Dead body odor

**Frank DiGi** · 08-23-2009, 12:12 AM

I had a call tonight from a apartment complex saying they had someone die in one of thier units and the outside hallway had a very bad odor. The man I was told by manager was dead for over four days before they found him. What a foul odor you never forget.....
I was wondering if anyone has ran into this before and what products work for you to get rid of the foul odor? We where only ask to take care of the outside hallway which 16 units use .The body was removed and they had someone on their way to clean up the unit the dead man was in.
I did use a product by the makers of Microban called Liqui- Zone and good deodorizer then I used Microban .. Seem to work good.

Frank

**Glides-R-Us 1-757-486-3532** · 08-23-2009, 12:18 AM

When I got calls like that I told the people to get rid of the carpet.

**Frank DiGi** · 08-23-2009, 12:23 AM

The carpet is outside the unit thats runs thru the whole building.. Its not inside the unit the man died in.. They are going to remove that carpet.. The call for us was just to remove the bad odor in the common hallway..

**rjfdube** · 08-23-2009, 12:26 AM

In most circumstances; when coroner picks up the body; all the crime/death area has to be condemed. That has a guideline in Florida. So look into what is required; BTW, try Sani-512 on all surfaces 2 ounces per gallon of water; Is great for killing odors!!

**Doug Byrd** · 08-23-2009, 12:33 AM

That would be an attention getting decal on your van "Dead body odor removal"

**Glides-R-Us 1-757-486-3532** · 08-23-2009, 12:35 AM

Originally Posted by DiGi

The carpet is outside the unit thats runs thru the whole building.. Its not inside the unit the man died in.. They are going to remove that carpet.. The call for us was just to remove the bad odor in the common hallway..

Usually if the odour is there, some of the source was there too and must be comdemed as well. If this was not the case, using a Thermogen will usually take care of any odour issues. That is what I used to use.

**TechnicRay** · 08-23-2009, 11:02 AM

If any of the victims fluids was on the walls or flooring it needs to be removed. You can also try an ozone machine and some fogging. If you dont have one, your local interlink should be able to rent you one.

**Blind Dr** · 08-23-2009, 11:31 AM

Frank, I have tried ozone and some chems, both failed. The best solution in my case was to replace the carpeting. Good Luck. Don't forget your PPE.

**Newman** · 08-23-2009, 03:03 PM

In the late '80s I was The Maintenance Supervisor of an Apartment Complex.

One very hot August day, A resident, who happened to be an ex cop, called in the death odor in his hallway. I went to investigate with one of my assistants. The smell was coming from the unit of one of my very elderly residents. She used to call in fake work orders every other week to get my to come over, have a cup of coffee, and share her homemade cranberry bread.

We knocked on the door - no one answered. The odor was overwhelming when we opened the door. We slowly entered the unit, with my helper several paced behind. Needless to say, she had passed on 2 days earlier. The AC was not on and the temp was in the mid 90's.

We ended up hiring a company to remove all of the carpet, seal the concrete, and deodorize.

Sorry DiGi, I am not much help for your issue but the question brought me back to the scene.

As for me and my company, crime scene cleanup is best done by others.

**Dr Cleaning** · 08-26-2009, 08:18 PM

Cello makes a product called Liminate-o works really well. But I would say unless thier was leakage in the hall way the smell is still coming from the apt. I would check the apt and flood it with a very good disinfectant and extract out after a 1/2 hour. Please note the oder may also be in the walls as well as the ceilling then I would use and ozon generator for a few days.
Good Luck
Neil
www.doctorcleaning.com

**JStafford** · 08-26-2009, 08:51 PM

I would use a match.

**Richard Baldwin** · 08-26-2009, 09:25 PM

Unsmoke makes their ultimate dead body product called "last resort". I have some here and on the bottle it says for dead body odor you should mix it with chlorine bleach and apply to affected areas after cleaning. Use respiratory and hand protection and keep other people out of the area for a while after spraying. Problem with that is you dont want to spray bleach on the carpet. You may have to either replace a section of the hallway carpets with clean/seal underneath, or if they dont want to pay for that, they will just have to wait until it eventually goes away, just like skunk.

**Frank DiGi** · 08-26-2009, 11:14 PM

Thanks guys ..We did use the Unsmoke product and was only ask to do the hallway that runs thru the building. The odor was pretty much gone after. The complex same night did have company I referred does that type of clean up come in to remove everything in the apartment carpet ,bed ect. They clean everything up .
I just don't understand why it took 4 days of tenants saying to the leasing office something smells bad and they waited till it was so bad to call the police in to check the apartment.. 90 plus days and the ac was off in the unit the guy died in..

**mad57** · 08-27-2009, 03:20 AM

Hey frank where in nj was this...... the motels/apts along the pike?? man im glad they called you

**RC Eden Carpet Cleaning** · 08-27-2009, 03:30 AM

It's a smell you'll never forget isn't it! Never forget the first time you smell it either.

Sounds like the questions already been answered otherwise i'd ad input.

**Lb21** · 08-27-2009, 04:25 AM

I know the last two times I did a job one in a house, and once in a vehicle. The only way is to remove the carpet, and the product that was used was Micro-ban, and Citrus 2 which pretty much kills everything. That’s after we removed the water bed the person was found in.

**leofry** · 08-27-2009, 10:36 AM

anyone do any CTS decon cleaning(crime & truma) I would like to know more about this...I almost hate to pay for training on something I may only use once.....

**Frank DiGi** · 08-28-2009, 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by mad57

Hey frank where in nj was this...... the motels/apts along the pike?? man im glad they called you

Hi Mike! Was off the White Horse Pike near Stratford NJ..
Yea I was happy too till I open the hall door...LOL
Account I had for 8 years... Good people to deal with....
Frank

**Frank DiGi** · 08-28-2009, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by RC Eden Carpet Cleaning

It's a smell you'll never forget isn't it! Never forget the first time you smell it either.

Sounds like the questions already been answered otherwise i'd ad input.

Hey Rich you know what I am talking about Im sure you smelled a lot over the years... I could tell it from any other odor out there.. Theres a body and its been there for awhile...

**LisaWagner** · 08-28-2009, 11:40 PM

Odorox machine using Hydroxyl instead of Ozone (you can work in the room while you use it - which you cannot with ozone) - this machine has been being field-tested by Piranha Members in trauma cleanup, and fire restoration, and with amazing success.

I'm testing it on rugs - pet urine odor in tufted rugs, and the India bad smelling latex rugs.

Lisa

www.TheRugChick.com