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skunk odor from under a slab

hmj | Posted in General Discussion on September 14, 2007 03:49am

I was called a few months ago to attempt to remedy what was thought to be dead mouse in wall cavity. Mouse it was not. It appears that skunk got way under a slab and sprayed. The house is a end of row townhouse, the side with the common wall is on a slab, the other side is a basment- block walls and poured slab.

Any recomendations for an odor neutralizer (not a deodorant that would add a smell to a smell) that I can drill holes around the sill plate and inject- it is too far under the house to access from the outside.

Also, smell started right after radon remediation was installed.

THanks in advance.

JohhnyM

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  1. User avater
    IMERC | Sep 14, 2007 03:51am | #1

    Pet's Mart carries a nutralizer that will work..

    white jug with a picture of a skunk on it...

    DIICR the name of the stuff...

    Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

    WOW!!! What a Ride!
    Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

  2. Huntdoctor | Sep 14, 2007 05:26am | #2

    We have used smoke to rid pets of skunk odor. We smoked them with a bee smoker and newspaper. The indians and many hunters use smoke to eliminate human odor. If there is a way to pump smoke into the area it would help eliminate the odor.

    Hope this helps,

    Huntdoctor

  3. alwaysoverbudget | Sep 14, 2007 05:28am | #3

    got a jack hammer!!! remove floor.

    i have been screwing around with skunks since early spring,first under house,then the dog got it twice,then we had new mom and her 5 youg uns move in the neighbor hood.

    i'd shut the radon fan off for a while ,see if that helps.then i think it's a time fixes everything game.and it might be a while.

    as far as shooting a neturlizer under a slab,if your not on the exact spot i don't think it will do anything.

                               pretty soon you get use to it ...larry

    second thought what if you bored 3" holes around outer peremiter,poured in the stink free and hooked a bigger blower to the radon hose?

    hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.

  4. User avater
    robberp | Sep 14, 2007 06:54am | #4

    Skunks and I are friends and I have a few that could be considered pets but if they get their picture taken in the dark boy watch out.

    so after having numerous encounters with the black and white kittys the best remedy that works is fill a deck sprayer with at least two boxes of baking soda and about a gallon of hydrogen peroxide add approximately six good squirts of common dish washing liquid.

    This remedy is a one time use after mixing so use it all into the slab space an deep as you can get it. it works great. 

    apply once and use the enzymes that build up in a few days to help out neutralizing the smell and then re apply

    it works for me so let us know if you can use it.

  5. hmj | Sep 15, 2007 07:05pm | #5

    Thanks for responses.

    Since only half the house is on slab, there is access, from the basement, to near the area where the smell seems to be coming from. I should be able to go horizontal, from the top of the basment block wall and get under the part of the slab I need to. Drill holes and squirt the enzyme and the soap/baking soda/peroxide mixture.

    lady doesn't have the money to bust up the slab and excavate.

    Pretty sure the newly installed radon remediation has something to do with it. The fan (installed at the basement sump)is creating enough negative pressure to pull air from under the slab. The stink only goes upstairs though.

    Another thought I had was (temporarily) installing a pipe and inline fan at the area where they were getting in . Seal it up and let the fan run, sucking air from underneath the slab. Will the skunk odor go away with time? Seems like it was sealed up pretty well when she bought the house and the air movement from the radon remed stirred it up.

    What about a passive (no fan) radon remediation, are they still installed?

    Thanks

    1. NatW | Sep 16, 2007 04:15am | #8

      Pretty sure the newly installed radon remediation has something to do with it. The fan (installed at the basement sump)is creating enough negative pressure to pull air from under the slab. The stink only goes upstairs though.

      From what I understand, radon fans aren't supposed to put a positive pressure on any exhaust pipe in the house. Should be installed outside with outside vent running several feet above roofline, or pump in attic pulling a vacuum from the pipe running up interior walls or chase. This way any leaks in the pipe would cause inside air to be sucked into the pipe, rather than radon pushed to the inside air. If the exhaust pipe goes up through the house, could there be a loose connection around the second floor? Not sure where your system exhausts, but moving the radon pump higher up the line may move the smell outside without the gamble of being able to treat under a slab with enzymes in the right spots.

      1. hmj | Sep 16, 2007 05:29am | #9

        The radon remediation pipe is in the basement portion of the house. It goes from the capped off/sealed sump pit up to the near the top of the block foundation wall, where it then goes outside. The fan itself is outside and the pipe continues past the roofline.There is little or no smell/ in the basement itself, even where the block wall meets the ground level slab. One would think that the radon system is only pulling air from under the basement slab, but perhaps it is strong enough to disturb air that is under the ground level slab? It may be just a coincidence that the smell started right afer the the radon system was installed.I will tell her to shut off the fan for a few days and see what happens.

  6. renosteinke | Sep 15, 2007 10:15pm | #6

    Are you SURE there's no leaking / broken sewer line under there?

    1. hmj | Sep 15, 2007 11:45pm | #7

      yah -I saw where the sewer pipe comes into the basement, nowhere near the slab and there is no plumbing into the slab at all.

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