Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, it is all tile or hardwood floors, no carpet. I've been through that with houses before, cats and carpets with owners not paying attention is not a good thing.

After the windows being open since yesterday, it smelled much better. I'll close things up again and buy the blacklight if it still has an odor.

I think the coffee cans are a good idea. Friends of mine had good luck with car odors and coffee grounds additionally roasted in a pan and then left inside the car. It was a tip from a mortuary. Should be easy to buy some crap folgers and roast a couple pans to the point of smoke and leave them in there, right on the stove.

G

Plugged plumbing vent.
BTW, the coffee idea works great! I use it on equipment that has been used in dairy or hog operations after washing them out. Another good one is OdoBan. It'll knock the stank of about anything.

You can also rent a commercial ozone generator/deodorizer from most equipment-rental places.

Okay.. I'm gonna think about this like an engineer. First segment the problem. Separate areas of the house with plastic sheeting. Open the windows for a few days then close it up.

Which section stinks? Repeat with smaller areas?

Like the black light idea, bit that's only gonna identify animal/human waste.

OMG. How can one raise a child in that mess?

All good advice, especially the coffee. That will knock the stench out of most anything.

One more thing...be mindful of hidden water leaks. I kept smelling a faint urine smell in our kitchen which turned out to be a leaking dish washer line. The urine smell was (according to the repair man) a urea based glue breaking down in the underfloor. He said that most people don't smell it or just identify it as "funk" but evidently I am part blood hound...

angela

I've thought about that a fair bit. If I didn't work for an agency that deals with these kids every day and know the system reasonably well, I would turn her in to child services. As it is, I see kids that have come from far worse daily and the social work system is so over burdened that nothing would really be done.

I must confess that I have not read all the posts so I may be repeating a suggestion. Previous tenants moved out and new tenants just moved in but there was a gap of about a month when nobody was in the condo. For some reason when the condo is vacant the stink increases in the kitchen area.

Isolated to the kitchen sink area. Possibly the garburator? Do you have a garburator?
Apparently there is a cross pipe under the sink that can get contaminated when not in use. We put baking soda down the drains after running hot water through and let it sit.
The open box of baking soda can be left open in the sink area.

Seems better now we have new tenants....:)

I found the source of the stank at one of my properties today. One of my tenants passed away in his apartment about a week ago. Spent six hours with cops, emts and the m.e. Now to take care of the biohazard and gut the apartment.

Is this a multi tenant building? That's quite a long time. Best of luck.

Mine ended up being urine on the walls. Found with the black light. Washed the walls with vinegar and water and it turned out great.

I had a similar smell in my basement office. I looked everywhere

1) It turned out to be a dry trap in the shower. The basement bathroom is the next room over.
I thought the cat was peeing in my office.

WE also had what looked like fruit flies.

To me when those flies show up, thats now an immediate sign that there is a dry trap somewhere (sink, flor drain shower etc?)

2) My second guess is mice behind the walls (unless the carpets reek of something deposited directly on them)

Possibly it could be the drains. In our condo kitchen l leave an open box of baking soda next to the sink while the condo was vacant. I also ran hot water down the sink and then sprinkled a liberal amount of baking soda in the sink drain and let it sit.

It's amazing how much a dead body can leak.
There are companies that specialize in that sort of clean-up. Not cheap tho.

I bought a used washer and dryer post divorce. The dryer had a rodent nest under it. Check for hidden rodents nests, since they pee/poop in them.

This time the guy died on the bed, so it isn't that bad. The other two times, the tenants passed away on the floor. The cleanup guys had to remove the floor.

Sounds like alot of great advice (black light for cat urine is a go to). If it's the sink area look for a "studor" air admittance valve if there's no easily located connection to vent. AAV's are a mechanical vent and do fail which would release sewer gas. You'll find them typically in islands or apartment kitchens.

Good luck btw, landlords are not the easiest thing to be

Remind me never to rent a place from you, sounds like a pattern :-)

I have an ozone generator from my real estate days. Works great to kill the smell. It's always best if you can find the source.