There used to be a lot of rats in my attic, at least from time to time
over the years. I'd set out rat traps to control them and they've been
eliminated, at least for the time being (none for over 6 months).
Denying them entry will have to wait for some other stuff to happen here
(foundation work, etc.) but the traps have made my house discouraging to
them, and they aren't willing to try anymore.

My roof was completely replaced in November and I spent a few weeks
completely cleaning out the attic. After the tearoff, the mess up there
was huge and daunting, but I buckled down and cleaned the attic as never
before, ultimately vacuuming out every rat turd I could find, as well as
removing all the debris from the roof job.

Yesterday, there was an unfortunate accident. A workman was trying to
clear a bath tub drain clog with a waterhose-powered device that forces
water down the drain in hopes of clearing the drain. The water backed up
the roof vent, which is not uncommon. Unfortunately, the vent had a hole
the size of a dime in the attic and much water (several gallons,
evidently) sprayed over an area of about 100 square feet, most of it
dripping (or pouring) through the ceiling. Luckily, summer starts
tomorrow and the weather here is warm and dry, and with a big fan in the
attic, the lath and plaster ceiling/attic-floor barrier between the
upstairs and the attic appears almost dry already, some 15 hours after
the "accident." My problem at the moment is the smell, and it's filling
the house. The water on the lath and plaster has apparently reactivated
impregnated rat urine. I figured that out this morning after enduring
the smell all night.

I figure the smell will subside as the ceiling truly dries, but am
fearful it will not. Can I get any hints or suggestions? Maybe an
alcohol-thinned coating of shellac brushed on the lath? That's all I can
think of but there may be better ways to deal with it. Or will that
smell go away when things really dry out? Maybe it never really was not
there, but it was just subtle enough that I learned to ignore it.
There's going to be a mini heat wave here and I think the ceiling will
be dry by the weekend. Thanks for any ideas.

Dan

PS. I'm really glad I bothered to install 4 large gable vents in my
otherwise vent-free attic before I had the house re-roofed (14" x 24").
Those, in addition to the ridge vent they put in, has given the attic
considerable ventilation, and will really help dry things out over the
next hours/days. I hope it's windy.

Dan

"Dan_Musicant" wrote in message

I figure the smell will subside as the ceiling truly dries, but am
fearful it will not. Can I get any hints or suggestions? Maybe an
alcohol-thinned coating of shellac brushed on the lath? That's all I can
think of but there may be better ways to deal with it. Or will that
smell go away when things really dry out?

Yuckkk! Shellac is supposed to be a good barrier for odors. I'd get it
reasonably dry and put a coat or two on. The plaster may be harder to do,
but a coat or two of shellac based primer inside may do it. Check out
Zinnser and Kilz.

Even if it dries out, a long rainy period may bring it back. I'd seal it
up.

Dan_Musicant wrote:
There used to be a lot of rats in my attic, at least from time to time
over the years. I'd set out rat traps to control them and they've been
eliminated, at least for the time being (none for over 6 months).
Denying them entry will have to wait for some other stuff to happen here
(foundation work, etc.) but the traps have made my house discouraging to
them, and they aren't willing to try anymore.

My roof was completely replaced in November and I spent a few weeks
completely cleaning out the attic. After the tearoff, the mess up there
was huge and daunting, but I buckled down and cleaned the attic as never
before, ultimately vacuuming out every rat turd I could find, as well as
removing all the debris from the roof job.

Yesterday, there was an unfortunate accident. A workman was trying to
clear a bath tub drain clog with a waterhose-powered device that forces
water down the drain in hopes of clearing the drain. The water backed up
the roof vent, which is not uncommon. Unfortunately, the vent had a hole
the size of a dime in the attic and much water (several gallons,
evidently) sprayed over an area of about 100 square feet, most of it
dripping (or pouring) through the ceiling. Luckily, summer starts
tomorrow and the weather here is warm and dry, and with a big fan in the
attic, the lath and plaster ceiling/attic-floor barrier between the
upstairs and the attic appears almost dry already, some 15 hours after
the "accident." My problem at the moment is the smell, and it's filling
the house. The water on the lath and plaster has apparently reactivated
impregnated rat urine. I figured that out this morning after enduring
the smell all night.

