Help Me Get the FUNK out!!!

I am at my wits end!!! I took over my current property in May of this year. First order of business was removing tenants from a unit that was being destroyed. The smell that existed in this unit was/is like no other I have encountered. We had received numerous complaints from neighbors and had also transferred residents as a result. The previous manager ignored all of it to keep that occupancy number! Let me try to explain it. Two gentlemen in a 680sqft apartment, poor hygiene, pet odor, multiple packs of cigars smoked daily with no ventilation. When the resident himself came into the office, the odor lingered the rest of the day. :sick:

Here is what we have done since they vacated:

Removed all carpet and vinyl
Removed all fixtures
Removed all cabinets, countertops and appliances
Cleaned the AC handler
Cleand the air ducts
Chlorine Treated Walls and Concrete
Used Ion Machine
Sealed concrete floors
One coat of Primer and two coats of paint on the walls

The smell is MUCH better.... but there is still a slight remnant of the original smell.


We have a TON of money into this unit already and need to find an inexpensive fix.

HELP@@@

There is an odor fogger at HD Supply for use after a fire/smoke damage. That may work. Sounds like you have your hands full here. Good Luck!

did you paint the inside of the closet doors? You might have to use a sealing primer like BIN, it seals in the odors.

Good Luck!

One thing is for sure, odor removal is one of the most difficult part of the turn process. If you have removed everything - and it sounds like you have! - you might start by:

1. Hire a restoration company to come in and use their chemicals, etc. to work some magic.
2. Filling up a spray bottle with a vinegar solution and misting the walls. Let it dry.
3. Install clean air filters every other day, HEPA and/or carbon ones; use an air cleaner.
4. Try some chemical warfare of your own - WARNING - follow the directions because these are serious items. You need proper eye cover, gloves (proper), and ventilation: Rid Odor; BON-CC-41 or there is something called Room Shocker, which some people recommend but I have never used.
Once someone moves in though and starts living there, the smells will dissipate a lot Especially if you have new carpet, tile, cabinets and fixtures.

Ozone machines work great too. Maybe another property has one or if they can be rented.

Call Servpro. They have an ozone machine that removes all odors from property. They also have a spray air freshner that lasts for days. You have to close the apartment for a couple days for both treatments.
Hate to tell you this but had you called them 1st, you could have saved a lot of money and grief.

Rose M wrote: did you paint the inside of the closet doors? You might have to use a sealing primer like BIN, it seals in the odors.

Good Luck!

That's the ticket.

To get rid of odor, which is difficult, you need to treat every surface which may contain it.
Priming the walls is good, but it needs to be a quality sealing primer. I generally use Zinser's Cover Stain, but others may work well.

If the carpets are removed, check to see if there is odor in/on the subfloor. If so, you can use the same sealing primer on the wood, and then carpet over it.

I should mention that PRIOR to all this work, make sure that the odor is coming from INSIDE the apartment. The last high odor problem I addressed was not, in fact, the fault of the tenant, but was caused by a leaking sewage pipe, directly underneath their apartment.

The odor removing chemicals treat either air or porous surfaces. Whenever possible, I'd rather CLEAN or SEAL those surfaces. Look at detail areas. For example, getting the odor off of mini blinds is not too tough, but removing stains and odors from the pull strings on those blinds can be much tougher. Often, we just toss out the old blinds and budget for replacement.

I just finished the worst nicotine stain job I'd ever encountered. In that unit, I also needed to replace all the outlets and switches to get the smell down. New outlets and switches. New cover plates. New closet door guides. New closet hardware. New closet shelf and rod. New blinds. New carpet. You get the picture.

If you have any specific problems, just ask...

Hope this helped a bit.

Michael

I actually have done the "cleaning" side in apartments. Since you have taken all the steps you have taken thus far, you may now have a mixed odor of the old with the new smells of the carpet fibers, glue from installing new vinyl, new paint, etc. Here are a couple of inexpensive, yet very effective ideas.

1) If you replaced the old carpet with new carpet, even though it is new, the fibers will absorb the smells still in the unit. Mixing that with the "new" carpet smell can add to your problem. If this is the case, rent a carpet cleaning machine from HD or other place. Instead of using the regular carpet cleaning solution, use 1 cap full of Gain Liquid laundry detergent (original scent) with the defoaming solution. Run the machine over all carpeted areas.

