So one of our remodel projects contains a chest freezer in the basement. The freezer was full of food. The house has been vacant for two years. This is a bad situation.
Pretty much impossible to fit up the stairs without standing on end. I called a septic pumper, and he was able to pump most of liquids (an HVAC guy ran from the basement and blew his lunch while this was going on), but there are still plastic bags floating around in a pool of juice.
So now I have to get the bags and stuff out of there somehow.
I’m thinking a carbon filter face mask, elbow length rubber gloves, and going for it.
Does anyone have any better ideas? Like maybe dumping a bunch of borax in there? Any super duper scent killing strategies?
Replies
Wow. Don't know if you are in an urban area, but if so see if you can locate a crime scene cleaning outfit.
We have a servicemaster franchise. That's not a bad idea.
Go rent the movie Sunshine Cleaning.
Servpro = done
Will the freezer work?
That's a thought--start the freezer! I'll try plugging it in.
kitty litter
If the freezer doesn't work, you could buy dry ice, load it in the freezer (don't put it in the liquid) close the freezer, and you will soon have a freezer full of frozen sludge
John Svenson, builder, remodeler, NE Ohio
hey - good idee!
Hey- if you stir frequently while freezing, you got a big ol' slushie, and you can just scoop it out.Steve
I had a buddy who had a sewage backup in a commercial building. I showed up just to help him evaluate how bad it was. Had to throw out everything I was wearing just from the absorbed stench... Servpro took care of it. Whatever they charged, it wasn't enough.
PaulB
http://www.makeabettertomorrow.com
http://www.finecontracting.com
SCUBA gear???
I like the plug it in idea...
Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
embrace the suck
Someone told me a couple bags of concrete and lime should do the job.
I swear it's second hand information.....
It's quite possible that there's some lethal bacteria growing in that mess. Make sure that you don't have any open cuts if you're in contact with any of it, and that you cover all exposed skin completely with rubber based protective clothing.
I still like the suggestion of kitty litter - lots of it - maybe 50 lb or more, dumped in and left to sit for a day or two. Then duct tape the freezer shut, run some stretch wrap over that, and haul it out of there while you can. Biggest problem you're going to have is finding out how to dispose of the freezer. I feel sorry for anyone who opens that thing up.
50 pounds of kitty litter is not a lot of volume, considering it's a chest freezer.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
"Biggest problem you're going to have is finding out how to dispose of the freezer. "
Leave it on the side of the road with a sign, "Free to a good home". Where I live, the scrap metal scavengers will grab it within a hour.
With pre-existing "frozen food" it will be stolen right away.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Better yet, leave a sign on it saying $25.00That way it will go to someone who deserves it when they steal it at night.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Funny, thats how I get rid of stuff I just don't want.
Just had a similar situ in a house that had the water shut off in '99 and unlived in for a loooong time.
Cracked open the fridge door that was packed full and could see a little light peep on as I shut it quick.
Duct taped it shut and dragged it out to where the backhoe could hoist it into the dumpster and smash it down.
Good riddance to that caper.
Our local waste management district has a recycling center where they take old appliances for a small fee. Sometimes the attendant can be kind of crabby---a little revenge may be in order.
Update: I tried Servicemaster, and no they don't do such a thing nor do they know who would. Mentioned it to our 20 year old laborer and he agreed to clean it out and get it out of the basement for a hundred bucks cash. I loaned him my organic vapor mask. I guess when you're young a hundred bucks seems like a lot of money.
when your young it is a lot of money, now not so much
if he take it to the landfill, give him 200
Costs me only 30 to put it in the dumpster.
yea but then you have to smell it till they pick up
Ain't gonna smell too bad from the office. That's the beauty of the project management role:-)
Does the freezer work?
Plugging it in will freeze the stuff and seerely limit how much off gassing it is doing.
I had a similar, but not as bad. Family of renters went home to Mexido for the holidays for 2-3 weeks and the power got shut off while they were gone. Frozen pipes from no heat meant mch damges for yours truly to fix on insurance claim.
