Man wants out of smelly apartment

A Cedar Rapids man said hes stuck in an apartment that smells like a dead body. That's because there was a dead body just one floor down.

KCRG-TV reports that it was around two weeks ago when Shamrock Apartments tenant Ramon Rojas noticed a foul smell in his unit. He opened windows, tried to air things out, even got a carpet cleaning from his property manager.

Nothing worked.

The smell was so bad. I couldn't even eat here. I was trying to eat outside. When eating here, Id feel like throwing up, Rojas told the station.

Authorities said the smell was the decaying body of a 57-year-old woman who died of natural causes in the unit below. The medical examiner believed the body had been there for 10 to 14 days.

The corpse was found and removed on March 11.

Rojas admitted the odor now is nowhere near what it was, but said he can still smell it. Rojas said he was staying with a friend for the time being.

I dont feel like I want to live here, Rojas said. Or cook, or whatever.

Cleaning experts said it can take professionals weeks to get rid of those kinds of odors. Crews often have to clean carpeting, furniture fabric, duct work, insulation and more. Apartments sometimes make things more difficult. Smells can get into other units, which also need cleaning.

The building itself and all other materials in there start absorbing that odor, said Bryan Ballard with ServiceMaster 380, a cleaning service in Cedar Rapids. You have to thoroughly clean the entire structure.

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Man wants out of smelly apartment