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

Who is this chap? And why did he think it was ok to create such a foul stench in someone else’s house, even though you spoke to him about it? I’d be mortified! Smelly 🐷

A few things I would check ... The vacuum cleaner first off!! I once spilt washing powder and vacuumed it up then changed the bag, but for weeks the machine reeked of the strong chemical cleaner, it was so overwhelming. I had to buy a new filter for my George cleaner and thoroughly clean the machine with white vinegar ... Inside too wherever poss!
I then used bicarb powder and sprinkled tea tree essential oil in, mixing well, then tipped it on floor and vacuumed it up. Left it in the cleaner for a week - the smell had gone!

I now use a combination of these for smelly dog towels and blankets or clothes. Bicarb in the washing cycle and white vinegar with several drops of tea tree (ABC brand) in the rinse cycle. Works a treat - smells like fresh laundry dried on the line even if I have to tumble dry.

I also use the vinegar/tto in a spray bottle for freshening curtains, cushions etc and general cleaning. Just be careful not to let pets have access to the oil when wet (fine once heavily diluted and then dried re bedding).

Good luck.

Have had a similar lodger problem in the past - he was a smelly fellow and had a gut wrenching smell left behind when he left, deep cleaning didn't shift it even after paying a professional cleaning company. Two days later found a used sock wedged behind the radiator.

Cover the room in a fine dusting of bicarbonate of soda and leave overnight then hoove rot up the next day.

Has anyone tried the cut onion thing to absorb smells, thinking of the vinegar here, not the major issue. Or do you think the room would end up of vinegar AND onions?

@stayathomegardener i second this! I think we need to see a picture of the fluff… someone might recognise what it is/confirm/deny the foot flake theory 🤢

Could it be a desk drawer that has had some used tissues stored in it for a while? Needing bleaching even though tissues gone

Yes, you do get purple feet. But better purple feet than that stink!

Could we have a picture of the fluff?
Sounds like a nightmare.

I think you need to collect a sample of the fluff and get it examined...just so we don't all go mad wondering what it is.

When I was travelling in Australia one the the guys took his shoes off in the back of the car. The smell was so bad I was a bit sick, and I am not sensitive. He put his shoes straight back on but the smell lasted a while.

I once had this issue. I took everything out of the room until I found the culprit.

It was a draw from a bedside table that smelled of fish. I think it must have happened in transit in a container. It was unspeakably grim.

Wash everything with white vinegar and warm water, when i say everything i mean it, lightshades, light bulbs, curtains, walls every inch of paintwork, headboard on the bed. Wash the bedding in Napisan and cover the mattress in bicarb with a few drops of essential oils mixed in, leave for an hour then hoover off. Once you have washed the carpet and let it dry cover it with dry Earl Grey tea leaves, leave for an hour then hoover. Buy new duvet and pillows.

@NotAgainWilson 🤣🤣🤣 Maybe an exorcist is actually what you need! Does anyone know demons smell like? 🤣🤣🤣

This is definitely not the case, from sad experience! (Although I do have a much stronger sense of smell than rest of my family).

We had a dead mouse in the kitchen and I could smell it for days before I found it. A really revolting sickly slightly sweet smell.

In fact, OP your description of the smell makes me wonder if you're smelling a dead mouse and the longer's awful feet were a red herring, coincidentally occurring at the same time?

I used one of these Amazon Ona Block to get rid of the smell of stale smoke in the bedroom of my last rental house. It was foul and nothing else would get rid of it, so it might be worth a try.

Vodka works as an odour neutraliser apparently (spraying it on stuff, not drinking it... Although I guess if you drank a lot you might not notice the smell any more).

just read the post above mine - maybe white vinegar is a close relative of Lidl bargain basement vodka 😂

Hi OP

in case it is anything mould / spore related, this stuff is incredible:

https://astonish.co.uk/products/mould-mildew-blaster

and only a couple of quid.

Leaving bowls of white vinegar around is brilliant at getting rid of cigarette smells, not sure about neutralising other smells, but worth a try.

I used it in my Dad's flat when he died - initially the smell made me heave whenever I went in, but the vinegar was magic, and we sold the flat really quickly once stuff was cleared - no hint of iffy smells.

Feeling sick

I can’t help but you’ve reminded me of the time that I accused my husband of stinking up the house with his awful old trainers. I made him put them outside at night and was very mean about it! Turned out to be a dead rat stuck in the wall.

It might be a dead mouse/rat. The smell is horrendous but it eases after a few weeks when it decomposes. Might that rather than feet.