Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
Hi SWers. First of all, I would like to apologize for being rude in a thread a little while ago. I was kinda having a week from hell.
I work in a different city, and I'm a work-a-holic, so I am hardly ever at my house in Tucson. Yesterday I drove home and walked into a super gross burning smell. Like pipe smoke mixed something. Tenant burned something in a stainless steal pot on my gas stove. For four days she tried to get the smell out just with fans and febreeze. She never opened the windows!!! I know it is hot here, but still!
So I immeadiately get to work. I just finished cleaning my boyfriend's house so it makes sense that i should come home to clean the house i don't live in....
Then she says, hey I think the food I burned is still in the trash.....WTF? It had been 4 days!!
OK, so I have cleaned surfaces with a vinegar mixture. I have simmered vinegar on the stove forever. I have dishes on baking soda everywhere. The smell is worse than ever!!
I am moving to Maryland in a couple weeks. In that time I am packing my house and giving it to the property manager. I have a meeting with him at my house next week. I can't rent my house like this!!!
I think I am going to have to call the people that clean your house after a fire!!
Does home insurance cover this??
I also have major anxiety disorders and have already gotten shingles 3 times this year because of it. If I wasn't a distance runner/triathlete i would probably be dead right now. So please, if anyone knows how I can stop stressing please let me know.
I feel like my house is ruined forever. It is the only thing i am responsible for.
Re: Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shasta
I feel like my house is ruined forever. It is the only thing i am responsible for.
Nope just needs the curtains dry cleaned and the rugs shampooed. Charge the tenant for it, if it is in the lease.
Re: Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
Also, getting the room painted will help.
Re: Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
Do you meditate at all? u could try focusing on your breath entering and leaving your body, also try thinking something calming and comforting to you, like "Everything will work out just fine." Repeat a mantra of your choice over and over either in you head or out loud. I think about a time something really stressful happened and how it eventually got resolved and is now in the past. This event will be resolved too and will soon be in the past, why affect your health over something that is fleeting?
I have almost completely gotten rid of my anxiety and muscle tensions issues using these methods.
Re: Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
Holy shit! I can't believe burning something on the stove could wind up so bad. I would definitely be charging her ass fo some kind of damages.
Get the curtains cleaned, as well as any other fabric surface you can (couch covers, throws, table cloths etc) and have someone come in to clean the carpets. I like the re-painting idea too - there is a paint now that has some kind of odor-masking stuff, or a fresh smell, right in the paint, that could definitely help too.
Re: Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
ALL expenses but your time come out of sec dep. Keep good records n sue her for rest if u have to. This includes lost rent. Make sure manager is reputable...in pa the law requires they have a broker on staff
Re: Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
I had a roommate from hell who did the same thing when I was away. She left the burnt pot/spoiled food sit in the kitchen for days.
It took some work, but I was able to get the god-awful smell out in a few days.
Definitely take any curtains, floor mats, etc to the cleaners, and get a good steam-cleaner for the rugs. That will get the worst of it out.
What helped me a lot was getting several big fans and placing them in the windows (positioned so the air was going out the window); that sucked that stale air out.
Re: Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
Thanks for your comments ladies.
I actually had to hire a restoration company because it was REALLY bad. Particles in the air and in the duct work. I tried just replacing the air con filter, but that didn't totally work. My homeowners insurance covered EVERYTHING. Good thing, because the restoration work alone was 3k. My housemate paid the deductible on my homeowners. I still can't believe the smoke detector did not go off. It usually goes off every time i make toast.
So, after costly repairs and staying with friends for a few days, all is well at mi casa. :-)
Re: Bad tenant and bad smell in my house! Help!!
Just be careful about filing another insurance claim for awhile. One time I filed 2 claims to Allstate in 3 years. They canceled my insurance and I had to get high risk insurance from the mortgage company that cost a fortune. You might want to check with your agent to figure out if you can get burnt by this if you file another claim later. They call them nuisance claims.