Chemistry

[KARL]

It's a long story but I suspect that, either deliberately or by accident, somewhere in a particular room there has been contamination by a stink bomb chemical that smells not unlike cat's urine. I am unable to locate on which surface it is (almost certainly either walls or floor) or the extent of the 'splash' but the odour is almost permanently there. Can anyone suggest how to zero in on the patch and/or how to counteract it. Painting everything with oil based paint or varnish should presumably dampen it but by how much is an unknown so I would prefer to know how to remove it completely.

[theprof]

Something tells me we'd be better off knowing the long story to give you a really good and effective answer. If you're certain the room has been contaminated chemically then the chances are it is 3-Mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol, which has an odour similar to cat urine. All feline urine contains the chemical.

This chemical has a number of specific uses in laboratories so it's fairly easy to obtain. Furthermore, in most labs there's always one idiot who knows what the stuff smells like and has a great laugh wafting an unstoppered bottle under the nose of the unsuspecting. This chemical and its relatives have a tendency to disappear from labs mysteriously and end up in situations just as you describe

Anyhow, as far as getting rid of the smell is concerned, a couple of ideas come to mind. The most effective way of neutralising this smell is unquestionably via an enzymatic cleaner. I read a while ago about a product called Nature�s Miracle which is said to very effective for this sort of thing. Here�s a link discussing a number of the products:

http://www.naturemakesitwork.com/catalog/catal og.php?scat=Stain%20and%20odor%20removers

The products are marketed mostly in the USA but they are available from UK suppliers via the internet.

Another possibility is a range of products sold at the Pets At Home superstores in the UK and they may well do the job but I'm not certain if they contain enzymes. It would probably be best if you visited a store yourself and asked for advice. Here's the link:

http://www.petsathome.com/find/category-is-1+c at/category-is-1i+health+and+hygiene/category- is-1i01+cleaning/

00:26 Wed 22nd Jul 2009

[theprof]

Incidentally, it's to be regretted that it's not genuine cat urine. The minerals in cat urine fluoresce under most reasonably powerful UV light units ("black lights"). The light units are easily obtainable on ebay etc and are very effective when used with a torch in a dark room.

UV units can't detect 3-Mercapto-3-methylbutan-1-ol

[KARL]

Thank you very much, prof, due to pressing commitments I have only just seen your replies. The long story involves the teenage son of a now deceased tenant, but this is only a short version.