What's that smell?

Q. After returning from a trip last November, my husband and I were welcomed home by a strong odor emanating from our first-floor bedroom. A friend who house-sat for us informed us that a cat had gotten into our garage. He left the door open, hoping it would leave. We thought maybe it didn’t and somehow got into the walls or eaves and died. We were told by an animal-removal service that smell was definitely not an animal. We looked for signs of moisture, but found none. We thought it had to be a decomposing animal, and tried using fans and deodorants. In January we left for Florida. Once again our friend watched over our home, and ventilated the room. We have now returned to the same disgusting odor. We are completely confused, and don’t know who to contact for assistance. Can you help?

A. Your situation stinks, and you had several questions to answer, so fortunately we spoke, and I even visited your home. The bedroom smelled, and it seemed to be coming from a corner. I looked in the adjacent garage attic and the smell was there as well, though not as strong. We peered, together, into spaces between attic floor joists where an animal, seeking warmth, might crawl.

Before we looked, I was going to suggest that animal-based glue might have been used in a piece of furniture, a smell that could knock a buzzard off a roof. I also looked for rain gutters with rotting leaves, but you have few trees and clean gutters. I suggested things like chemical spills on adjacent garage or porch floors, an old, caved-in cesspool or my favorite mystery smell, the abandoned diaper. I once had a holiday party and the house was filled with guests. Three months later we discovered why, after the party, a basement room had a foul odor that wouldn’t go away. We looked high and low, but couldn’t figure it out. Finally, while doing some organizing, we moved some framed pictures and found, neatly tucked between two frames, a discarded full diaper that by then had turned green. The smell had dissipated, but it was easy to trace back to the last infant who visited. The parents must not have known what to do with full drawers, and the hiding spot probably seemed perfect.

Your room’s smell can only be solved by opening the ceiling, then the walls in that particular corner. My guess is that an animal crawled back into that ceiling or fell into a wall cavity and died. Let me know when the area is opened and we’ll solve this mystery. The area should be thoroughly sprayed down with an anti-bacterial cleaning solution, professionally applied. Good luck!

2012 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.