Stinky dollhouse

[JaniceG]

Soooo - I was all set to buy an awesome San Franciscan that was supposedly in near perfect condition. When I got there, I discovered "near perfect" means the roof falling apart and such a strong odor that I could not possibly bring it inside my house. I got the feeling I wasn't the first person to walk away from this particular house, so the man ended up just giving it to me.

Is there any way to remove odors from wood? It is not a moldy smell or a cat pee smell. It could be dog pee but it smells very much like the hog barn my dad had when I was little. It is on my front porch, likely warding off evil spirits with its odiferous powers. My only plan is to pull out the carpet and wallpaper and spray it with some kind of odor absorber. And if the stink cannot be helped, I'll just toss it, I guess.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

[Little House fan]

Home Depot sells lava rocks that absorb odors really well. Can't hurt to try rehab, right?

[minifan]

I would honestly put those dryer sheets in it...(they've made alot of stuff smell better for me)...

You could also put it in your garage for a couple of days or something else weather tight, maybe "air" it out a little bit?

[JaniceG]

I just spent a little time out there pulling out the carpet and the wallpaper, which is actually fabric. The good news is that it was put together with hot glue, so it is very easy to take apart (I get it now - why the first thing everyone says is "Don't Use Hot Glue!"

I think it is salvageable. The truth is, I'm just really disappointed. I'm new to the whole hobby, so I'm not ready to drop a lot of bucks on one of the big kits - and I just imagined bringing home this big house that I could put in my living room. So I shouldn't be complaining, but.... Woe is me! It really is an impressive house. I have to believe I can fix it up.

Taking the fabric off the walls and floors definately helped the smell. I think the shingles will have to go, they seem particularly pungent. I have quite a project on my hands.

[DHGranny]

OMG,Janice...I am so sorry.The picture,well she was beautiful !!!Just try and imagine what she will be like after you finish...... :wub:

[MerriMagic]

Ok, it's possible that the house might have been near someplace with feces..not cat pee, or dog PEE..but actual feces. Since wood is porous, it can soak up odors and then gass em out again.

Now, the thing about this house is...you may have to completely take this apart in order to clean it. How big is the house? What's it made of? MDF? That will melt if you get it too wet..it's compressed sawdust. If it's actual wood..plywood, you need to think about what kind of glue was used..or that might fall apart too. So you may have to disassemble the dollhouse first, then rebuild it later on.

I suggest that first you try setting the house out in the sun. Let's see if Mother Nature can cure your house's BO?

Whatever you do, if you use a wet solution, you need to evenly wet both sides of each surface, and see to it that they dry evenly, or the wood will warp.

If you need an enzyme solution, and one I can reccommend is Odormute. You can buy it through many of the online catalogues, or at any really good pet store. The enzymes break down the culpruits who cause the odor in the first place..bacteria and their offal. Follow the directions and sponge it on, and if you can, let it dry outside in a sunny area. No guarantees on if the glue will hold, or if the wood itself would stay in shape...remember that MDF can actually melt if it gets too wet.

Another route to try is to find a sealer that is impenetrable..and coat every surface of the house in it. Still no guarantees.

Again...before you try anything, I suggest that first you try setting the house out in the sun.

:wub:

[woodland_miniatures]

Another really good odor absorber is plain old baking soda, and you can use it dry. I'd put a couple of open boxes in the house - maybe one on each floor? - and see what happens. If all else fails and you do end up taking it completely apart, perhaps burying the pieces in baking soda and see what happens?

I once went to a four-star hotel in San Diego (on business, there was an international conference I'd helped organize there) and our exhibit area was in the basement, which had concrete floors. Well, right before we'd come to do our thing there'd been a cattle breeders' exhibition and they literally had cattle in that same basement exhibition hall. The place looked clean, but OMG the SMELL! And it was strong enough that it was wafting up the stairways and the elevator shafts to the main floor.....everyone was turning green, and you can imagine the poor folks down in the exhibit hall. So I suggested to the management that they get A LOT of baking soda and swab down that entire concrete floor with a paste of the stuff and then rinse it off. They did overnight, and whaddaya know, no smell the next day!

I'm a great believer in baking soda!

[JaniceG]

Thanks for the tips Jeanne, although the feces bit grossed me out a little (okay, a lot). I have determined that it is plywood and not MDF and put together with hot glue. I have already started taking it apart (which will be easy) and plan on a complete rebuild. So once I get the wallpaper and carpet all out, I'll put it in the sun, stuffed full of newspaper and baking soda and see how bad it is after a couple of days.

The thing was wired with tape wire and everything - boo hoo.

Oh, and April, I'm feeling better about it. It really is a great house to look at. I imagine I would be super proud of myself if I save it.

