Snake-a-way smell got into house - help!

[dmw319]

So, I found a snake skin in the crawl space of our house. My brother recommended I use snake-a-way granules. It says right on the side of the bag to only use outdoors, but I figured under the crawl space would be ok. WRONG. I sprinkled the 4lb bag around the sides of the inside of the crawl space and this stuff is super potent and contains sulfur and basically smells like moth balls. It was so bad that I had to take my family to my parents to sleep cause I was worried about the odor being harmful. I went back the next day and used the shop vac to **** up the granules as best I could (I sprinkled it on top of dirt, so.. can't get it all). I used a few AirEze cans in the house but the smell is still horrendous.

I know this isn't the perfect forum to ask this kind of question but I know a few people here have used the product as well and may have ran into a similar issue. I know I'm an idiot.. I am already beating myself up real bad, so please save those comments. I just want to know if there is anything I can do to help get the smell away faster. It says on the bag it will loose its potency "over time" but I need to be able to live in the house. I've been running the all house fan and keeping windows open as much as possible but doesn't seem to be making much of a difference.

Ideas?

 

[58Yeoman]

Is your crawlspace vented? If it is, put a fan pulling air through the vents and out through the entrance door.

 

[dmw319]

Is your crawlspace vented? If it is, put a fan pulling air through the vents and out through the entrance door.

It is vented, but there are only a few vents.

I also forgot to mention, you get to the crawl space through the basement. It's on the same level, basically at the bottom of the stairs there is a full-size door to a walk-in crawl space area. So venting is kind of tricky...

 

[bczygan]

Venting is the only way, unless there is some compound you could use to neutralize the remaining material. You still need to exhaust all the existing air for a while.

 

[GCncsuHD]

Venting the interior of the house will only do so much, it is permeating through any leakage areas from the crawlspace to the house, you need to ventilate the crawlspace as well.

To get the most efficient use of moving air through the crawlspace and out the vents, get a decent sized shop fan, set it a few feet back from the entrance door and blow fresh air, in this case from in the house, into the door. You will want to angle it slightly to hit the top of the door, you want the air to create a "seal" on the door frame. Take your hand and make sure you can feel air blowing at all corners of the door frame, if it isn't hitting the top corners, the air will just be moving around in the door frame and not circulating under the house. Now then open up the foundation vents. Do a little math in your head you want the surface area of the vents to be roughly equal to, or slightly larger than the surface area of the door opening. After doing this you should be able to feel air moving out of the foundation vents. Also, open up some windows in the house, but preferably not any that are directly over the foundation vents. This should move air into the house, through the fan into the crawlspace and back outside.

This is how we ventilate a smoke filled house, and if you get that fan "sealed" to the door correctly and have a powerful enough fan, it will really clear it out.

 

[mf44]

Perhaps activated charcoal to help with absorbing the odor, too? Not sure how much you might need though.

 

[uncletater]

Cheap Coffee grounds are good at eliminating smells.

 

[JakeKohl]

Venting the interior of the house will only do so much, it is permeating through any leakage areas from the crawlspace to the house, you need to ventilate the crawlspace as well.

To get the most efficient use of moving air through the crawlspace and out the vents, get a decent sized shop fan, set it a few feet back from the entrance door and blow fresh air, in this case from in the house, into the door. You will want to angle it slightly to hit the top of the door, you want the air to create a "seal" on the door frame. Take your hand and make sure you can feel air blowing at all corners of the door frame, if it isn't hitting the top corners, the air will just be moving around in the door frame and not circulating under the house. Now then open up the foundation vents. Do a little math in your head you want the surface area of the vents to be roughly equal to, or slightly larger than the surface area of the door opening. After doing this you should be able to feel air moving out of the foundation vents. Also, open up some windows in the house, but preferably not any that are directly over the foundation vents. This should move air into the house, through the fan into the crawlspace and back outside.

This is how we ventilate a smoke filled house, and if you get that fan "sealed" to the door correctly and have a powerful enough fan, it will really clear it out.

It would be MUCH better to have the fan exhausting from the crawl space to the outdoors than blowing into it. With the fan blowing in, you're pressurizing the crawl space and dropping the pressure in the house making the odor more likely to get back into the house. You need to drop the pressure in the crawl space to keep air from getting back into the house. Run that for several days and see if the smell dies down a bit.

You may also try calling the manufacturer - most of these chemical companies have pretty good help lines since their products can be toxic. Added to which, they've probably heard it all. There may well be something that can neutralize it.

 

[Kevin C]

The sulfur smell would concern me... Kind of like how sulfur in low cost drywall caused interior corrosion problems in some homes. I'm guessing its not easy to get them back up?

 

[raceman17]

Why don't you call the manufacture of the product and tell them what you did. I am sure you are not the first person to have made the mistake. They should be able to provide the answer you need.

 

[rsanter]

Call the company and ask them what to do as wellmas if it is harmful in any way

Bob

 

[jkwilson]

I'd try spraying hydrogen peroxide over the area you treated as well as ventilating. Peroxide can neutralize some sulfur compounds. Cheap and easy to put some in a lawn sprayer.

