Smell from deceased critter creates issue in rental home

Q. I own a rental house here in town. Apparently, there is a bad odor on the second floor, which is probably due to a dead animal. I remember hearing an animal in the wall some years ago.

Anyway, the odor is quite objectionable. Do you have any suggestions for products or devices to mask such a smell? Or do you know some clever way in which one might locate the source?

I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter.

A. How long ago was the odor first noticed? A dead mouse odor should dissipate within a few days; a squirrel would take a couple of weeks; a bigger animal could take quite a few weeks.

The best noxious odor control is Nok-Out Odor Eliminator (www.nokout.com). Full disclosure: Nok-Out now advertises on my blog after I mentioned the product quite a number of times in my column because it is so effective.

We have used it with great success to eliminate an odor from a skunk that had made a home under a porch and rendered an adjacent bedroom unliveable for a relative. The skunk was removed by the appropriate city employees. Good luck with it.

Q. I have been using Mr. Clean to wipe my cabinet doors. It works for a day or two and then the doors become tough to open again.

Is there a better item to use to clean the doors, or should look I for new nonstick pads if they are available?

A. Give Milsek Furniture Polish & Multi-Purpose Cleaner a try. I was introduced to it by a kind Pennsylvania reader years ago, bought some and have used it exclusively ever since on all our furniture.

Milsek makes cleaning products for a variety of uses, which you can see on its website, www.milsek.com. It is a miracle cleaner and polisher.

In its early days, when I first was introduced to Milsek, it seemed as if it was only available in Pennsylvania, but Milsek's reputation spread, and it is now available in many stores.

You can find a store selling Milsek in your area by clicking on "Where to Buy" on Milsek's website.

Q. We have read your column for years and you have helped us solve several household problems. We have really appreciated your help. About 10 months ago, we had new concrete installed to repair the entranceway to our garage. Recently, when we were trying to wipe up some grease, we spilled enough gasoline on the concrete to make a large stain. We tried wiping it up right away using hot water and dish detergent, but it didn't work.

Then we tried scrubbing it with water and Simple Green, but that also didn't budge the stain. Our niece suggested using trisodium phosphate (TSP). Might that work, or should we try something else? If you agree it is a good idea, how do we use the TSP?

A. You can try sprinkling TSP-PF crystals onto the stain, then sprinkling water as hot as you can get it onto the crystals without causing runoff. Let the mixture work for about 30 minutes and scrub the area with a stiff brush. Rinse with your garden hose. It may or may not work. Alternately, be patient and let the sun, rain and especially snow take care of it over time.

Q. My garage floor near the outside door, but about 8 inches into the garage, is flaking like sand, and when I sweep it up, the floor is pockmarked underneath. Am I now getting water from under the garage floor (concrete) or do I have another problem?

A. I am sure you are not getting water from under the concrete that is causing your problem. Concrete is not subject to such disintegration from water. It's a very tough material that has been around since ancient times; the Romans were experts in its use.

It is more likely the damage is caused by salt from your car(s) or from using salt to get rid of ice. The damage should be fixable by removing all loose material and applying a vinyl-reinforced product, such as Top 'n Bond or a similar product, to the damaged area.

Q. We are in the Chicago suburbs and have a 9-year-old custom home. We have experienced ice damming in the past, and like many people, the previous winter was tough.

Previously, we had an issue in a roof valley where our kitchen and sunroom connect. We did have heat coils placed here since it's the rear of the house, three stories up and difficult to reach. However, this year, the damming occurred above the coils, and water came in over the French door separating the two rooms and continued to the basement drywall ceiling. Additionally, we had leaking over our front door and a front bedroom. (This has occurred at the front door to a lesser extent in the past, as some of the taping in the corner was rippled, but not to this extreme.)

With our HVAC, roofing and insulation contractors in tow, we investigated. We found roofing nails in some areas had dripped onto the blown-in insulation - too much warmth/humidity in the attic was the conclusion. We have a furnace in the attic, which is in a contained, insulated room. We did a smoke test of the ductwork up there and there were no leaks.

Our roofing contractor suggests a couple of humidity-activated roof fans. Our insulation contractor suggests 3-inch open-cell, half-pound spray foam insulation over the ducts so the R-value is the same as the rest of the attic. He feels there is plenty of air circulation up there.

Also, there is an interior fireplace chimney, which is used occasionally, that runs through the attic. Could this be an issue? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

A. You have two problems contributing to your distress. First, I am not surprised that ice damming occurred above the heat cables. Secondary dams are common over any device that melts the snow and ice at the bottom of the roof, and where snow rakes are used to partially remove snow from a roof.

In a cold region, no heating appliance should ever be installed in an attic. No matter how much insulation your insulating contractor plans on adding, you are likely to keep having an attic that is too warm. There will always be heat loss; the insulation only delays it.

I consulted years ago for a New Hampshire builder who had done exactly the same thing. A totally enclosed space had been built around the furnace, including an internal ventilation system consisting of a fan ducted from the furnace's insulated compartment to one gable, and a louver ducted from the opposite gable into the furnace's insulated compartment.

But all the ducts were spreading throughout the attic on their way to their various destinations.

Since there was no way to relocate the entire heating system to the basement, where it belonged, we installed another high-capacity exhaust fan at one end of the attic and a large louver on the opposite gable, hoping that it would take care of the heat loss from the duct system.

We added a considerable amount of insulation over the ducts, which was very difficult to do because of their layout. We stapled a radiant barrier to the bottom of the rafters. Nothing worked.

The last thing I recommended, after all previous efforts failed, was to spray several inches of closed-cell foam between the rafters and to build a cold roof over the existing roof.

This process went on over most of the winter, at which time my consultation ended. It cost the builder a small fortune in the repairs we undertook and my fee.

I have not heard what the builder finally did or the results. The photos you sent show a very complicated roof structure that would make it very difficult to alter, and a duct layout that is a nightmare.

Sorry I can't be more comforting.

Q. We did everything you recommended to us regarding our issue with drain flies in our bathroom shower drain. However, although we have fewer drain flies, we still have them. I believe someone suggested using liquid detergent. Since the flies come out of our shower drain, do we pour the soap in before or after a shower?

A. You may have read about the liquid detergent solution in one of my recent columns in which I quoted a reader who had sent it to me.

This kind reader said you should pour the liquid detergent three times a week and be consistent with the treatment. So you should do it after showering or the detergent would be washed away, and you may need to do it after daily showers are done for the day.

• Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. His book, "About the House," is available at www.upperaccess.com. His website is www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to henridemarne@gmavt.net, or mail First Aid for the Ailing House, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

© 2016, United Feature Syndicate Inc.