Oh please help me! Emergency!

[micah_mae_]

So recently we were looking at rentals and found the perfect house..well it was perfect the first time we saw it. There was a faint smell but I thought it was just old empty house smell and it was faint. There were no bugs or anything.

So we did the paperwork, signed the lease, paid the deposit, got the keys. Now when we walked in the smell was overwhelming (it was much warmer that day) of dog urine! We also found 4 cockroaches!!

We immediately went and got bombs for the bugs (we hadn't moved anything in), bombed it overnight, found 4 more dead ones the next morning. We aired it out and wiped down all surfaces with vinegar water.

Today we're going to look at all the rooms and caulk any small holes or gaps or anything and we got those traps to use for them that we'll put in cabinets and under beds *shudder*. 

What can we do about the dog urine smell? The house was built in 77 and honestly it looks like it's the same carpet..is there a home carpet shampooer that I can use? Do I just need to call a professional? Is there any hope? :(

Tell me what else to do? We are stuck here through December!

[Youngfrankenstein]

I think taking a look at your least is the first step.  Bring it up with your landlord and see what's within your rights.  Maybe the last tenant had a dog they were unaware of and they might agree to replace the carpet.  Will they pay for a professional cleaning?

If you have zero success with the landlord,  I would consider paying for the carpet cleaning.  I don't think you'd have much success trying to do it on your own.  I would wash down all the walls and hard surfaces.  You may want to use something stronger than vinegar for this first time around.  

[erinmattsmom88]

Originally Posted by Youngfrankenstein 

I think taking a look at your least is the first step.  Bring it up with your landlord and see what's within your rights.  Maybe the last tenant had a dog they were unaware of and they might agree to replace the carpet.  Will they pay for a professional cleaning?

If you have zero success with the landlord,  I would consider paying for the carpet cleaning.  I don't think you'd have much success trying to do it on your own.  I would wash down all the walls and hard surfaces.  You may want to use something stronger than vinegar for this first time around.  

Yes, this. Without doing damage, try pulling up one of the corners of the carpet to check for hardwood flooring. Before you clean, call your landlord and ask him/her to come over when the house smells particularly strong so they witness it, then talk about options. If there is hardwood flooring, maybe you can rip out the carpets.

As far as the roaches, not much you can do. Under your name it reads that you live in Texas. Aren't cockroaches a way of life there like they are here in Georgia?? You can keep your house pristinely clean and they still come in. Which ones are there in the house? The big giant ones or the smaller ones... I think the small ones are called german roaches and if you see those, those can indicate an infestation (big problem) that may need to be handled by a professional. Your landlord absolutely should pay for this, not you. Show your landlord the roaches as proof. You need proof!!!!! Do not pay for this. You shouldn't be paying for the cleaning of the carpets either. How long have you lived there. Sounds like very recently. Do you have a pet? If the house smells really bad and you have only been living there, say a week or two, I'm sure anyone with a brain would know that that strong of smell would not happen that quickly. KWIM?? Again, get proof, take pictures, get the landlord over at the house and show him/her what the issues are. Trust me, I am speaking from experience here. You MUST document and provide proof of these issues.

[micah_mae_]

Originally Posted by erinmattsmom88 

Yes, this. Without doing damage, try pulling up one of the corners of the carpet to check for hardwood flooring. Before you clean, call your landlord and ask him/her to come over when the house smells particularly strong so they witness it, then talk about options. If there is hardwood flooring, maybe you can rip out the carpets.

As far as the roaches, not much you can do. Under your name it reads that you live in Texas. Aren't cockroaches a way of life there like they are here in Georgia?? You can keep your house pristinely clean and they still come in. Which ones are there in the house? The big giant ones or the smaller ones... I think the small ones are called german roaches and if you see those, those can indicate an infestation (big problem) that may need to be handled by a professional. Your landlord absolutely should pay for this, not you. Show your landlord the roaches as proof. You need proof!!!!! Do not pay for this. You shouldn't be paying for the cleaning of the carpets either. How long have you lived there. Sounds like very recently. Do you have a pet? If the house smells really bad and you have only been living there, say a week or two, I'm sure anyone with a brain would know that that strong of smell would not happen that quickly. KWIM?? Again, get proof, take pictures, get the landlord over at the house and show him/her what the issues are. Trust me, I am speaking from experience here. You MUST document and provide proof of these issues.

