Beginner Gardening: Help! Dieffenbachia is rotting at base of leaves, 1 by jlisiewski

jlisiewski wrote:
I just got two dieffenbachia plants at an estate sale two weeks ago, both looking healthy. However, the other day I noticed a rot at the base of one of the leaves of one of the plants. I took that leaf off. The rot smelled quite a bit like skunk. Now, a couple of days later, I see the same rot at the base of another leaf. Both of these leaves are on the top of my plant, and were the healthiest looking leaves. I'm not sure what to do. Since the moisture is low in my house, I have been misting the plants to compensate for it. Should I not be misting the plants? The plants did get a drenching a couple of weeks ago, since I had them outside a couple of days in the rain until I could work out a place for them inside. Could this have caused what I'm seeing now? Please let me know if you know what this is and if you have any suggestions of how to treat it. Is there a way to save this plant without using poisonous chemicals? I don't use any toxic chemicals in my house.

Thanks,
Jessica