

It could easily be something lab related. Apart from scrubbing the blind and leaving the window open it's a tough one. Unless whatever he was working on has got into the plaster shudder and the mattress. One thing that does absorb odours is metal. I don't know if it works on smelly feet but maybe put something large and metallic in the room. I would also genuinely suggest cedarwood blocks/sachets/candles as cedar absorbs foot odour and is antibacterial.

I've heard of soaking feet in Listerine Mouthwash, so maybe a similar effect.
I've found that Febreezing my shoes makes them smell worse but sprinkling sodium bicarb works 😊👍
xx

I misread as "spray pet urine all over" 🤣
just as I'd been thinking "cat wee smells strong enough to cover up any other smell that could be in the room" but that's replacing one difficult to get rid of smell with another 😅
Unless cat wee is an improvement on the current smell 😂
sorry, can't suggest anything helpful, except perhaps bicarb / vinegar, though I like the suggestions of cut onions / cut lemons that I've seen suggested here too.
xx

Zoflora is good at getting rid of smells. I have a small child who has been through potty training/sickness bugs and I've used other things to clean up stains, but then had to use zoflora if there's still a urine smell or something.

All good suggestions here but I haven’t seen activated charcoal mentioned yet. You can find in fish supplies. Pour into tights and hang in the room for awhile. But finding the source and using an enzymatic cleaner needs to be done first.

Maybe try a black light to find residual hotspots?

Sorry OP… this would have me going crazy.

I wonder if it’s really as bad as you think. I would suggest asking a neighbour or friend Ito go into the room and see how they react - maybe you are over sensitised now.
I do feel quite sorry for the lodger, too. He will end up a total pariah if no one can tolerate the smell of him!

As someone else said can we please have a photo of the fluff ?

Try cat litter. I’ve worked in hospices and we put it under the bed if there’s an unpleasant smell to help remove it.

Try Neutrogena and a essential oil burner (an electric one) and give it a go over several days. Use lavender oil plus others.

There are some vapour cans you can get from halfords that are for getting bad smells out of car interiors. You just set them off leave them going and shut all windows and doors. You could try one of those.

I get the fluff in my bedroom. There's a hole in my feather duvet that I need to get round to sewing up some time. But it doesn't smell

You need to buy this powder and put it in his shoes. It will change your life. (and his). Odaban

That's a good call. It can also be a problem with the electrics.

I wonder could the fluff be shredded sanpro?

A friend's dog got into her overnight pads one time and left white fluffy stuff all over the bathroom.

We got our rental property back and one room had been used for smoking cannabis. We removed the flooring, and cleaned the whole room but smell was still there so we bombed it in the end and this worked using a Dakota odour bomb. I think we did 2 and thankfully this worked.

This is the weirdest thing, but have you tried changing the lightbulbs. My parents had this weird feet/fish smell and nothing shifted it. Turned out it was something to do with lightbulbs being old. Just a suggestion as something else to check

Detox antibac spray may be worth a try? Otherwise, it sounds like a poltergeist has taken up residence so suggest a priest

Menopause can also make you extra sensitive to smells. But this sounds like it has more to do with an exceptionally smelly man than with your hormones!