Has someone in your home ever asked you: “What’s that smell?” Feelings of embarrassment, shame, fear, or even denial usually follow this question. Nobody wants to have a smelly house! After hearing this question, you may open your windows, burn a few candles, or spray an air freshener all over your home, but will this help?
The experts at Rainbow Restoration® say taking steps like this is only a cover-up or a temporary solution. Before you can remove a bad smell, the source of the odor has to be addressed.
That’s just part of the fallout from nasty odors. But there’s more to the problem than just the smell. While you try to cover them up, there is no escape from the repercussions of bad odor.
Effects of Common Bad Odors
Below are common bad odors and their potential effects on your health.
Smoke
- A cigarette-smoking guest leaves an unpleasant souvenir. More than an irritating reminder, cigarette smoke is dangerous!
- Particles left behind by second or third-hand smoke can settle into dust and onto surfaces throughout your home.
- Carcinogens known to cause cancer are found not only in secondhand smoke but also in particles of third-hand smoke – that lingering odor smokers leave behind.
- No level of exposure to smoke or its particles is safe. Any exposure is harmful.
Pet accident odors
- If your dog has an unnoticed accident that is allowed to ferment for a few days or an unclean litter box is left in a hot room for a week, you have an odor issue. Will you ever get the smell out? Pet odors are more than seriously stinky!
- Ammonia from cat or dog urine is a lung irritant.
- Inhalation of large/concentrated quantities can cause burning of the nose, throat, and respiratory tract, irritation of the eyes or skin, and feelings of lightheadedness.
- Pet urine can become embedded in furniture, carpet – even your home’s structure.
Skunks
- Maybe the most dreaded odor of all. Its unmistakable smell burns its way down your respiratory tract.
- Powerful skunk odors can last several weeks, even wafting out of your clothing throughout the day.
- Skunk odor can cause watery eyes, nasal irritation, breathing difficulties, nausea, and vomiting.
Stagnant Water
- The putrid stench of stagnant water and its cause could result in serious health consequences.
- Standing water is a breeding ground for bacteria and insect-related diseases such as Legionnaires, encephalitis, malaria, dengue, and other diarrheal diseases.
- Stagnant water accumulates contaminants from chemicals and animal fecal debris.
- Standing water breeds mold and mildew.
Raw Sewage
- Sewage leaks can sneak up on you. If you’re smelling them, you’re breathing little molecules of fecal matter! It’s disgusting – and it’s dangerous.
- Hydrogen sulfide produces that foul rotten egg smell from sewer gases.
- Even low levels of exposure can cause irritability, headaches, fatigue, sinus infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, loss of appetite, poor memory, and dizziness.
Rotten Food
- Chemicals and microbes from decomposing food can create acrid, nauseating odors. Some of the worst offenders include:
- Meat – Rotten beef, chicken, or fish can leave you fighting the urge to hurl.
- Milk – Expired milk left to fester in your fridge can explode, coating items with a disgusting aroma that lingers and permeates the entire property
- Potatoes – Oozy, black potatoes left to rot in over warm cupboards give off fumes reminiscent of ammonia that’s nearly impossible to destroy.
- Kale – The litter box-like smells of spoiled kale can ooze all over your crisper drawer.
Professional Odor Removal Services at Your Home or Business
The restoration professionals at Rainbow Restoration® can remove those foul and embarrassing odors quickly and for good! No matter how stubborn the stench, with our 4-step odor removal process we can:
- Eliminate the odorous source.
- Clean smelly surfaces.
- Counteract the odor by re-creating the condition of penetration.
- Seal the surface to trap any remaining scent.
The odors in your home really stink. Rainbow Restoration offers odor removal services for your home and business. Call Rainbow Restoration today or schedule an appointment online to get started with odor removal.