I figure the smell will subside as the ceiling truly dries, but am
fearful it will not. Can I get any hints or suggestions? Maybe an
alcohol-thinned coating of shellac brushed on the lath? That's all I can
think of but there may be better ways to deal with it. Or will that
smell go away when things really dry out? Maybe it never really was not
there, but it was just subtle enough that I learned to ignore it.
There's going to be a mini heat wave here and I think the ceiling will
be dry by the weekend. Thanks for any ideas.

Dan
Ewwww - Sorry.

Google cat urine clean-up. you may get some tips. Smell may never go
away, especially when high humidity. Shellac will help after
neutralization to seal up everything. Apply liberally and maybe multiple
coats. It dries fast. Bins is also a shellac based primer, regular
shellac may be preferable, not sure. Not sure on best neutralizer but
pet store may have something (Natures miracle? or am I getting
confused). Also carpet cleaners may have a pet stain cleaner. You do not
want a scent to cover the scent, you want something with enzymes to kill
the smell.

Or, burn the house down.

Yick - Good luck

Inviato da X-Privat.Org - Registrazione gratuita http://www.x-privat.org/join.php

On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 15:52:18 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:

:
:"Dan_Musicant" wrote in message
:
: I figure the smell will subside as the ceiling truly dries, but am
: fearful it will not. Can I get any hints or suggestions? Maybe an
: alcohol-thinned coating of shellac brushed on the lath? That's all I can
: think of but there may be better ways to deal with it. Or will that
: smell go away when things really dry out?
:
:Yuckkk! Shellac is supposed to be a good barrier for odors. I'd get it
:reasonably dry and put a coat or two on. The plaster may be harder to do,
:but a coat or two of shellac based primer inside may do it. Check out
:Zinnser and Kilz.
:
:Even if it dries out, a long rainy period may bring it back. I'd seal it
:up.
:

Thanks. I can easily access all (or very nearly all) of the lath and
plaster that was wet yesterday in that accident, and I can do these
things with that. But I don't know that I can do these things to the
entire attic. I did manage to vacuum the entire attic and clean it out
almost entirely by virtue of a couple of things:

1. A long custom-made rake.

2. A shop vac with attachments including two extenders and lieing on a
board placed over the floor joists in the attic. With those, I could
vacuum even the corners and right up to the blocking at the soffits.

Outside of some crazy kind of spraying, I don't have a chance of getting
anything on the wood at those extreme edges of the attic. Yes, it stinks
up there, but mostly I don't notice it except last night - it was pretty
bad!

Ventilate and dry attic, sprasy everything effected with Kilz, it will
seal in the odor you CANT clean it up.

This is akin to fire restoration to elminate odor.

seal both sides of plaster with kilz once its completely dry

On 20 Jun 2006 10:25:47 -0700, "BobK207" wrote:


an-
:
:I would try to kill / neutralize the smell rather than covering it up.
: That being said my initial try would be a bleach water mix about 1
int to a gallon. I have used this with success before but sometimes
:requires repeat apllications.
:
:I did a qucik search & found a
:
:http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...ed_Lumber.html
:
:to save everyone time, suggestions of bleach & vnegar (& the typical
:"you'll never get it out) the last post on the page was from a guy who
:rehabs homes & he uses
:
:OdorXit Concentrate.
:
:http://www.odorxit.com/Gen.htm?gclid...FRr7SAodQyiEKA
:
:
:I've never heard of or used the stuff.
:
:If possible I would try to mount a couple cheapo box fans (in the attic
:blowing outward) right up against the gable vents. Open the attic
:access & you'll get god ventilation of the attic. It will help dry the
:attic quicker
:
:cheers
:Bob
Thanks, Bob. Good idea about the fans, but I caught one little piece of
luck in this "disaster," and that was the weather. It's been less than
24 hours and things in the attic seem virtually dry. I'll leave the
honkin' 20" box fan running until I go to bed tonight, though, just for
good measure. I don't want to hear it again overnight, and I hope (and
think) the smell won't be noticeable by then (in my bedroom, anyway).

I think that smell must have been in the attic all this time but pouring
water in there REALLY brought it out in a BIG WAY!

I went to those links you have above and read them. Will see how things
seem by this weekend, and maybe do some stuff to deodorize the attic if
at all feasible if it seems to be an issue. I think it is but don't know
how practical it is to try to do anything about it. The attic is really
big (~20' x 40') and a lot of it is difficult to access where the
headroom gets to be less than a foot (near the walls). If it's just a
matter of deordorizing the portion that got wet, that IS doable.

