BAD SMELLS - Posted by Eli

Posted by Chris Reuman (ME) on September 14, 2004 at 13:18:01:

currently, I carpet the living room, bedrooms, and hallways with cheap industrial grade carpet about $.50 a sq ft (no pad) and $.50 a sq ft. to install. It looks clean and new, but definitely not classy. It looks like $.50 carpet. In the kitchen and bathroom, I go with the peel n press vinyl tiles which have a linoleum floor type design on them. The cost is $.35 a sq ft at my local discount odd lot store. My installer charges $1 sq ft to install and he puts down a layer of glue to make it really stick. So far they have worked good. I had a shower drain break and only two popped up. Around the front doors, the edges will pop up a little, but I just push them down or add some more glue. To install them yourself, the edges can be a pain to cut right. However, they do look great. I was looking for a replacement for the cheap carpet. I don’t want to invest in expensive carpet because it will get trashed. I am going to look seriously at the laminate mentioned previously. The total cost will be a little higher, but a friend of mine put it in his living room and it looks very rich.

Thanks for all the input. Chris

BAD SMELLS - Posted by Eli

Posted by Eli on September 12, 2004 at 14:51:36:

First of all let me start off with a story about my extended family. If there is anyone that has a worse smell then this house did, I owe you a dinner or something. Anyway they had 5 dogs and about a dozen cats. They were FILTHY and I mean FILTHY PEOPLE. I am alegic to animals and I could not go in the house for more then one breath. I would literally take a huge breath outside (at least 20 feet away from the house) and then I would run in give a hug or two and then run out and get some air. To expound on the Filth let me explain their idea of cleaning up for company, they would literally sweep the dog and cat %$#& into a pile UNDER the kitchen table (no kidding).

Needless to say about 5 years ago their health forced them out of the house and my mother was given the responsibility of selling the house. I recomended burning it down and selling the lot for 30,000. Clean comparables were selling for about $120,000. Anyway she sold it for an amazing $40,000 cash. We were all laughing all the way to the bank, knowing what the buyer had gotten himself into. But he did get it fixed and he did make a killing.

About a year ago I was told a solution to clean up these smells. It is ozone. Simple O3. THere are ozone machines that somehow turn regular oxygen O2 into O3. Ozone kills bacteria and neutralizes smells. I have used one and it works!!!

Supposedly, (I heard this from a group of Guru’s) Ozone can kill cockroaches and other pests as well if it is given enough time and enough 03. That I cant verify but I do know that it will kill odors.

I have also been told that they use ozonen to clean bathrooms. I supposedly kills mold as well. I have been told that if you lock one of these machines in a bathroom it will clean the mold out of the grout with no scrubbing. Again I cant verify this.

Now back to cat smells, cat urine is TOXIC, almost as toxic as nuclear waste. If you dont believe me look at it with a black light it glows! Now that is interesting and all, but it does provide a very convient way to find the stuff.

I am betting that the “fool” that bought my distant relatives house knew these tricks and he loved the bad smell. I am guessing that he ripped out all the carpet. Swept up the dirt and got a black light. I bet he then doused all the glowing toxic places and doused them in clorox. He then probably closed all the doors and windows and rented a bunch of HUGE ozonators. He probably left them running for about 3 years to kill all the smells that had permeated everything. I dont know how long it would really take but I have been told that it is about 2-3 days. If this really does kill cockroaches he probably got about 5 garbage bags and swept them all up and then he was laughing all the way to the bank.

Now I will try to clarify a few things. I am not an expert on this, I am a novice at best. But I really believe that you can use this information to become experts on this subjet.

One warning… I have been warned not to be in the house when these ozonators are running. If they are killing roaches, it probably is not really healthy for us. However I do know that small ozone machines are made to be put permanatly in your house to keep the air clean, and I assume they dont kill you, but these big ones could be dangerous.

Possibly Harmful - Posted by Dave_n_TX

Posted by Dave_n_TX on September 13, 2004 at 08:44:31:

Thanks for the post Eli. The black light information is very useful.

