Jon, if they are acorns, I wonder if it's squirrels, not mice you are
dealing with. I had squirrels (probably red squirrels) get into an old
dresser that had some clothes left in it. For some reason they soil their
nest and it soaked into the wood. Whew! I tried simple soap and water and
then left it set empty for several months. When I finally got back to it, it
still had some residual odor, so I threw it away. I'll be interested to hear
if there are any good solutions (pun not intended). BTW, my daughter dumped
a carton of milk in her new car a few years ago. She tried cleaning it,
herself and professionally, with not much success. She lives in CA, so I
suggested she set it out in the hot sun, close it up, turn the heater on
full blast and let it run for a few hours. This "baking" process worked. My
theory was that the odor comes from an evaporation process. This process is
likely to be a strong function of temperature. So even if you elevate the
temperature a little, you should greatly increased the evaporation rate.
Good luck
Brian
--
> From: Rush <jdrush@enter.net>
> Reply-To: Rush <jdrush@enter.net>
> Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2004 23:13:52 -0500
> To: Shop Talk <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
> Subject: Mouse Hunt Redux
>
>
> I asked for advice on this list to prevent mice from rooting around in my
> disabled car. The main suggestion was mothballs and Bounce dryer sheets. I
> can report that they were both dismal failures. I spread a whole box of
> math balls around the car and throughout the engine bay, and put Bounce
> dry sheets liberally throughout the interior and truck, stuffing them
> wherever I thought a mouse might possibly enter. When I returned a month
> later, a whole tree's worth of acorn shells ahd been deposited in my car.
>
> Thankfully there seems to be no permanent damage to the car, but my poor
> wife spent hours cleaning out the shells, turds and piss. So my question
> is how to remove the lingering smell of rodent excrement. I need something
> that will kill the odor without killing me. I'm very sensitive to strong
> smells and will get physically ill if I have to smell something strong for
> long. I need to sell this car soon, and I don't want deal-breaking smells.
>
> Every time I drive the car, more shells drop out of the dash, so I'm going
> to need to go over the whole interior with a fine tooth comb to be sure we
> haven't missed a crap or piss deposit.
>
> TIA
> Jon
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