Okay...it's the mouse again (now departed). I moved some of the stuff that had been in my cove and no signs of any more invaders but sheesh, the stains. There is mouse urine everywhere (or so it seems to me). It's on wood, carpet, wall.
Anyone have any idea of what I could use to clean it/get rid of it? I have found info saying to spray ammonia to deter them but nothing that really tells me how to clean the stains away.
Since there is carpet back there (the only stuff in the house), I think I should rent a steam cleaner but have never used one before. If any of you can tell me which one to go for (would have to be good in smal areas) and what to use in the way of carpet cleaning solution I'd appreciate it. Also, can you use one of those on an area carpet that is on top of hardwood (without hurting the hardwood)?
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Thanks for all the ideas. Maybe pulling out the rug on the flat parts and just putting down transition strips by the stairs to hold the carpet would work. I'll have to think about that. maybe I'll get lucky and some original old 1930 floor will be there. I could live with that.
Yes, I think I caught the one and only mouse. There is no more evidence of any more activity I am happy to say.
My area rug would clean up easily since it's olifin or whatever that indistructable stuff is. The problem is it's size as it's just too big and heavy for one person to move.
Luvto I don't have a driveway to speak of. What I have is a 75 yr old cement pad that is part dirt part cement. I've considered using the basement but I don't think there is enough space down there to roll it out given the furnace and stuff. I'll figure something out I guess. Gads...talk about missing the obvious..that's twice now given I didn't think about my enzymes...I have a back patio. the one I just covered in rubber tiles and it would fit out there I think.
I'll have to enlist some help if the weather improves. It's raining and supposed to rain and be cool for awhile. Maybe we still have some nice warm days coming that I can take advantage of.
Get rid of that carpet. If I understand correctly, it is in the room where you believe the mouse has been contained in, and there is also carpet on adjoining stairs. Leave it on the stairs for now, but get rid of it in the room. I'd think whatever hard floor surface below is going to be easier to mop/sanitize should the mouse occupancy not be as over as you want it to be. Keeping that carpet is a make-do situation, as clearly you hate it. I think a preferable make-do situation is the floor beneath, which sounds easier to keep clean. It's time to pull up each corner of that carpet to see what lies beneath.
As for your area rug that is not involved in the mouse escapades, just leave it for now. You can deal with that later.
Also don't steam clean an area rug that is on hardwood because a damp rug can definitely mess up your hardwood beneath. We have a different situation, a house that had wall-to-wall over hardwood, and it is most likely that carpet was steam cleaned over the years before we got here. The hardwood that was exposed once we moved in is definitely damaged. Of course we have no way of knowing if the damage was done before or during the carpet phase, but I'd think the (foam rubber?) underpad may have acted as a barrier....I'm really not sure.
I actually haven't had time to read through all the replies to this post, but, I think I'd want to get to the root of the problem - mainly, how do mice get in? Might be an idea to call PCO in addition to cleaning solutions.
love your posts even though they are often full of your woes. You do have a way with words, maybe it just matches mine. :biglol:
[I]By the time I'm finished that stupid mouse will have cost me $100/ounce of rodent. Expensive stupid mouse. Sure goes to show how something barely bigger than a large thumb can make big trouble.[/I]
DBD, sorry to hear about all your woes and troubles........just hang in there. In regards to cleaning your area rug, you can do that yourself by bringing it out onto your driveway, using carpet cleaner soap and a deck brush, hose it off to get the soap out really good and you get the excess water by squeeging it out....naturally you have to do this on a very nice sunny day.......hopefully it's not too late to do this outside.....I've done it with my area rugs and have been successful in getting cleaned for a fraction of the cost to get them cleaned at the dry cleaners.
Before starting all this, I should have mentioned to test an area for colour fastness. Good luck and don't worry about minor things.... ;)
Gee are you up watching the good HGTV shows that are on this time of day too?
I really do need to accomplish more around here. This is called realizing I am not 20 or fit anymore and it's making me nuts if for no other reason than having this vision of what this place could be like and meanwhile I am living in a heap and don't know where a lot of my stuff is still.
Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. The area rug just needs freshening as it's 4 yrs old now and only ever been vaccumed. It was also rolled up in my old basement for 3 mos and has only been half unrolled here for 3 so I fully expect one side is going to be looking a little darker than the other when it does finally get completely unrolled. Such is life with a 10 X12 in a 12 X13 room that hasn't been arranged yet and still has a way too big TV in the way not to mention a couple of other choice things.
The carpet in the back is filthy. It was when I moved in as the guy who used to live here stored his bike and other things there and basically tracked in mud and stuff. I have worn crocs fulltime since living here as I don't like the idea of what is on that rug.
When you mentioned the baking soda it brought to mind the products you can spray and vac. Maybe I could try that on my area rug to freshen it up. That'd save me some money. Come to think of it, I bought some Bissel upholstry cleaner that worked great on the old car seats. I have some left that maybe worth a try.
As for the mower. Well my dad bought that thing in the early 80's. I thin k it cost him $900 then and his best friend who owned the store even sold it to him at cost. So it's a real bells and whistles type mower that I thought had to be shot before it would quit. In other words, it's off warranty now.
I've been searching for some sort of instructional drawing of the parts to see if I could figure out what is wrong with it (one of the wheels is loose and it happens to be the one that sets the height so the blade drops and hits the ground and stops the mower). No luck but I did write down the number of the store it came from and they still service them so I will call to see what the cost is. Boy oh boy...brand new car with mower full of gas in the back. So much for that new car smell (not that new cars smell like they used to unless you like the smell of plactic). meanwhile, hauling stuff like that is exactly why I bought this model so I guess I had better put my money where my mouth is.
Hmmm.
