Hi all, we are getting ready to list our home and had a broker open house yesterday. One piece of feedback that we consistently received was that the house has a distinct pet smell. We have two dogs and are planning to move them out this weekend and they will be out of the house for several days before we list and will stay out until we close - but now we need to figure out how to eliminate the smell. I'm looking for any advice. I hope to avoid spray air fresheners, I always think they smell gross and really would only be a short term fix. Our entire main level and upstairs is hardwood, no rugs on the main level, so I can't exactly tackle the upholstery. We have one couch that is relatively new (8 months) and our dogs are not allowed on the furniture so I don't think this is the culprit. A girlfriend suggested essential oils with a diffuser which I'm open to, but don't know how well that would work. I plan to leave the windows open in the evenings with lots of fans on, since it gets super hot during the day and we don't have A/C doing this all day isn't a great option although we would try anything. Any other advice?? Thanks!
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Maybe febreeze all the furniture/curtains?
I also hate air freshener, but febreeze isn't so bad IMO.
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Absolutely febreeze anything with cloth. There are some good scents like "fresh linen" that aren't so bad. Besides, the scent of the spray eventually fades.
Also look into getting a dehumidifier-- if it's damp in your house, it could be making smells worse.
One big thing you can do is bake cookies right before the open house. That smell totally takes over the house! You can even just do the break and bake cookies from the supermarket.
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Can you paint the hallway or something?
Have the pets had any accidents in the house? Is it their shampoo, possibly?
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Throw down baking soda on any carpet/rug and let it sit for a while and then vacuum it up. Get rid of any throw pillows you have, and febreze anything upholstered. Also, try to open windows for a while and let in fresh air.
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@MaryM: Good idea - I didn't even think about the curtains. I will Febreeze them.
@mrs. wagon: I'll look for the fresh linen scent! We live in Denver which is a very dry climate, it has been quite humid here lately and that means probably 20-30% humidity I think. Great idea about the cookies - I have read that before and it is definitely a short term fix but right before a showing I'm sure it would be fine!
@looch: The dogs have only had occasional accidents inside the house, we've lived there for 3 years but they are older dogs so we weren't puppy training or anything. I am not surprised that this comment was made, I mean we do have two dogs, but am drawing a blank when trying to think of one major source.
@ShootingStar: We don't even have any throw pillows!! But the baking soda is a good idea too. Actually we do have one small rug in the kitchen in front of the sink that the dogs lay on a lot, maybe should get rid of that entirely.
Thanks for the tips, ladies! Anyone else?
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Do you have dog beds or anything else the dogs lay on? I'd store them in a shed or garage while showing.
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When our dog was sprayed by a skunk we did essential oils. The purifying oil with lemon was awesome.
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Vinegar will deodorize anything. You can set bowls of vinegar out and it will clear up the stink in the air! And wiping anything or spraying it with vinegar will completely deodorize it. It'll stink like vinegar for a bit, but then it will disappear along with the smell.
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@shellio: I agree that the pet smell could be in the walls, but this stuff is awesome...it's expensive but you can find it at Target and really takes away pet odor without perfumes etc.
http://m.target.com/p/zeroodor-molecular-odor-eliminator-16-oz/-/A-11052201 -
@MaryM: Good point - we usually keep our dog beds in our room, that's where they sleep but recently one has been sleeping on the main level. They will be out with the dogs so that should help.
@ladybee: Thanks! I love citrus scents - thanks for the recommendation. I'll look for that.
@BananaPancakes: What a good idea! We already clean almost everything with vinegar, I will leave bowls around.
@simplyfelicity: I will check out that product! Thank you!
Thank you all so much. Hopefully we can eliminate the smell, and maybe be better about maintaining a pet-odor-free home with our new house.
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Can you steam clean carpets and couches? Unfortunately, even my MIL's house smells like dog and he only gets his bed
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@simplyfelicity: Does that work on leather furniture? We recently bought a used sofa and didn't find out until after that it seems the precious owner had a dog.
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@Boogs: I checked out the product on amazon - it gets amazing reviews and you could probably search the reviews for leather to find out.
@blackbird: We have carpet in only two rooms, downstairs, we have already steam cleaned them multiple times and they are far from the stairs. The previous owners had a cat and the carpets were awful when we moved in - so I'm sure that doesn't help. I have high hopes for this wonder product @simplyfelicity mentioned!
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@shellio: hope it works!!! I'm always SO paranoid my house smells like cat, so I would totally spray before we had guests!
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@blackbird: @simplyfelicity: ack! I wish I had seen this. We just got back from target. We have guests coming and I worry about our house smelling like dog.
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@shellio: If you have access to borro a diffuser and essential oils, it helps a lot!! I used mine when DD had a particularly stinky diaper and it was like night and day! For summer showing, citruses would be nice!
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It sounds like you want to do things as minimally as possible. I would suggest getting as much furniture out of the house as possible. Then see if the scent is still there. If it is, painting and replacing carpets is usually the only way to remove it.
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@shellio: I haven't actually done this, but I have it bookmarked to try some time - a DIY air freshener by boiling some lemon, rosemary, and vanilla. http://www.domesticserenity.org/diy-natural-air-freshener-lemon-and-rosemary/
Might be as a last step to add a nice smell after the Febreze or vinegar or whatever.
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@blackbird: @simplyfelicity: I got this at Bed Bath & Beyond this weekend (cheaper than amazon!) and as soon as the dogs (and their beds) were out the door today, I sprayed it all around the periphery of every room. At first it had kind of a bleachy smell but that was gone within 20-30 minutes. I hope it is better in there, I plan to invite my pregnant neighbor over to give me her opinion!
@mediagirl: Trying to keep it super minimal. The furniture is out but the curtains are still there, if the smell continues, they will be the next to go!
@birdofafeather: Thanks! I am waiting till tomorrow to see if I should go out and buy the diffuser - I like trying out essential oils but DH does not so it would not get used again probably. So I'm hoping to avoid it but glad to know it should help!
@My Only Sunshine: Good idea - I actually did something similar around Christmastime with pine needles, cinnamon sticks, other stuff... something else from pinterest
And it was nice!
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@shellio: I hope it works for you!!! Let us know the verdict.
And it was nice!
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