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

[NotAgainWilson]

As the title says, I am feeling like purifying this room through fire after a week of cleaning. washing and replacing stuff has proved unsuccessful to remove the stench a short term lodger left behind.

The room was spring cleaned before his arrival. He was around for 3 weeks. He had massively smelly feet (I said that as the mother of a sporty smelly child that I could barely stand at times, but this is in a different league, more than ten times worse and resistant), after a week around I asked him if he could do something about the smell stench, he apologised (he was lovely and polite otherwise) and said he would get odour eaters to sort it.

It didn’t make a difference so, as I had told him when I rent the room that I would be going in to open the window to ventilate the room every morning, I got the super strength version of Odor Eaters and sprayed all his shoes every morning and left the window open the whole day. This helped the smell not to extend to other rooms as before.

The last of his 3 weeks, he had a cold so stayed at home, therefore I was unable to spray shoes if open the window. He left the room tidy but the stench is still there. It smells as if you have crossed bad smelly feet with buttery toffee and is of such strength you feel like vomiting.

The room was also left covered in some white fluff, very similar to the fluff you may find under the bed if you don’t clean for years, but it was EVERYWHERE, all around the floor, walls, furniture, picture frame and a lot of it has gone into the radiator. I cannot imagine such amount of fluff being produced in three weeks, much less so by a single person no matter how dirty they could be.

I have removed more than bucket load of fluff, vacuum cleaned and washed the walls, floors, furniture and the inside out of the radiator, used a whole can of Odor Eaters, Oust and a full bottle of Ecover as well as leaving the window open every day, one week later the stench is now a smell but is still unbearable.

I have bought a new duvet and pillows. But I am convinced that this situation can be due to either an endocrinology related issue or bacteria, and therefore not safe. Shall I burn all the bed linen? the whole room? I am at the end of my tether, have spent a week cleaning and again every day over the last week and the smell is still there.🤮🤮🤮🤮

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

@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 🤢

Just to update. The smell continues to go down, the vinegar last night must have helped, the toffee feet smell is very faint now, it just now smells of vinegar...

I got yet another product today HP Odour Remover, specifically designed to remove vomit and pet smells. If the enzymes and stuff in it doesn't end the issue, it is all about burning the mattress, I think...

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?

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

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.

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.

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 🐷

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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