Well, if the mouse didn't pee on your area rug, just leave it at this time and rent a Rug Doctor to do the wall to wall stuff if the enzyme cleaner doesn't do the trick for you first.
If your area rug just needs to be freshened up, sprinkle it with some baking soda, then give it a really good vacuum; or you could spot clean it with the upholstery attachment of the Rug Doctor and blot it dry as best you can. If the spots are near the edge of the rug, place a big garbage bag underneath the rug if you are worried about it getting the floor wet underneath.
Um... what kind is your lawn mower? Does it have a warranty on it still? Did you buy it on a store credit card or major credit card that you've got insurance on the items purchased for a period of time? (just trying to think of loopholes that might get the manufacturer or someone fix or replace it for you)
Maybe it'll be a fairly inexpensive repair job from a registered dealer.
Don't get too frustrated by falling behind in your renos. You just got there, there's really no hurry to get it all done at once. I've lived in my house for 2 years and I'm just starting to get things done that I've wanted to do since before I moved in.
Most of us have partners/husbands/family to help us accomplish things. You're doing everything on your own. You're a hero for even taking on a character home by yourself. Your house isn't falling down around you, and you're not risking homelessness. There's no rush to pretty up the house. Give yourself permission to do things at whatever pace you are comfortable with.
Forget the renos for a while. Clean up your mouse stains and just unpack the rest of your boxes. Everything else can wait, and you won't be stressed thinking of all the impending tasks to be done. You'll relax more knowing where your stuff is.
Look how much you've done just readying the place to be habitable already: fixed the bathroom to a useable state, recreated the wardrobe storage for yourself, had new appliances installed, arranged new windows to be installed, made an outdoor space for yourself to enjoy.
You've done tonnes! Take a break and just live and breathe for a while (a month or two even!) You certainly deserve it.
Yes, my enzyme cleaner would probably work...you'd think I'd remember that since I practically have stock in the stuff (and 4 full bottles since it was on sale a couple of weeks ago). Boy slapping self on forehead or what?
I would love to pull that carpet out as it's seen way too many renters and is awful. I was trying to ignore it until I at least had the cork down and the bathroom tile done. I'm so far behind and getting so overwhelmed I just don't need another major type job added to the list especially when it bumps the others down.
The issue with that area is that it's carpet over vinyl (I think) including the metal edge strips on the stairs (they just rolled the carpet right over them... :hairpull: ). I had considered cork but there are steps up to the kitchen and down to the basement all covered in that carpet (which means also cutting all new trim and steps are just way more work than normal flooring). The store said to avoid using the cork on stairs (slippery and major hassle/expense for the bullnose and side trim). So that's why I've been putting the area on hold. I can't figure out what to put there and dread the thought of what might be under that carpet because if it's textured vinyl, it means self stick (the easiest solution) won't work very well without yet more work.
As for my one big carpet that I would like to clean as well, well there is no taking it outside to hang or dry. It weighs 80 hundred pounds and is too big for me to maneuver. I was considering calling one of those places that picks up, takes away, cleans and returns but now with this mouse stuff....stupid expensive stupid rodent! By the time I'm finished that stupid mouse will have cost me $100/ounce of rodent. Expensive stupid mouse. Sure goes to show how something barely bigger than a large thumb can make big trouble.
Parden my PO'd attitude. I have so had it today between stupid mouse and stupid machines and money I had tagged for fixing up this house or other things going elsewhere. I had budgetted for new appliances, but between drills breaking down, sanders going missing, cars biting the dust (boy was that the big one and it cost me any thoughts of a new roof I had) I have replaced pretty much everything I own. Tonight my great old lawnmower decided to retire. Right in the middle of the lawn and I am totally fed up with machines giving up the ghost on me and trying to figure out what gets knocked off my reno list this time.
In this instance I think it means putting my new leather coat back in it's bag and taking it back. Guess I get to wear the old one yet another year so I can cut the lawn (which is one of my least favourite things to do so not a fair trade in my book). I have put word out on a lawn mower repair forum (who'd of thunk such a thing existed?) to see if I can fix the thing. Fingers crossed as it's a big whiz bang mower that I could never expect to replace and I would really miss it if I had to go with a normal model.
Sorry, enough of my whinning. Just have to vent I guess. Stupid mouse and stupid mower....there goes about $500+ I guess. Here's hoping a store cleaner and mower forum can make both things fixable so I can keep the coat.
If you are going to rent one Rug Doctor is a good one and get the one for cleaning furniture as well so you can get into a small area. I have used them before and they do a very good job. You can get them at most grocery stores. Get the soap that goes with the machine.
You can try using your enzyme cleaning sprays that you use for pet urine stains. We had amouse in our garage that peed on my kids' plastic sled at the other house. The smell never came out, so my husband threw it out.
You can rent a Rug Doctor steam cleaner from Safeway for about 30 dollars a day or 50 for the weekend (I think). You can also rent the upholstery hose and nozzle that would be easy to use for a tight space or stairs. They sell the cleaning solutions for use with those machines too.
I suppose you can clean an area carpet on the floor, but you'll have to hang it somewhere to dry because that will ruin the hardwood for sure. You'll have to "rinse" the hardwood with a mop wetted down with clean water and dry it well. Those carpet cleaners leave the carpets quite wet actually.
The second best idea would be to hire a professional to clean the floor, their method is usually FAR less wet if they use a truck mounted cleaner (the vacuum suction is much stronger on a truck mount)
The best idea would be to pull the carpet out altogether. That's free and gets rid of the smell and stain in one shot. Would you have enough cork left over from the kitchen to do that area? Something less expensive would also be good: lino, laminate, peel'nstick, resiliant faux hardwood etc,
Try your enzyme cleaners first, then consider a professional or tearing the carpet out.
Hope this helps,
kipper