Dan

"BobK207" writes:
Dan_Musicant wrote:
The water on the lath and plaster has apparently reactivated
impregnated rat urine.
I would try to kill / neutralize the smell rather than covering it up.
That being said my initial try would be a bleach water mix about 1
pint to a gallon.

One thing to think about, is that bleach can react with ammonia to
make a poisonous gas:
http://www.google.com/search?q=ammonia+bleach+reaction

We've used odo-ban to remove bad odors. It also kills mold, mildew,
viruses, etc. it's a little perfumey, but fades with time.

Be careful, and use lots of ventilation.

--
May no harm befall you,
flip
Ich habe keine Ahnung was das bedeutet, oder vielleicht doch?
In my email replace SeeEmmYou.EeeDeeYou with CMU.EDU

On 20 Jun 2006 12:01:25 -0700, "
wrote:

:Ventilate and dry attic, sprasy everything effected with Kilz, it will
:seal in the odor you CANT clean it up.
:
:This is akin to fire restoration to elminate odor.
:
:seal both sides of plaster with kilz once its completely dry
What kind of Kilz are you talking about? There's several kinds. Thanks.

On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 15:31:44 GMT, Dan_Musicant
wrote:

There used to be a lot of rats in my attic, at least from time to time
over the years. I'd set out rat traps to control them and they've been
eliminated, at least for the time being (none for over 6 months).
Denying them entry will have to wait for some other stuff to happen here
(foundation work, etc.) but the traps have made my house discouraging to
them, and they aren't willing to try anymore.

My roof was completely replaced in November and I spent a few weeks
completely cleaning out the attic. After the tearoff, the mess up there
was huge and daunting, but I buckled down and cleaned the attic as never
before, ultimately vacuuming out every rat turd I could find, as well as
removing all the debris from the roof job.

Yesterday, there was an unfortunate accident. A workman was trying to
clear a bath tub drain clog with a waterhose-powered device that forces
water down the drain in hopes of clearing the drain. The water backed up
the roof vent, which is not uncommon. Unfortunately, the vent had a hole
the size of a dime in the attic and much water (several gallons,
evidently) sprayed over an area of about 100 square feet, most of it
dripping (or pouring) through the ceiling. Luckily, summer starts
tomorrow and the weather here is warm and dry, and with a big fan in the
attic, the lath and plaster ceiling/attic-floor barrier between the
upstairs and the attic appears almost dry already, some 15 hours after
the "accident." My problem at the moment is the smell, and it's filling
the house. The water on the lath and plaster has apparently reactivated
impregnated rat urine. I figured that out this morning after enduring
the smell all night.

I figure the smell will subside as the ceiling truly dries, but am
fearful it will not. Can I get any hints or suggestions? Maybe an
alcohol-thinned coating of shellac brushed on the lath? That's all I can
think of but there may be better ways to deal with it. Or will that
smell go away when things really dry out? Maybe it never really was not
there, but it was just subtle enough that I learned to ignore it.
There's going to be a mini heat wave here and I think the ceiling will
be dry by the weekend. Thanks for any ideas.

Dan

There is a good chance it's not rat urine at all, but the hole in the
vent pipe allowing the sewer gas in the attic. Repair that hole ASAP.
Sewer gas can be flammable and even explosive so you do not want it
going in the attic.

URINE URINE URINE

After drying out and turning off the fan, the smell was mostly gone. It
wasn't something I noticed during the night, anyway. Yes, it's likely to
reactivate some in humid/rainy weather. I will look into sealing or
neutralizing the wood or both.

Dan

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 00:07:53 -0500, ---------------@---------------
wrote:

:
:There is a good chance it's not rat urine at all, but the hole in the
:vent pipe allowing the sewer gas in the attic. Repair that hole ASAP.
:Sewer gas can be flammable and even explosive so you do not want it
:going in the attic.

Hmm. Well, it will be at least a couple weeks before the pipe can be
replaced, looks like. I will duct tape the holes. There's a couple of
them about 2 inches apart. A bit of duct tape will stop gases from
getting into the attic for the time being, at least through the holes I
have seen. Thanks!