There are both big and small ones. Gag. Apparently in the lease there was a line that stated the house was to be rented "as is". I swear I thought I read the whole thing. I've never lived in a house in Texas with roaches.. *shrugs* We haven't even moved in yet, just did all the paperwork a few days ago and started moving yesterday. :(

[erinmattsmom88]

A pest control company, as a way to get business, will offer free inspections. See if you can do that. If you have an infestation of the small (bad) cockroaches to the point of it being an unhealthful situation, you may be able to get the landlord to take care of this. Because if it's a health issue, even though the lease says "as is" he may be liable for this, and will HAVE to do something about it. Check the law in your state. As far as the carpets, I'd still tell him about it and see if he'd help in some way. Maybe he'd offer to pay for clean up supplies. Now since it's been under a week, get some other witnesses of these issues so if you really need to get him to do something, at least he can't say you're making it up or whatever. Again, take pictures. You said the day you checked out the new house it had a faint smell. Did it smell like anything else? Like, air freshener?? Were the windows open? You know, was there any reason for you to think he may have tried to hide the smell that day? Also, I think it is a law that you have 5 days to look over the place and note damage and other issues (like pests) to add to the lease so you aren't responsible for those things upon move-out. Keep all receipts for anything you have and will pay for to get the place up to speed. If anything, the pictures, receipts, damage list will help you when you move out so he can't turn around and give you any grief.

I'm sorry to sound so dramatic, but a cockroach infestation is not pretty. If you have kids, even worse. The carpets could be fixed. Maybe you can rip them up and get new ones, or if there is hardwood flooring underneath you could just leave it that way.

Good luck.

[erinmattsmom88]

There are both big and small ones. Gag

Yes, there are many different kinds. I know, gross.

[micah_mae_]

Originally Posted by erinmattsmom88 

A pest control company, as a way to get business, will offer free inspections. See if you can do that. If you have an infestation of the small (bad) cockroaches to the point of it being an unhealthful situation, you may be able to get the landlord to take care of this. Because if it's a health issue, even though the lease says "as is" he may be liable for this, and will HAVE to do something about it. Check the law in your state. As far as the carpets, I'd still tell him about it and see if he'd help in some way. Maybe he'd offer to pay for clean up supplies. Now since it's been under a week, get some other witnesses of these issues so if you really need to get him to do something, at least he can't say you're making it up or whatever. Again, take pictures. You said the day you checked out the new house it had a faint smell. Did it smell like anything else? Like, air freshener?? Were the windows open? You know, was there any reason for you to think he may have tried to hide the smell that day? Also, I think it is a law that you have 5 days to look over the place and note damage and other issues (like pests) to add to the lease so you aren't responsible for those things upon move-out. Keep all receipts for anything you have and will pay for to get the place up to speed. If anything, the pictures, receipts, damage list will help you when you move out so he can't turn around and give you any grief.

I'm sorry to sound so dramatic, but a cockroach infestation is not pretty. If you have kids, even worse. The carpets could be fixed. Maybe you can rip them up and get new ones, or if there is hardwood flooring underneath you could just leave it that way.

Good luck.

I've just decided that if we can't get rid of the bugs on our own I will just have an exterminator come out to do maintenance. I hate using chemicals around the kids but...I hate bugs more. 

The carpet, It just smelled like old vacant house at first, the dog smell is primarily only in the master bedroom. I think I'm going to pay a professional to come out and see what they can do about the back of the house where it's the worst. After that if it persists I'll try vinegar/baking soda.

[MrsGregory]

Let me please advise you to work on that carpet first, yourself.  Steam, especially on old stains/smells can make the situation so much worse.  Most cleaners will use steam.  If that was my house, and my carpet (and I'm assuming carpet over concrete, the standard here in Central TX), I'd yank back the carpet and apply a biological cleaner all over.  After that dried, I'd lay the carpet back down and apply biological cleaner all over that too.  Once done, I'd see if I could still smell much.  If you can only smell a little, then I'd call the cleaners. 

Just my $.02.  The biological cleaner I use is called Nature's Miracle.

[mkksmom]

How long ago did you sign the papers? You may have 3 days of attorney review to back out. I'm not sure if that applies to every state, but something to consider. If it's too late, I'd check to see if it's legal to rent out a place with those issues, since both could be considered health-related issues.

[CookiePie]

How's it going Micah?  What did you end up doing?

[micah_mae_]

We hired professionals to clean the carpet using enzyme cleaner that they pour onto the carpet then extract but it hasn't worked. :( Right now I'm trying to get the owner to replace the carpet.

[CookiePie]

Good luck, I hope that they replace it for you!!!  Are the bugs gone?

[micah_mae_]

Thanks! We fogged the house and found 3-4 dead ones, next day found 1 more dead one and the next day found one dying. None yesterday or today so far. I talked to an exterminator and discussed a plan if they come back. I hope they don't. :-/