Things NOT to do to a microwave for a week

[imnontrad]

My young daughter put in a muffin into the microwave to heat up - and then put in 30 minutes. The microwave got to sit outside for a while and the carbon "carcass" of that muffin was still recognizable in the yard the next spring. ((and yes, we finally managed to get the burn smell out of the microwave.

 

[ERD50]

Just heading out so don't have time to read all posts. However, definitely possible to clean smells. Ozone generator is used after flooding and I used a little chemical in a cup solution, just add hot water to get rid of dog urine in a house that had an extremely bad dose. (This was after trying all cleaners, peroxide, UV lights etc etc)

Which chemical was that? Hydrogen Peroxide?

As the warm weather came, we picked up a slight smell of cat pee in one of the bedrooms. No stains, no sign of pets in the house, and we didn't notice until the hot/humid days hit.

I've been crawling on the floor trying to sniff out the source, but I can't localize it at all. Not sure how to deal with it, other than a full pull out the carpet and check the flooring before replacing the carpet.

We had this problem in our previous home, in the "living room" (that no one lived in), so I could take my time. Ripped out the carpet, alternately each week on the bare plywood floor, I spread bleach, baking soda, vinegar, ammonia, and whatever else I could think of. When I was convinced there was no odor, we had a hardwood floor put in.

I don't mind replacing the carpet here, I'd just like to avoid the disruption (this room is now my computer, office and music-making room).

-ERD50

 

[CRLLS]

Which chemical was that? Hydrogen Peroxide?

As the warm weather came, we picked up a slight smell of cat pee in one of the bedrooms. No stains, no sign of pets in the house, and we didn't notice until the hot/humid days hit.

I've been crawling on the floor trying to sniff out the source, but I can't localize it at all. Not sure how to deal with it, other than a full pull out the carpet and check the flooring before replacing the carpet.

We had this problem in our previous home, in the "living room" (that no one lived in), so I could take my time. Ripped out the carpet, alternately each week on the bare plywood floor, I spread bleach, baking soda, vinegar, ammonia, and whatever else I could think of. When I was convinced there was no odor, we had a hardwood floor put in.

I don't mind replacing the carpet here, I'd just like to avoid the disruption (this room is now my computer, office and music-making room).

-ERD50

Back when we had pets, we used a product called OdoBan. It was some enzyme based concentrate that did a tremendous job of getting rid of pet odors. You might try that.

 

[Joylush]

I remember my spouse once saying if we want to find Osama Bin Laden they need to put a metal scrapper on the job.

 

[Amethyst]

Curious, why would you put down ammonia on a urine stain? Isn't the problem ammonia in the first place?

I spread bleach, baking soda, vinegar, ammonia, ....
-ERD50

 

[homestead]

Mixing ammonia and bleach is dangerous.

 

[ERD50]

Curious, why would you put down ammonia on a urine stain? Isn't the problem ammonia in the first place?

This was pre-internet days! I just did anything I could think of that might wipe out an odor.

Mixing ammonia and bleach is dangerous.

Absolutely - very dangerous. I probably wasn't clear enough, but I let each dry for quite some time before applying the other, and with baking soda and/or a rinse in between (I see the follow up quote left out the "alternately each week" context, I think they were just focused on the ammonia, not the mix) .

Another time, I was trying to get some burnt on grease stains off the stove top. I knew not to mix bleach and ammonia, but I did want to try alternating them.

Well, I rinsed out the bleach cloth "pretty good" (not good enough!), dipped it in ammonia, and man, the fumes had me running out of the room. And this was just trace amounts on the cloth. Nasty stuff!

Since then, I store the bleach and ammonia in separate rooms. I told DW, if those containers fell off the shelf, and mixed, it would probably kill us.

Give it some respect, it's nasty stuff.

-ERD50

 

[bigriver]

I’ve done something very similar but found what I was going to defrost the next morning