 

[GCncsuHD]

It would be MUCH better to have the fan exhausting from the crawl space to the outdoors than blowing into it. With the fan blowing in, you're pressurizing the crawl space and dropping the pressure in the house making the odor more likely to get back into the house. You need to drop the pressure in the crawl space to keep air from getting back into the house. Run that for several days and see if the smell dies down a bit.

You may also try calling the manufacturer - most of these chemical companies have pretty good help lines since their products can be toxic. Added to which, they've probably heard it all. There may well be something that can neutralize it.

I would agree with you, BUT, I think you missed the detail where his crawlspace opening is in the basement, inside his house. There is not a good way to pull a vacuum on the crawlspace and pull outward unless he put several fans at each foundation vent. He cannot push air out the crawlspace opening or it would be directly blowing into the house.

 

[dmw319]

Thanks yall. I don't think I have a powerful enough fan unfortunately

I will try to call the manufacturer today!

 

[dmw319]

Manufacturer said that unfortunately, there is no "quick fix" to eliminate the smell. The best thing to do would be to widely ventilate the area. Allowing the smell to escape through windows, doors, and vents is the only way to really rid of it. They also said that usually the granules lose their potency between 3-4 weeks. Yikes! Long time to wait for this stupid mistake..

They also said I could water the area where the granules are in the dirt because water helps them loose their potency. Although this area is IN my crawl space and I don't want to put a TON of water down there and have other issues... but I could do it just along the edges and not use a lot. Maybe?

Another idea they gave was to leave open containers of baking soda around to help absorb the odor. Could I not just sprinkle it over the direct area though? Thoughts?

 

[GarageWarrior]

You can get a 1500 CFM ventilator for $80

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-portable-ventilator-97762.html

And add 16' exhaust duct at $40 per section:

http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-shop/ventilation-blowers/8-inch-ventilation-duct-97763.html

As long as this can keep negative pressure inside the cowl space, smell should not go inside the house

 

[dmw319]

You can get a 1500 CFM ventilator for $80

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-portable-ventilator-97762.html

And add 16' exhaust duct at $40 per section:

http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-shop/ventilation-blowers/8-inch-ventilation-duct-97763.html

As long as this can keep negative pressure inside the cowl space, smell should not go inside the house

True, but the smell is already inside the house.

 

[Riverside]

If the product is to drive away snakes, then the only way to neutralize it may be to fill your house with snakes.

(Sorry, someone needed to say that.) Really, I think others have given good suggestions. Negative pressure in the crawl space seems like the key.

 

[Garageguy65]

You can get a 1500 CFM ventilator for $80

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-portable-ventilator-97762.html

And add 16' exhaust duct at $40 per section:

http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-shop/ventilation-blowers/8-inch-ventilation-duct-97763.html

As long as this can keep negative pressure inside the cowl space, smell should not go inside the house

DMW319

Here is what I would do.Just my opinion. I could be wrong in my thinking thou.

I would grab the portable ventilator and exhaust duct that Garage Warrior linked to.. I would also grab a sheet of chip board from Home Depot and also a few pieces of furring strip mabye 2x2's or 1x2 and a roll of foam insulation, http://www.homedepot.com/p/MD-Build...ensity-Foam-Weatherstrip-Tape-02071/100665371 .

Make a frame around the whole inside of the door.. top bottom and sides and nail the furring strip to the door, place the foam weather strip around the door on the furring strips sealing it totally up. Measure the sheet of chip board to fit in the door opening and against the furring strips with the foam sealer on it.. Cut a hole in the chip board for the vent pipe and pull it thru the chip board taping it up from the non living side with duct tape. THen screw the chip board into the furring strips. then run a strip of duct tape around the 4 corners of the door.

I would also duct tape the exhaust duct to the air mover.. And let that sucker run.. Kind of like this.. You get the picture but with the vent taped to the wood.

..This may help for the lil lady as well...

or....

If you are still in the dog house with her. Resort to...

 

[mikester]

Could you cover the area up with more dirt and bury the remains?

 

[dmw319]

GarageGuy: Thanks for the tips. And I love the pics as well. Haha!

mikester: I could bury the remaining snakeaway, but the smell would still come through. It's a gas that seems to go through just about anything haha.

 

[JakeKohl]

I suspect that once you get some active ventilation in the crawl space that opening the windows in the house will see the smell inside the house go away pretty fast.

 

[Lippyp]

Nothing worse than a stinky house. I got in the dog house a couple of years ago. We were at our place in France for our autumn visit, one of my jobs is to service all the garden machinery before the winter closeup. I'd left the drain plug out of the power scythe gearbox overnight to let the last dregs of the 90 weight gear oil drain out down in the basement workshop and yep, by midway through the night the whole house stunk of used gear oil. At first we thought it was the butane cylinder in the kitchen leaking, so turned it off and vented the place but it kept on coming back as soon as we closed the windows (and it ws ****** cold too) I got such a bollocking from my wife when I finally realised what the smell was and chucked the drain pan outside. tok a good day for the smell to subside.

