No Phone Booth Needed

Remember the good old days when a superhero (heroine?) jumped into a phone booth to change into the super costume?  No?   Well OK I'm just admitting to my advanced age here.  Anyhow...

Saturday one of my sons cleaned out his cave of a closet.  Hadn't been done in years.  Among other items, a few old school backpacks were in there.  It was apparently too much trouble to empty them after the mad dash for summer vacation.  We reclaimed several erasers and rulers and glue sticks and pencil cases and pairs of scissors and dozens of pens and pencils.  (Shopping this August should be a breeze.)

Wasn't all buried treasure, though.  One of these backpacks smelled like a wet rodent died in there.  Well maybe I haven't exactly ever come across a decomposing squirrel, but I'm taking a guess.  After the entire bottom of the closet was emptied, and after we were sure said "backpack of death" was double bagged and placed outside the house, we went to work on the closet floor with disinfectants and deodorizers.  Yesterday we continued that process, with the bedroom windows wide open after the rain had ceased.  It was definitely getting more bearable.

Last night, five minutes before bedtime (the kids', not mine) I went to check on the situation.  The closet seemed improved when I stuck my head in (yes, I know, oh the bravery) but the room still smelled foul somehow.  I found that a corner of the rug seemed to be the culprit.  I turned it over, and sure enough there was a brown stain that had seeped through to the backing.  By this time, my son appeared beside me.  I looked up.  "Would you care to explain this?"

"Uh...I think I spilled some iced tea there a couple of months ago.  But I sprinkled it with Carpet Fresh and it seemed okay."  Yuh.  This, from a kid who doesn't realize that his b.o. could sometimes knock a buzzard off a manure spreader.

In a fit of superhuman strength, I grabbed the 9 by 12 foot rug and yanked it out of the room.  The mattress and boxspring had been in the middle of it, but I didn't care.  I managed to roll and fold it so it fit in a large trash bag, and covered it from the other end in another large trash bag to contain the odor.  Son was upset that he had "rug dust" all over his room but again I cared not.  I was too impressed with my super powers and was doing Mrs. America poses in the hallway.  Nah, just kidding about that part.

Let's see whether the room still smells like a sewer tonight.  If it does, we might be able to sublet to one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Or all of 'em.