There's a moose loose in the hoose

[ErrolFlynn]

I had a car in storage. I didn't notice anything when getting it ready to be registered, but when I turned the heater on the rubbish and stink that blew from the vents was amazing. Shocking. I didn't have time to do anything about it as I had to use the car. An interstate drive in the middle of winter with the heater off and the windows open (to prevent the windscreen from misting up) was one of the worst driving experiences I've ever had.

[ErrolFlynn]

I’d like to provide a follow-up. I’m sold on stainless steel wool.

This was a unit in a block of units. There were two areas of concern.

There was evidence of them found adjacent to a gap between the (brick) wall and kitchen cabinets. Mostly dark stains/smudges on the skirting and wall. Either they had set up home under the kitchen cabinets or there was access to that area as a transport corridor for them to the outside (maybe via a gap in the floor by the drain). Not sure as I didn’t pull any kitchen cupboards apart.

They could have walked under the front door as the gap was wide enough at one time. They might have also entered through a damaged window that is now fixed. No idea. Maybe both. Maybe neither.

However, they managed to get inside they had been there for some time.

The fix:
I plugged the gap between the kitchen cabinets and wall, from floor to bench top with a good amount of stainless steel wool (rammed it in), then applied liberal amounts of sealant to keep it in place. The sealant could be smoothed off quite well with a trowel. It was white and matched the cupboards.

If they had been using the space under the kitchen cabinets as a walk-through, they no longer had access to the interior of the house and may have gone elsewhere. If it was their home, they starved to death. Either way, the sealant kept the smell away. It’ll be an interesting sight when the kitchen goes through a reno to see what’s under there.

There was a stink in one of the bedrooms. There’s a built-in wardrobe there. I cut a good-sized hole in the floor of the wardrobe (about 300mm sq) at one end and found a dead mouse. I cleaned and vacuumed the area, refitted the section I’d cut out, sealed and painted it. The type of material and amount of stuff they drag in to make a nest is quite amazing.

Every time I went into the unit last year the smell was there. Sometimes strong. Sometimes not so much. Well, there is now no smell at all.