I don’t know a whole lot about ozone machines, but I do know that the EPA cautions against using them. Here is a link to the article on the EPA?s website: Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) | US EPA

I’ve heard from a plethora of people that they do a great job of getting rid of odors, and I believe they are used in fire-damaged homes to get rid of the smoke smell as well. I?m not recommending against using them, but it might be worth your time to take a look at the article regarding the dangers of them and weigh the advantages/disadvantages of them yourself.

There is a great post in the archives here on this site regarding ozone and other tactics for odor control made by Jerry Freeman. It?s at http://www.creonline.com/mobilehomes/wwwboard4/messages/14930.html

Happy Investing!

Dave

Re: BAD SMELLS - Posted by Chris Reuman (Maine)

Posted by Chris Reuman (Maine) on September 12, 2004 at 22:58:56:

Eli,

I bought an old mh that reeked of cig. smoke. I went to the local rental store and rented an ozone generator. I put it in each room for a day and by the end of the week the place smelt fine. The total cost was $60 and they did say not to have any living things in the space while it was running. So, I highly recommend it. As for the black light, I didn’t know it and it is excellent information.

Best investing, Chris

Here are some links for more info on OZONE - Posted by Eli

Posted by Eli on September 12, 2004 at 16:02:00:

general Information
http://rhol.org/rental/ozone.htm

General information
http://www.jenesco.com/applications.htm

About Cockroaches
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/03/04/ozone_grain030304

Kills mold
http://www.mold-kill.com/studies.html

There is some good reading material for everyone. I learned something from this about the Shock Treatment and ongoing air purification. Take all of this with a grain of salt, I would bet that if I look long enough I will find someone that believe and has “proven” that ozone will cure aids.

Well before posting I thought I would do a search on it and WALLA it looks like ozone does cure aids (at least someone thinks so, and I bet he sells machines too)
http://www.trunkerton.fsnet.co.uk/ozone_cure_for_aids.htm

Re: BAD SMELLS - Posted by Gregory (VA)

Posted by Gregory (VA) on September 12, 2004 at 15:52:58:

Thanks for the post Eli, very interesting. I’m gonna have to look into researching those ozone machines.

interesting - Posted by Anne_ND

Posted by Anne_ND on September 12, 2004 at 15:36:31:

Eli,

Interesting story about your relatives. I have bought and rehabbed some pretty gross places in my time.

Just wanted to let you know that cat urine glows under a blacklight because it contains protein, and it’s the protein that is glowing. Nothing too toxic about it because of the glow. [But here’s a fun fact about cat feces: ever wonder why dogs love to eat it? It’s because cats are inefficient digestors of their food, and there’s quite a bit of tasty stuff left in there when they’re done.]

I don’t believe ozone kills cockroaches or mold, but those machines can do a good job on cigarette smells and light pet urine. I have one that I use on rehabs and have been happy with it.

Anne

Re: Possibly Harmful - Posted by Anne_ND

Posted by Anne_ND on September 13, 2004 at 10:04:45:

Dave,

I have heard the same thing. When I first bought mine I talked to people in the Chem Dept at the local University and they said ozone is very bad for people and animals.

However, ozone is quite unstable and breaks down in a matter of minutes, so they can be used safely to get rid of smells in a vacant house. In my experience they seem particularly effective for smoke smells, and are good at temporarily removing pet smells, but you need to pull up the stinky carpet and pad to really get rid of the smell.

A few words about another phenomenon I’ve observed in mobile homes: I’m removing the original carpet and pad from a 1974 house and under the pad (where there’s been no pet pee damage) is a very fine powder- it’s like silt. I’ve seen it a few times and I realized this is the dirt that has been filtered through the carpet and pad after 30 years. There is a lot of it in this house, I’m guessing they didn’t use their vacuum very often. Never seen anything like it in a stick-built house.

Anne

Re: Here are some links for more info on OZONE - Posted by wick spears

Posted by wick spears on September 12, 2004 at 20:27:49:

What’s WALLA ?

