Something terrible happened. On Sunday afternoon, after a productive morning of cleaning and running errands, I was abruptly disturbed by an odor like none other….MOTH BALLS. It is perhaps, a more offensive odor than any other that I know of. I happened to be swapping out my winter wardrobe with my summer wardrobe- and I assumed that my summer clothes that were in storage somehow sponged up the awful scent while in the attic. Gross. The only thing grosser was the realization that the smell wasn’t in fact a product of my seasonal storage.
On a side note and to provide some context, Steve is a little bit of a radical pest controller. We have had a few “instances” in the past involving a overly gregarious anti bug campaign that ended in the risk of asphyxiation of me and the dogs. I joke that he would like to wallpaper our house in fly paper, but it’s really on partially a joke. I really think he might do it, if left to his own devices.
So, why should I be surprised when I realize that the pungent smell of old people’s closets was not from our closet, but from our cellar- from snake repellent that my boyfriend, Mr. Orkin insisted on using. Dr. T’s Snake Away is a product that he insisted on purchasing about a month ago, after a report that the snake population is on the rise this summer. As an advocate of the environment, I usually put up a fight for NOT using chemicals- especially in our home and yard. After reading and researching to learn that Dr. T’s is TOTALLY harmless, I gave in. After all, I hate snakes- and the thought of Mabel or Cody facing off with a copper head terrifies me.
All would have been well had Steve not decided to de-snake the cellar- the unfinished cave under our house where our furnace, hot water tank, and garden tools reside. Has a snake ever been seen there? No. Do we frequently go in the cellar? No. Do I care if snakes are in there- not really…so long as they don’t travel upstairs into our living quarters. Well, I am not sure if that is possible, but I can attest that fumes from Snake Away- that smell EXACTLY like moth balls do in fact travel upstairs. My clothes are absorbing the scent- and I AM walking around smelling like an 88 year old.
Ironically, just hours before the “snake out” on Sunday, Steve and I were at Target buying cleaning supplies and a bevy of scented candles, diffusers, Glade plug-ins, etc to eliminate the dog scent from our house. Needless to say, I would rather smell Cody’s stinky ears a hundred times over Edna and Harold’s eau du clo-set.
On a side note and to provide some context, Steve is a little bit of a radical pest controller. We have had a few “instances” in the past involving a overly gregarious anti bug campaign that ended in the risk of asphyxiation of me and the dogs. I joke that he would like to wallpaper our house in fly paper, but it’s really on partially a joke. I really think he might do it, if left to his own devices.
So, why should I be surprised when I realize that the pungent smell of old people’s closets was not from our closet, but from our cellar- from snake repellent that my boyfriend, Mr. Orkin insisted on using. Dr. T’s Snake Away is a product that he insisted on purchasing about a month ago, after a report that the snake population is on the rise this summer. As an advocate of the environment, I usually put up a fight for NOT using chemicals- especially in our home and yard. After reading and researching to learn that Dr. T’s is TOTALLY harmless, I gave in. After all, I hate snakes- and the thought of Mabel or Cody facing off with a copper head terrifies me.
All would have been well had Steve not decided to de-snake the cellar- the unfinished cave under our house where our furnace, hot water tank, and garden tools reside. Has a snake ever been seen there? No. Do we frequently go in the cellar? No. Do I care if snakes are in there- not really…so long as they don’t travel upstairs into our living quarters. Well, I am not sure if that is possible, but I can attest that fumes from Snake Away- that smell EXACTLY like moth balls do in fact travel upstairs. My clothes are absorbing the scent- and I AM walking around smelling like an 88 year old.
Ironically, just hours before the “snake out” on Sunday, Steve and I were at Target buying cleaning supplies and a bevy of scented candles, diffusers, Glade plug-ins, etc to eliminate the dog scent from our house. Needless to say, I would rather smell Cody’s stinky ears a hundred times over Edna and Harold’s eau du clo-set.
I have been googling home remedies for getting rid of the obnoxious scent. I read that white vinegar absorbs it. I have places bowls of it everywhere. If anyone knows of any other suggestions, please let me know. I am living with the fear that I will smell like this- forever. HELP.
On a total side note, I have a blog entry I am waiting to finish about Savannah. I have to upload the pics to my new MAC BOOK PRO J so that the blog is complete. Hopefully, I can do that soon. My summer semester of grad school begins tonight. It’s going to be a CRAZY 6 weeks, but once I am through, I get the rest of the summer to unwind and escape from academia for a little bit. I will survive- as long as I don’t have to smell like an old person.
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