My Basement Smells Like Dead Animal – Reasons And Odor Solutions

Does your basement smell like some animal died in there?

In homes, certain odors may cause immediate discomfort or instant response from occupants. This is especially true when the immediate root cause(s) of such smells can’t be identified.

The smell of dead animals is particularly offensive and discomforting. Your best bet will be to find and rid your home of such a dead animal.

Dead Animal Smells In Basement

Is it really a dead animal you’re dealing with?

What’s the safest way possible to get rid of it? How did it get there? Sometimes, such a strong or musty smell might not be due to decomposing animals within the basement.

Something else might be responsible. As long as you can smell it, the problem can be remedied.

Reasons Why Your Basement Smells Awful

In the case of animal and sewer gas smells, such are unrivaled and have immediate solutions that need to be sought. Other smells you might perceive within your basement area include cat urine, mold, and mildew growth.

While certain odors might be tolerable, those coming from decomposing animals and sewer gas aren’t.

Also, both give off a strong sulfur smell that can be nauseating. Our discussion will be focusing on these two as well as the root causes of such smell.

Of course, it’s quite easy to determine that dead animal smells are indeed arising from such. With such an overwhelming smell within your space, you’ll need to locate the dead animal and have it removed.

Why Does my Basement Smell like Dead Decomposing Animal?

You might never know how animals find their way into your home. Several entryways may exist that you’re completely oblivious of. Tiny animals such as rodents etc could squeeze their way through to gain entry.

Like humans, animals could die of either natural or unnatural causes.

When these die, there’s no way of knowing about the situation until awful odors begin to be perceived. At this point, it becomes necessary to carefully trace where the smell is strongest in your basement to locate the carcass.

To locate the carcass faster, you’ll need a well-lit basement.

Holding a torch will also be of help. It’s important that when the carcass is discovered, the utmost caution should be taken to avoid contact.

If getting the dead animal sounds gross to you, consider calling a cleaning service to have the carcass removed and the entire basement area cleaned and fumigated.

Dead Animal Smells Take Longer to Abate

A dead animal smell cannot be tolerated due to the offensive odor being released.

Also, such a smell won’t be quickly over as long as the carcass remains. You’ll have to locate and remove the carcass for the smell to subside. Also, the area you removed the carcass from needs to be fumigated.

• Smells Could Come from Dead Squirrels or Raccoons

Sometimes, you could be shocked to find you’ve shared your living space with raccoons or other pests.

When they die, they give off the same offensive odor common with all animals. Cleaning up after the dead animal isn’t enough to prevent a repeat.

You’ll need to find the entryways used by these animals to have them plugged or closed. Taking proactive action like implementing pest control will help to repel and kill any other live pests or animals within your basement.

Sewer Smells Can also be Perceived in Basements

Apart from dead animals, another offensive odor that could arise from basements could be from sewer gas smells. The sulfur gas being released is easily identified by its rotten egg-like smell.

This may sometimes be mistaken for dead animal smells as well.

In any case, you’ll need to identify the source of such a smell and have it contained as fast as possible. In the case of sewer gas smell, some outlets could be opened.

Possible openings include dried P-traps, broken cleanout plugs on floor drains, cracks on the main sewer line, and also a broken wax seal ring for toilet seats.

Of these likely causes, the easiest to solve is a dried P-trap. Here, the water seal gets dried when the water hasn’t been running through the system for long. A simple flush should solve such a problem.

There’s also a possibility that the P-trap is broken and doesn’t hold water.

Under such situations, it will be best to have a plumber examine and fix the problem. The same approach applies to all other causal factors of sewer gas leaks.

A plumber should be able to have the problem fixed as soon as possible.

How To Get Rid Of Dead Animal Smell In Basements

With the source of smell removed and the area sanitized, you can improve the freshness of your basement through several ways.

These include removing carpets for proper washing, and the application of natural deodorizing agents like coffee grounds, white vinegar, and baking soda.

Effective application of these deodorants will require following certain simple steps. Pretty much anyone can perform this procedure.

Let’s provide you with simple guidelines to follow;

• Coffee Grounds

Dried coffee grounds are best used for this procedure.

All you have to do is get some bowls and pour them into your grounds. Place these at different corners of your basement. Before long, any odors should be absorbed and dissipated.

What’s more, you get the coffee aroma permeating your surroundings.

• White Vinegar

White vinegar is another natural way to freshen your basement after getting rid of the dead animal carcass. Undiluted white vinegar will need to be poured into bowls and placed at different points around the basement.

This should be allowed to sit overnight before disposal. This can be repeated severally to maintain the freshness of your surroundings.

• Baking Soda

Baking soda also comes in handy as a natural deodorant.

Simply pour some baking soda into several bowls and have them placed at different points. This naturally absorbs any bad odors, thus leaving your basement smelling fresh.

The baking soda deodorant can be allowed to sit for longer. You’ll only need to change it after a few weeks.

Odors coming from dead animals can be unbearable. Here, we’ve discussed many ways to find out what the cause(s) is, and also how to trace and resolve other bad odors like sewer gas smells.

With the problem identified and resolved, you’ll have to freshen your surroundings as discussed above.