- 1). Remove all the trash and clutter from the room. Smell items before tossing them into the trash bag to see if the odor is present. A small amount of milk at the bottom of a mostly empty container is plenty of liquid to cause smelly bacterial growth.
- 2). Open the curtains and windows of the room to allow it to ventilate for at least 30 minutes. This will localize the smell to its original location instead of masking it in a permeated room.
- 3). Clear as many items as possible from the surface of the floor and turn the lights on as bright as possible. Scan the floor carefully for stains or discolorations. Get down on your hands and knees and smell any spots to determine the presence of odor.
- 4). Move furniture away from walls and smell the vacated areas to locate the odor source. Rodents and insects tend to use the perimeter of a room as a thoroughfare and you may find feces or decaying pests.
- 5). Close the curtains and the door, shut off the lights, and use a black light to illuminate the ground. Organic materials will glow brightly under the black light. Give all glowing areas a good sniff to determine if they are the source.
previous post