2) Pour about 4 oz of the lavender fabuloosa in each toliet, down each tub/shower drain. Stop up each sink in the unit and fill with about 1 quart of luke warm water. Pour the fabuloosa in that sink and let it stand 48 hours. Leave it in the toilets. (This is a great thing to do even in units that don't have odors....the new tenant will walk in to a fresh smell)

3) Get some Odoban (can get it by the gallon jugs at HD). It is concentrated but DO NOT dulute for this situation. Put it in a spray bottle and spray 4 to 5 sprays in each room. It has a ordor eliminating agent and a fresh scent that mixes well with the lavender.

4) Mix a spray bottle using 2 oz. og the Gain detergent described above with water. Have someone spray a rag with the solution to dampen the rag and go over each wood surface like baseboard, doors, all trim work and even counter tops, cabinets, etc. This will remove any lingering smells in the wood or laminate surfaces.

I had a unit that had had a kitchen grease fire. After all the restoration had been completed by our contractors, the "grease and fire" smell still lingered a month later. I used the steps I just stated and never another issue with it.

Everyone has great ideas. Don't forget tack strips and the inside of cabinets. We have cleaned the inside of cabinets, and doors closet racks with liquid enzyme. That also seems to help along with changing outlets, etc.

I am not sure of a ION treatment but get a professional Ozone treatment - they work great. You may have to do it 2 times based on the information given but it will work wonders.

We use odor foggers from Wilmar. They are "Happy Foggers", and they are amazing. If you have not done so already, I suggest changing any doors as well. Good luck!

The odor tends to absorb into the actual materials that make up the structure. Therefore cleaning and painting will not completely remove the odor, or after time the odor returns. Treat it like a smoke/fire damage.
You have already cleaned, and painted. The next step is a commerical ozone machine. Call a professional water/fire restoration company (your carpet cleaning company be one), ozone can be dangerous if you do not know how to handle it. The last step may be to odor fog it,once again the restoration company will know how to do this.

We have treated many apartments, homes for sale, hotels etc, with this method and have always removed the odor.

Tim

I use company called Odor Sweep out of North Carolina. They specialize in removing odors from units. I have used them a few times for units that had HEAVY smokers and have been pleased each time. It looks like you are in Florida. It may be worth is to contact them. They travel to me in Virginia. If they don't travel to your area they may be able to recommend a company that provides the same services.

Did you seal the concrete floors/Remember concrete is porous and will absorb all odors. I find plain old baking soda sprinkled all over flooring after that or lots of apples cut in half and left about help absorb the odor very well.Plus if you light a candle daily in every room and let burn hr or so and blow out will work wonders plus try boiling water with cinnamon sticks will do the trick.

I have a company in my area that has these huge Ozone Machines and guarantees in 5 hours it will remove all smells. I have used it has remove smoke, Curry and almost any other odor I have had.

I have used it and it works. I call it an "ozone" machine - it is located at the back of the hd catalogue

I had a similar situation and pretty much did the same protocol. The only way to move forward is to get someone else in there to start using their everyday products. Once my new rentors were in a couple of weeks, and I did leave them an air purifier, the smell went away. Figure their cooking, shampoo, hair spray, perfume, cleaning products and own clothing and furniture soon fill the apartment with their own smell.

With all that you have done to the unit to this point, I think the best solution as to a cheap way to work things out now is the ozone unit. There have to be some sister properties that would be willing to assist you. Future thinking not a bad investment to have one of your own! I have used them with great results.

One word of caution when you use these machines on your own and you put them on sanitize ensure there are no humans going in and out of the area as well as pets. Set it up high enough to where the return can take it in. Now if you have one of those deals where other apartments are on the same duct system, then you want to ensure you have an expert in there to ensure you have things handled correctly! There are some HVAC companies that specialize in this as well. They are not all equal so make sure you vet them well before selecting one.

All of your suggestions were great. In the end, I think we were just used to smelling "that smell" when we entered the unit. I went ahead and installed the new carpet & pad... and it rented within days! The nightmare is over..... or so we thought... the new tenant is a smoker..... gahhhhhhh