Went in and once the heat was back on, there was juice stain running down the face of the freezer door ...
So I let it all freeze again to haul that to the dump.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
The first thing I would do is give it a good spray down with a diluted bleach solution. That should wipe out most of what ever might be alive in there. Naturally, wear skin and eye protection and plenty of ventilation.
I'd go with some ratcheting tie straps to keep it shut, unless the lid seal is shot. Does the top have a lock? That should keep it buttoned up while you haul it out. Put the 20 year old on the bottom of the stairs, and you man the uphill side... But I still think freezing the contents down is the most humane solution. Even an org vapor/ammonia cartridge will bog down pretty quick if you're sticking your head in there! If the compressor is shot, you can get a cooler full of dry ice and throw it in. Give it 4 - 6 hours, and it should firm up a lot of the goo...-t
I ain't giving him a hundred bucks if I gotta take the heavy side! No, I show up on Monday and if the freezer is in the dumpster, he gets his Benjie.
When it happens it would be interesting to know what process he used to do all this.
I've seen seemingly insurmountable situations turned quickly with a slick trick or original ideas.
Sounds good to me. If he's smart, he'll find some friends to do it for $40...But if you think the upstairs guy on a two-man moving crew has the heavy part then you're doing it wrong. The upstairs guy steers, the downstairs guy lifts... ...and occasionally looks up to wipe the festering goo that's dripping down his face and chest and into his shirt... When I was youngster working at the moving company, we'd tie off pianos, freezers, etc.. to the handtruck and then extend webbing off the handtruck handle for the upstairs guy. In those cases, the upstairs guy had less steering control but could take more of the weight without busting his back. Of course, our whole town was built on a hillside in the late 1800's (think of SF, but only 10k people) so everyone had a winding narrow set of 20+ stairs leading to a 28" doorway! There were workdays where I easily had to cover more than 3000 stairsteps. I lost track well over 5k on one particularly bad move. All boxes, four exterior flights (down concrete steps, up three flights on the house side) with a regular flight of indoor steps followed by a "vertigo" flight of open attic steps. I almost started crying when we saw the job site! The old lady had 40 years of books and magazines that had to go to storage. The house side steps were wood and decaying, and the landlord wouldn't allow handtrucks. My thighs ballooned up like hot dogs before the day was out. Still a nice memory though. 70+ year old lady, and she gave each of us a $20 tip. Only one I ever got from a customer in two years of that... and she was on a fixed income...-t
Pour fifteen gallons of bleach in the freezer and come back in two days.
whenever I have a job I don;t want to do, I hire someone else to do it for me.
I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. Matt Garcia
I really like the 'freeze it' idea. If you use kitty litter, get the stuff called "feline pine." The little pellert break down into sawdust as it absorbs, and also has some pretty good odor-absorbing abilities. Still, I hate to see a good freezer go to waste.
So ... how much time do you have? The weather is still warm; set it outside in the shade, open it up, and insects will do the rest. Bacteria will get what remains. Then, between clorox and sunshine, you should be good to go.
Inside the house, the same applies .... try to let the place get plenty of fresh air, and let nature dispose of the odor. After a few days the odor ought to start tapering off. Then get a hose and a sprayer. Hose everything you can get to with lye (ask a commercial cleaning house for 'smokehouse cleaner'), rinse, spray with dilute chlorine, rinse, spray with an ammonia solution (called "quat') If you see foam, you missed some of the bleach; rinse and re-apply the quat. Let the quat stay there. Then dry the place thoroughly.
Of course, with Halloween coming up, you might just stuff a clothed store mannequin in it, then drop it off behind some market. The crime scene guys will be there as soon as someone finds the "body" :D
The deed is done. His only comment was "that sucked". He said it seemed like a lot of old venison. Surprisingly, the house didn't smell this morning.
What'd he do? Looks like he sawed it in half.
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Edited 10/5/2009 8:15 pm ET by rez
More like thirds. Had to to get it out.