 

[dmw319]

I suspect that once you get some active ventilation in the crawl space that opening the windows in the house will see the smell inside the house go away pretty fast.

I think ventilation will be key as well.

Something about putting a lot of water in the crawl space just doesnt seem right, even if it does help dilute the granules...

 

[Steven67fr]

If the negative pressure in the crawl space is maintained, even though the smell is in the house, no further smell should be able to go from crawl space to house, and then the house can be ventilated as well... and shouldn't take as long as just waiting for the crawlspace to be totally ventilated. The HF ducting and fan are good suggestions.

 

[dmw319]

If the negative pressure in the crawl space is maintained, even though the smell is in the house, no further smell should be able to go from crawl space to house, and then the house can be ventilated as well... and shouldn't take as long as just waiting for the crawlspace to be totally ventilated. The HF ducting and fan are good suggestions.

good point. i was trying to do this on a budget.. aka free haha. but it looks like my only free option is to wait it out.. and i cant do that. oh well, gotta learn from my mistake somehow!

 

[Riverside]

good point. i was trying to do this on a budget.. aka free haha.

Any kind of fan is better than nothing. Maybe you could find a couple of cheap box fans at a thrift store(?). You can make an exhaust tube with sheet plastic and duct tape. (I've done it.)

 

[Wangstang]

If you are free on Thursday, I can loan you a 48" direct drive fan or 48" belt drive fan or both if you can use both.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200312231_200312231

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381484_200381484

Deposit would probably be required, shoot me a PM if you are interested.

Wes

 

[jhelrey]

Why don't you call the manufacturer or poison control and see what they say...

 

[dmw319]

Any kind of fan is better than nothing. Maybe you could find a couple of cheap box fans at a thrift store(?). You can make an exhaust tube with sheet plastic and duct tape. (I've done it.)

Yea I've got 2 box fans that could do the trick.

If urea is one of the ingredients use the stuff you spray on dog pee spots in the house.
Baking soda, lime, charcoal.

Wetting it will be a mistake. it will wash in to the dirt and while outside the smell may go away, the water has not done a thing in your confined area except disperse it, wash it in to the dirt, and now maybe make it moisture sensitive so you get the smeel back when it dries out or the humidity goes up after it dries once.

Baking soda, or lime.

Listing the ingredients for us might help a lot.

If it vaporous, you may need to sell your clothes and curtains and bedding and wallpaper.

Sell my wallpaper? Lol

I do think I need to go buy a bunch of baking soda boxes. They are only like 75 cents each. I could buy about 10 of them and sprinkle it on top to help with the smell.

If you are free on Thursday, I can loan you a 48" direct drive fan or 48" belt drive fan or both if you can use both.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200312231_200312231

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381484_200381484

Deposit would probably be required, shoot me a PM if you are interested.

Wes

Thanks Wes, I'll let you know!

Why don't you call the manufacturer or poison control and see what they say...

I did. See post #15.

 

[dmw319]

We left the all house fan on all day and night yesterday and stayed in the house because it seemed to be considerably better. Hard to tell though when you've been in there a few minutes you get used to it. I guess I will check again tonight when I get home.

 

[ambientweather]

Did the smell ever go away? How long? I did something similar in my crawl space. There is no way to clean up since it’s mixed with sand.

 

[Rst277]

Nothing worse than a stinky house. I got in the dog house a couple of years ago. We were at our place in France for our autumn visit, one of my jobs is to service all the garden machinery before the winter closeup. I'd left the drain plug out of the power scythe gearbox overnight to let the last dregs of the 90 weight gear oil drain out down in the basement workshop and yep, by midway through the night the whole house stunk of used gear oil. At first we thought it was the butane cylinder in the kitchen leaking, so turned it off and vented the place but it kept on coming back as soon as we closed the windows (and it ws ****** cold too) I got such a bollocking from my wife when I finally realised what the smell was and chucked the drain pan outside. tok a good day for the smell to subside.

That gear oil is nasty - sulfur stinks! I've burned it in my diesel truck a few times - never again!

 

[NOEYEZ]

Can you try using an ozone machine that is remote controled? I have worked on varoius odors. Sulphur should not be a problem. Unit would need to run at least 18 hours and there cannnot be any pets, people or plants in the home. Must air out house for at least one hour after its use. Fumes are hard on the lungs. Cannot breathe ozone.

 

[gst]

Did the smell ever go away? How long? I did something similar in my crawl space. There is no way to clean up since it’s mixed with sand.

I did same thing yesterday. Now the smell is inside of all the house. Did you find any solution for it?

 

[gst]

Did the smell ever go away? How long? I did something similar in my crawl space. There is no way to clean up since it’s mixed with sand.

I am having the same problem in my house. Did you find something to neutralize the odor?

 

[bb29510]

we just use mothball, smells like grandma house