Thanks Mary, I am breaking out the baking soda as we speak.

[KathieB]

You might try wiping it down with a sponge damped with ammonia if you think it has been baptized with animal urine. Ammonia is actually water with ammonia gas dissolved in it, so as the gas dissipates (and takes the odor with it), all that's left is water to evaporate. No residue to clean off. I know it sounds counter to logic, since urine contains ammonia, but believe me, it works.

[Momof2Moos]

This was the Highland before I started it. Covered in hair, cobwebs and rodent feces... Before I even started on it, it spent a week out in the garage with baking soda AND dryer sheets in her... AND I ripped everything out, still. And now look at her? I totally believe that your San Fran can go from stinky-abandonded-duck to totally regal-awe-worthy-swan!!!

[Elsbeth]

Put in plastig bag/ sheeting and fill bag with dryer sheets and lava rocks.

Maybe wash it with the stuff the vet sells for getting animal waste odors out of the carpet.

Poor little house! It will thank you for the rehab.

[Sherry]

Nothing smells worse than a pig farm! We have them out here and the smell is much, much worse than cattle! Good luck!

[KathieB]

I am amused that the poll is now 11-1 in favor of rehabbing. Are we a bunch of enablers, or what?

[Roxxie]

GROSS! I would go with sticking it outside out of the rain of course for a while and then try the plastic bag trick with plain old charcoal brickettes. If that doesn't work......???? I would toss it but I am a neat and clean freak and the thought of the stink in my house makes me ill.

Janice I don't mean to make you feel bad but just the thought of that odor would not make it worth it for me. Hope you work it out!

[Alamom]

I am amused that the poll is now 11-1 in favor of rehabbing. Are we a bunch of enablers, or what?

HEY, I FIGURE IF THE SMELL GOT IN, IT CAN GET OUT! A DOLLHOUSE IS SO WORTH THE TROUBLE!

[MellyGabs]

This post made me laugh! I have sorta same problem on Heritage I am working on atm it smells so bad so what I did was primed the whole thing straight up white washed it all! Least now I can only smell paint and when its all done whole house is getting a low oil based clear paint on it on outside to to make sure the smell is gone! Too bad I don't have a picture of me when I first opened it it my bf said my expression was as if I walked through a herd of cattle grazing (if you get what I mean)!

[JaniceG]

Well, I bought a pair of rubber gloves, some enzyme odor stuff and a chemical odor neutralizer if the former doesn't work. I have baking soda and newspaper and charcoal for packing. The sun is shining. WHen I put my daughter down for a nap, I'm going to go tear the thing down and see what happens.

As for the poll, I knew the majority of you would say rehab, lol. I just wanted to know if anyone loved the smell of hogs...

[grazhina]

I used Febreeze on a very, very stinky wooden desk that had been stored in a musty basement for years. I had to spray it 2 times, but the smell went away and never came back.

[JaniceG]

The house broke down in about an hour. I took every piece apart and now it's sealed up in two black garbage bags with dryer sheets, baking soda and charcoal bricks. I guess I'll just leave it and see what happens. Thanks for all the tips.

[LLyn M.]

I did chuckle with this post...but I also remembered years ago I went fishing with a friend.I caught two beautiful trout,stuck them in a bucket of water and put them in my trunk.Being the teenager I was at the time-I forgot and left them in my car overnight.Imagine my horror as I drove to work the next morning-and it was in the heat of Summer!! I ran next door to the market and picked up baking soda..put it in my trunk(dumped the fish) and by 6pm the smell was GONE!!! Good luck!!

[JaniceG]

I've made some progress. The baking soda/charcoal/dryer sheets only helped a tiny bit (it's just been one night, I know), but when I sanded and spray painted a few pieces with white paint the smell went away. The pieces just smell slightly of paint. I had my DH smell it and he couldn't believe it. So it looks like it might be salvageable after all. I haven't done any of the major walls, so I'll have to see if it works on that before this becomes an official rehab - but this doll house wants to live, I just know it.

[MerriMagic]

Excellent, Janice!

If you can't weed out the smell, seal it in! Works for me!

[Roxxie]

I moved into a house one time that reeked of animal smells, cigarette smoke and who knows what else. We painted with some kind of sealer and it totally blocked the odors. I think we got it at Home Depot. The sealer stunk but after it dried a while it was fine. Good luck!

[havanaholly]

Kilz is supposed to work well at sealing odors. I think I'd close it up in a large plastic bag with a pan pf activatred charcoal (you can find it in with aquarium supplies at pet stores) for a week or two.

[Corwin]

This may seem odd, but got to a pet store get a liter box oder destroyer, we have one with baking soda and Zeolite, make sure it has zeolite baking soda is a plus.