A Journey Through Home Renovation and Unexpected Odors

When Gia inherited her grandmother’s home, she was prepared for renovation challenges but not for a mysterious smell. Two years ago, Gia’s grandmother passed away, leaving the house to her and her sister. Gia shared, “It’s a beautiful home, and we’re extremely lucky to own property in 2026, but the house is 100 years old and needs major renovations.”

Renovating a home is often stressful. Block Renovation’s 2025 How America Renovates report revealed that over 85 percent of more than 1,000 homeowners experienced stress directly tied to renovation projects. Additionally, 57 percent reported “renovation fatigue” due to delays, disruptions, and numerous decisions.

Gia remained philosophical about the work ahead. “We knew it needed work, but after opening up the walls, we found a lot more than expected,” she said. While working on the 100-year-old property, Gia encountered strange discoveries, some less pleasant than others.

“At first, I thought the basement smell had just seeped into my nostrils and was following me everywhere, but it started getting worse,” Gia said. “Everyone else assumed the smell was coming from the basement window. But as the temperature outside rose, the smell got stronger. It was like rotten meat soaked in spoiled milk—strangely sour and sweet.”

A gas and electrical issue forced Gia to spend time on the porch, where she first noticed the odor. The house had faced a mouse infestation, leaving a distinct smell in the basement. Gia began investigating, focusing on a crawl space beneath the deck unvisited for “at least 20 years.” Her grandfather extended the concrete deck with wood, leaving room for a crawl space, later used by neighborhood cats.

During renovations, she found two crawl spaces, the second one a “concrete box with a small window entry.” On a hot day, Gia discovered the odor originated from this second space. Curious, she investigated further.

“I do not like small spaces and had no intention of going into the second crawl space,” Gia said. “But when I got closer, I realized that was where the smell was coming from.” Gia described a moment of realization when she identified the smell’s source: a raccoon. “It wasn’t a skull. It was skin—leathery, mummified skin.” Previously working in the veterinary industry, Gia was accustomed to dead animals but found this discovery haunting.

“I didn’t sleep that night because I was convinced there were more animals, and I was right,” she recalled. Gia suited up the next morning, using a gardening hoe and shovel to remove what she found: an opossum skull, a bird, chicken bones, and a mummified cat. “The poor cat must have gotten trapped down there or come into contact with some of the chemicals. There was antifreeze, muriatic acid, and some other pool cleaner,” she added.

Removing the remains took hours, but with the help of a junk removal team, the smell finally disappeared. Gia is happy to report this, although many renovation tasks remain.

“We continue to find more issues every day. I hired a junk removal team twice already, and we’re saving for round three,” she stated. “There’s a long road ahead, especially with the garage and half the basement still to clean.” Gia remains optimistic, thankful for support from her boyfriend, a plumber, and her father, a contractor.

“Hopefully, if we do the work ourselves, we can afford to keep the house in the family,” Gia said, feeling positive about the future and relieved to breathe a bit easier now.