Well, it’s hard to mistake the smell of a decomposing animal for anything but what it is. Have you removed the fan and looked around it, maybe even pry up the window sill?

Did you use bleach & washer cleaner in the washer or just in the drain pipe?

Could an animal have gotten inside the dryer vent duct?

Anna -

We don't have a window int he laundry room. The fan is a box fan (not one in ceiling). Thank for the response, though.

Ci_lantro -

I used bleach water in the washer, not the drain pipe.

I had my husband look in the dryer vent and we didn't see anything. I think my next step may be to get an HVAC ?? person out to look at the dryer vent?

Will an exterminator look inside the wall? That is my only other thought.

Thanks,

Christy

My first call would be to an exterminator. It's amazing what they know and can do to rid your home of pests.

Are you sure its not your washing machine? Have you run washing machine cleaner like Affresh through it several times?

Yes, I would call an exterminator.

Do you have unsoftened hard water? Do you use hot water washes? Liquid fabric softeners?

Before calling an exterminator, I would remove the washer from the laundry area. To see if the odor in the laundry room goes away & if the stink follows the washing machine.

One other thing--have you checked outside the house, near where the dryer exhausts? Possibly the odor is traveling thru the duct? Probably not since the odor has persisted for weeks... And because the smell has been there for weeks, I also doubt that it's a dead mouse. The carcass should have dried up by now.

Call an exterminator. They are familiar with the places that dead animals can be found. A dead rat can smell for weeks.

What's on the other side of the laundry room please? I'd check a framed chimney chase for something bigger than a mouse. I pulled about 5 dead squirrels from between the metal chimney walls with a coat hanger once. My cat kept staring at the big fat fireplace flies hatching in the middle of February.

It could be within or near the exterior wall. Not related, but when we have smoker guests I give them an empty can to take outside to put their butts in. One guest forgot to throw away the can when he left and I forgot all about the can too. Days later, I opened the cabinet under the bathroom sink and was bowled over by the strong smell of full ashtray. I could not figure it out. I took everything out from under the sink and no ashtray in there. Later discovered the cigarette butt can on the other side of the exterior wall. The smell was so strong it passed through the wall of the house and permeated the under sink cabinet. Btw, the smell lasted about two months after I disposed of the butt can. Dead rodent smells are about as strong as full ashtray.

If no carcass is in the wall, it could be outside near the wall, maybe under something and there's your smell. We had a dead rodent under the bed once. The smell went away as soon as we found the rodent and disposed of it, just fyi. I would think if you are still smelling it, it's still there, somewhere.

An exterminator is probably best qualified to find your culprit. Sorry you are going through this, at a tender time too. :-(

Have had dead rodents in the HVAC ducts at the vacation rental cabin I manage. Brave renter did the job of extraction for me!

Check the attic above the laundry room, too.

At one time I worked for an Animal Control agency and sometimes we had some crime scenes, hoarder situations and other icky sites with awful smells. There are companies who specialize in finding and removing odors. I would Google Oder Removal Services near me.

We has birds get into the dryer duct. Sadly, by the time the varmit busters got there they were dead. At least they were quick enough that there was no smell.

Sorry, "had"

"The smell comes from the corner where the washer is."

Do you have a front loader? Have you drained the filter tank at the bottom and cleaned it? You ran bleach through but did you pull the detergent tray and deodorize that? What about the drain pipe from the detergent tray to the drum? Have you pulled back the rubber gasket and wiped and deodorized it by hand?

Wow! That is crazy.

I'm going to be freaked out every time I open my electrical panel from now on.

anj_p -

Me too!! I have never been so grossed out.

Goodness! Poor snake! Glad the issue has been resolved though.

Ew. Good thing you hired a pro and problem is solved. That is really gross. 😛

And thank you for the follow up report.

Snakes, mice, rats, birds, even a small rabbit or squirrel can get into (and jam) a dryer blower through the hood/duct.

Good thing he didn't cross the mains, then you would have had snakin' bacon™.

You found it! That's a great photo, too.

oh gosh that IS totally gross. As I said, exterminators are amazing!

Did the exterminator have any theory on the snake's cause of death? Electrocuted? or just plain got stuck & died? Do we even want to think about how it got in there? Ew.

Oh. That is disgusting. Glad that is over for you!

Wow! thats crazy

Yep, I’ve heard of rodents and such getting in the box too.