Dealing With Unpleasant Odors Beneath Your Deck

Do you suddenly notice an unpleasant or even nauseating odor coming from your deck? This can sometimes happen to decks and they can disrupt your enjoyment of the outdoors if they’re not immediately addressed. You can attempt to get rid of it yourself, but it’s often better to call in a professional in deck maintenance and residential roofing service to do the job for you.


As soon as you smell something unusual from beneath your deck, here’s what you need to do:

Locate the Origin

While it may be difficult depending on the type of deck you have on your home, you need to identify the source of the odor to determine how it can be eliminated. There are different ways in how to deal with the odor as it depends on where it originated and can be anything from excrement left behind by small pests and animals to a decaying carcass. It can even be just mold and mildew, but you still need to check under the deck for yourself to locate the origin of the odor.

The Best Way to Get Rid of the Smell

Once you find the cause of the odor, you’ll need to eliminate it as soon as possible. To ensure that the odor is eliminated, hiring a professional deck and exterior remodeling contractor is strongly recommended. They’ll have the best equipment suited for the job! But if you’re planning to do this yourself, make sure you have a garden trowel or a long-handled grabber tool prepared. This is to prevent from holding the material directly, which may become hard to clean off otherwise. Don’t forget to prepare a garbage bag so you can easily chuck in the material to dispose of it properly.


If the odor comes from mold and mildew buildup, just clean your deck with a water and bleach solution. For wooden decks, make sure to sand them and apply an oil-based wood sealer when it’s clean and dry. But if the source of the foul odor was excrement or a carcass of a small animal, keep in mind that the stench will get stronger as you go near it. Just remember to hold your breath as you remove the offending material.


When it comes to excellent deck maintenance and hail storm damage restoration, you can count on Timberland Exteriors to get the job done! If you’re in Detroit Lakes and nearby MN areas, just call us at 651-439-1760 for more information. You can also fill out our online contact form!

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