Re: interesting, also interesting… - Posted by Philip

Posted by Philip on September 12, 2004 at 15:56:10:

that you know these things!
How would you ever find these things out about cat urine?
Philip

Re: Possibly Harmful - Posted by Tony-VA/NC

Posted by Tony-VA/NC on September 13, 2004 at 10:21:58:

I find a similar residue of dirt and the remains of the black rubber backing from the old mobile home carpet. This stuff often adheres to the flooring and can be a pain to get up.

Also, in regards to the ozone machine, this is the same machine used by hotels to rid rooms of smoke and other odors. They are effective tools but I have not yet used one in a mobile home.

I typically just pull up carpet, killz the subfloor and install new carpet and padding.

Tony

Re: Here are some links for more info on OZONE - Posted by non e mis

Posted by non e mis on September 12, 2004 at 21:15:39:

It’s like voilà! for people that don’t speak french.

I’m an information junkie - Posted by Anne_ND

Posted by Anne_ND on September 13, 2004 at 08:17:14:

Scorpions also glow in the dark, although spiders don’t.

You can learn a lot about cat urine from carpet cleaners. Those people earn their money!

take care, Anne

Re: interesting, also interesting… - Posted by Mary

Posted by Mary on September 12, 2004 at 16:27:31:

Cat and Dog urine glows under a black light… We know because we have a little dachshund and had an episode with him urinating in our house.

Any type of protein stains will glow under a blacklight. That’s how investigators find blood at a murder scene even after it has been cleaned up. It has to be a fluorescent black light not a blacklight lightbulb that screws into a lamp. You can buy a pair of fluorescent tube bulbs and holder at Home Depot for about $10.

Here’s a test to find out how clean your house is. Turn a fluorescent blacklight on at night. You will find out how dusty your house is. Dust glows like crazy. You can actually clean your house better in the dark with a blacklight. You may not want to turn it on in your bathroom. Need I say more…

Mary

Re: Possibly Harmful - Posted by Beachboy-Ga.

Posted by Beachboy-Ga. on September 21, 2004 at 14:00:04:

Thats what I was going to recomend. I bought a double wide once with a dead dog and a dead chicken in it.It was a very bad smelling place…After removing the carpet, kilzing the floor and recarpeting it, I eventually made 54,000 off the deal free and clear.

Re: Suggestion Tony - Posted by Tampajim

Posted by Tampajim on September 13, 2004 at 12:47:50:

…and it’s just a suggestion but try laminate in place of carpet.

turns out… - Posted by Philip

Posted by Philip on September 13, 2004 at 15:14:32:

both my son and my wife already knew these facts.
Human urine can glow also.

I am suprised our bathrooms didn’t used to glow when all the boys were smaller and did not watch where their “high pressure sprayers” were shooting!

Or maybe that is how they know these facts!
Philip

Re: interesting, also interesting… - Posted by Mark

Posted by Mark on September 12, 2004 at 23:10:23:

Mary,
I thnk Iwill leave the black light out of my bathroom … there are just some things that I don’t want to know!

Re: Suggestion Tony - Posted by Tony-VA/NC

Posted by Tony-VA/NC on September 13, 2004 at 14:28:36:

I did notice you or someone else mention using laminate. I have not tried this and would be curious about the price comparison.

In my older, single wides, laminate might be an option. In the doublewide land/home deals, carpet is expectd but the singlewides might be worth it.

Thanks,

Tony

Re: Suggestion Tony - Posted by Tampajim

Posted by Tampajim on September 13, 2004 at 16:44:14:

We started using laminate a few years ago in SFR’s. As a matter of fact we rarely install any carpet in SFR’s, all ceramic tile and laminate. Rarely have tenant damage and people love the look.
We purchased our first MHP two years ago and at first used good carpet we were pulling from SFR’s to rehab the tenant occupied “trailers”. After a couple of move-outs and having to clean/or replace carpet we decided to go with laminate. Cost for laminate around here is $1 a foot ($9 a sq. yard). Goes down easy is easy to clean and best of all people seem to really love it. It modernizes a place that is thirty plus years old and if you had to you could take it up and use it somewhere else if you get the click in stuff. Good Luck