A Hot Weather Reminder

I know something you don't ever want to do when it’s 107 degrees outside. I suppose there are lots of things related to physical exertion that you can think of too. I don’t recommend running a marathon, digging a trench, or forging anything. 

And you probably don’t want to walk around barefoot on cement, smooth poured asphalt , or shingle a roof if you can help it. It also isn’t a good time to sit around a campfire, wear a down coat, or attempt to give up sweating. 

But you know all this. The thing I’m talking about isn’t something you’re likely to think of, and actually the exact sort of thing you might forget. And it comes with much worse consequences than any of those other hot weather bad ideas. 

Let’s put this in the format of one of those math problems we all hated as kids. If a train leaves Chicago at 9:43 a.m…

Question: If you purchase a package of pork loin meat on Thursday, and your kids forget to unload it from the van that same day, in what condition are you likely to find it 60 hours later when the highs are in excess of 103 degrees? 

Some people are really squeamish so I won’t go into too many specifics. Suffice to say, it exploded. Well, the package ruptured and spilled all over the carpet in the back of the van. And then it basically got baked into the carpet. I’m talking vultures started circling the van levels of stench, people. 

My wife is not squeamish. She has dealt with all manner of bodily fluids in all manner of locations and material without being fazed. However, upon discovering this situation she said, and I quote, “this is the worst.”

You need to know my wife to understand the level of disgust this terse assessment conveys. 

We threw everything we had at the mess. I’m talking carpet cleaner, baking soda, vinegar, soapy water, pet scent remover, baking soda AND vinegar, airing it out, extensive shop vacuuming. At some point the smell seemed to have invaded our noses and we couldn’t even tell if it still smelled or not because everywhere smelled. 

I pined for the days a couple years ago when I had entirely lost my sense of smell. I have to say, it never came all the way back and I think that’s what allowed me to even be able to work on the crime scene that was the back of our van. 

Now, I should add a special note here about our unloader crew that left the meat in the van. Typically, the boys do a fantastic job unloading groceries. It’s a team effort and they’re quick, generally careful, and thorough. They were batting 1.000 not leaving groceries in the van until this little error. But that error now haunted all of us. 

We got the van to a usable level of smell (really the vinegar smell is the strongest thing) and continue to work on full odor elimination. I think it’s going to be a long road. 

So let our experience be your reminder. Because this is something you don’t ever want to see happen to you. Or smell.