I just have to add my own "bad smell" problem. We've had trouble with mice in the past, as we live in the country (n. Wis.) In fact, one time we had a mouse make its home in a drawer filled with rags - UGH! Thankfully, I could just throw the rags out. But my funny story has nothing to do with mice: One holiday, complete with dear DIL with a sensitive nose, a horrendous smell filled our house, and I COULD NOT locate it! It seemed strongest in the attached garage, but couldn't find anything dead or rotting to be causing the odor. Daughter-in-law tried to eat her meal with her shirt collar over her nose. Asked her husband (our son) if he had brushed his teeth that morning...? taken a shower...? then looked at US! very uncomfortable. Finally after everyone left (probably around 15 of us), we located the problem! Hubby's motorcycle battery (parked in the attached garage) had gone bad! I had no idea it could smell that bad. A lesson learned.

You said there was a cabinet in your livingroom where you could smell the mouse as well? Is there anyway that you can pull that cabinet out to check behind it? Remember where there is one there is usually a ten. Just something that Gramma use to tell me. This year a sewer pipe broke and for the first time living in this house I have had to deal with mice. YEA me :shock: If you use Decon put out a bucket of water somewhere. It makes them extremely thirsty and they will drown themselves. This way you don't have to worry about finding them in the walls. But I do sympathize because growing up I lived in a huge old house and mice and rats would come in during the winter months because of the root cellar and the neighbors who didn't believe in taking their garbage to the curb. YUK! Good Luck Rachel

Check the attic above the sewing room. Once had an air conditioner repair person come into the house and go up to the attic and found a huge dead rat in a trap my DH had set earlier and then forgotten! Attic smells can migrate to other rooms. Luckily for us, when this rat got in the trap there was no smell for some reason . ????

Yuk! Good luck.

Okay, here is my little mouse story. DH was getting the lawn mower out for the first grass cutting of the year, and you guessed it. As soon as he started it, a mouse ran out from under the mower like a streak of white lightening. But unforturnately babies didn't make it. I came home to DH cleaning out the mower with little white fluffs from the nest blowing in the wind. Glad I wasn't home to witness it. CHeryl

Have you looked outside your sewing room carefully on the outside of your house? We discovered a hole in the outside corner of our house where a squirrel had created an opening and was stashing kiwifruit from our vines. The smell of the rotting fruit was really moldy and awful.

My sewing room looks very romantic now, candles everywhere. LOL
Smell is still there!
I'm off to get my vicks. I even cooked fish for dinner.
Roni

Okay!! I have to tell my story!! We live out on the prairie. One hot summer I got into my car, turned on the air conditioner, and heard a clunck, clunck. I thought my air conditioner was broken!! I told my husband about it. The next day when he went to check it out..it was too late ( :shock: the smell!!). You guessed it, the mouse is what made the clunck, clunck sound in the air conditioning!!

Ooooh, I know how you feel with that smell. We had it happen to us once years ago, only in the kitchen instead. The smell was absolutely horrible, especially when we would cook. We had glue traps and had caught several baby "mice" but no momma. One weekend Dh and I totally stripped out the kitchen, scrubbed the cabinets, etc, but the smell was still there and just as strong. As a last resort we pulled out the stove. The smell hit like a ton of bricks, but we still could not see anything at all Nothing under or behind the stove. As a last resort RJ pulled the back panel off the stove and thats when we found it - a HUGE DEAD RAT!!! Apparently those babies weren't feild mice, lol. The momma rat had apparently climbed through an opening on the back of the stove and electricuted itself in the wires. YUCK!!!! We cleaned it out but it still took weeks to totally get rid of the smell.

Roni Make should get a cat or call orkin I use them and have for 20 years work great and they can tell you what the smell is and if it is a mice

Just to make it clear, my house is a nice house. We own our own home, it is on Candlewood Lake, it isn't a mansion, but it isn't a falling down shack either.
It smells all the time, so it isn't my machine. I can also smell it in the corner cupboard of the living room, which is right next to my sewing room.
We had mice last spring, DH put out something to make them leave, guess we need to do it again. I see no signs of them, just the smell.
I got out my Vicks, works like a charm, plus keeps my nose and sinuses clear. I think my brain is clearer now too!
Gee, maybe Vicks helps you be more creative. Who would have thought.
I am working on a quilt that uses the colors on the vicks jar..... ( just worked out that way).
Hmmmmmm, what to call this quilt.
Thanks for the suggestions. Supposed to be 50 today, I might open a few windows.
Roni

if you read my"mouse saga" under how to get your sewing room cleaned in a hurry you know there isn't always a ending that is comfortable to live with. Our mouse must have gone back to his/her home and family because we have no more scritching and scratching in strange places and no evidence of critters -- even food left out on purpose to see if we could attrack the little devil has proved to no avail. My only hope it is now home and happy and will have no more need to visit me.

Re: the smell though-- its not a great alternative but if all else fails a few moth balls spread around will kill almost any smell especially that musty dead animal smell. In a former home which was truly mouse infested, we spread them around everywhere and then went away for a long weekend. Dh with a strong nose and a loving spirit went back in first and swept them all up and got rid of them then aired out the house. Later (maybe the next day - this was long ago when our forty year old children were young )- the rest of us went back in and the smells were all gone and the home was livable again

I vowed then and there that I would work tooth and nail so our family would never have to live in those conditions again and fortunately dh and I were able to keep that promise to ourselves and our children. Is it any wonder I freak out major big time if there is a rodent in my house?

Any way good luck and hope you don't have to resort to mothballs since then they have found out they are not that good for us but ding blast it is better than that dead mouse smell anyday!!!!

Ann hoping you find the source of your smell quickly

If it is a mouse in the wall, burn a candle while you are in there. It will fade in a couple of days.

Better than when I found turds on my cutting table, on my sewing machine table... ugh!!

DH put traps in my room and the rest of the basement. If I wanted to go down, I'd make ds go first and check the traps to make sure they were empty before I'd go down there.

I really put my foot down and made dh patch ANY hole that was possible for them to come in. ugh! I don't like them!!!

I hope your room is better soon!

Joyce

Roni, if it is a mouse and you don't want to tear the walls apart, it will eventually go away. In the meantime, you can always wear a surgical mask and put Vicks under the nose. Your nose will get used to it after a while and you won't even smell it.
Judy in AZ

RoniG8 wrote:
Does it smell all the time??? :shock: Or only when you sew??? My old sewing machine started to smell like a dead cat wile I was sewing on it...and only when I was sewing on it...took it apart..burned wires inside ..Bad connection!!...but boyfriend fixed connection and now it smells like a rose (when daughter sewing on it..I gave it to her )
But good luck finding out what smells!!! (did the cat poop in your sewingroom??? or maybe kids misplaced some food????) Hmmmm....keep us posted...we want you to have a pleasant time while sewing