Getting rid of unpleasant odors
After the long winter, odors and smells can build up inside the home. As spring breaks and the market heats up, you'll want to help your seller showcase the home in the best way possible. Here are some tips/tricks for getting rid of unpleasant odors/smells in the house as submitted by CBR members.
Jeff Johnson
Faulkner Realty
For animal odors I suggest a charcoal based animal deodorant spray available at any pet store. For musty odors in the basement a cheap box fan on low and a humidifier do wonders in a few days? If you can't beat the odors embrace them and use in the directions, i.e. (turn South on to Any Street from Main Avenue and then follow your nose...)
Jill Fergus & Gina Myers
RE/MAX Impact
This is what we suggest our clients do: First of all, on the first bearable day, turn off the furnace, open all the windows and air out the house for several hours. Then change the furnace filter and vacuum out all the registers. Second, follow your nose! Locate the source of any unpleasant smell and either clean it or throw it out. Pantries are a good place to look as many times an old potato or onion ends up in a dark corner...alone and moldy. Also, get some garbage disposal cleaner packets & use them once a week. Clean all the spice shelves and make sure the bottles are closed tightly. Sprinkle baking soda on the carpets and vacuum up after 30 minutes. This works better to remove stale odors than using a powder with a scent to mask the odors. If the upholstered furniture smells musty, spray it with Fabreze. Scrub the floors ? hardwood as well ? with appropriate products. We are big Pine Sol, Lemon Pledge & other lemon-based products fans. After the cleaning is done, open the windows again & turn on the furnace with the fan switch in the "on" position. Yes, run the furnace with the windows open for about an hour to circulate clean-smelling air and to get rid of any heavy cleaning odors. Basically, put some effort into doing a traditional "Spring Cleaning." The closed up house & smelly air problem is why a smart woman (probably a Pilgrim REALTOR® who sold the first homes after they were built in Plymouth Rock :-) invented the "Spring Cleaning" concept generations ago!
Regina Acosta Tobin, ABR®
Dooley & Company, REALTORS®
First, have the sellers open as many windows as possible on a breezy day and let the house breathe some much-needed fresh air. Second, have them do some "spring cleaning" to remove items that may harbor stale/bad odors. If they have pets they too need to have a "spring cleaning". Third, plug in a neutral smelling Glade Plugin by the entrance so buyers are immediately greeted and leave to a pleasant aroma. Fourth, whenever possible, during and after cooking meals open windows and get cross ventilation to push out food odors before they settle in.
Carol Couch
Real Living HER
The best way I've found to rid a home of the "winter odor build up" is to air out the house by opening the windows for as little as 10 minutes on a warmer day. If that is not possible, start with a neutral odor absorber like a `no-smell' Fabreze followed by a pot of simmering water with 1 apple cut into pieces, 1/2 cup of sugar, and cinnamon sprinkled on top. Turn the ceiling fans on low and in reverse mode so that the air is going up and around instead of directly down. Other smells can produce an allergic reaction and candles (especially soy based) can be overwhelming.
Michelle Foster
Coldwell Banker King Thompson
I use fabreze on soft furnishings; bedcovers, carpets, curtains etc, and walk around spraying it in the air. Get rid of the things that smell by washing them or taking them out, and open windows to get fresh air in the home. I have seen people put static dryer sheets in heat vents for a delicate, cleansmell...seems to work.
For really resistant odors I use an AirSource Ozone machine rented from Geno Pulsinelli 614-871-0961. In three days it will zap odors, bacteria, molds, smoke, dander etc in the entire house, in the air and on surfaces. Soaked in odors will eventually reappear, like pet stains, but in the meantime the house will smell fantastic.
For pet odors I had a client who used a product called `Odor Out' from WalMart. It had a yellow label and was in a bleach-like white plastic bottle. You mix it with water and spray on surfaces. It took the dog smell right out of this rental. I was amazed.
Sarah Eagleson
Keller Williams Classic Properties
What we have done is use the clean air machine that our office loans out. It takes overnight to deodorize. Then we plug in a citrus scented air freshener, because citrus equates to clean for most people.
Chris Pedon
Real Living HER
The number one thing in any odor situation is to get as much fresh air in the home as possible. Obviously more difficult in the winter, but well worth the loss of a little heat. A trick I learned along time ago from Norma Jones was to us a odder eater called nilodder. It is a concentrated liquid that would eat odors up. A few drops placed in an odorous room or home would help immensely. Sometimes we would even do this without the owner even knowing while we were on our office tour. One of us would talk to the owner and Norma would do her thing. We probably would not do that today without a formal disclosure, attorney approval and negotiations over several weeks with the Seller!!!! But, it did work. I have not seen nil-odder on the market in a long time, I wonder if it is still on the market? Smells be gone works for pet odors very well also. The other basic idea would be to clean or pull carpets, remove furniture and drapes. If a real bad odder exists run the furnace fan as much as possible. Plugins help but often clue you in to a problem, by only scenting over an already bad smell. It masks the problem it does not fix it. Often times we find it difficult to tell our clients about smells especially pet and food odors. I find the best policy is to be real up front at the beginning and I believe most people will take it seriously and objectively. You could always refer the listing to your favorite competitor!! Good luck!
Montry Whitfield
Gryphon Realty Advisors
This is a good question to address. In my experience, the worst thing the seller can do is go to the extreme with scented plugins, potent candles, or air fresheners. I have had many buyers leave great homes because of Asthma of other reasons that they simply could not handle the Closter phobic smell of the air in their home. I recommend a thorough organic cleaning, open the curtains or blinds, and if possible, open the windows and let in the fresh air. Lastly, it's a great idea to put out some fresh plants or flowers, burn a lightly scented candle, or bake something that's not good for you and has lots of calories!
Carol Toronto
Real Living HER
I leave it to the professionals when it comes to my clients. Personally though, I purchased a home that had several cats and dogs and smelled awful. We painted all the services. I removed the carpet throughout the house, sealed the plywood with a concrete floor sealer (this was before Kilz) and re-carpeted. I experienced no recurrence of odor. In houses where we had professionally cleaned and deodorized to remove even smoke smells, eventually the odor came back.
Norma Miller
Brokers and Associates, Inc.
Magic Disk is a product I have used for musty smells, pet odors, and other odors. It is a small flat disk that you can hang in the basement (use several) in your closet, put in the car, and nearly everywhere there are unpleasant odors. It is also supposed to work for tobacco odors. It is tough to locate in local stores. However, you can purchase it on line. Additionally, Damp Check, an air freshener, with no perfume cover-up, also a disk, can be purchased at Anderson's for $2.99. If you have a cabin or a home that has been closed up for a period of time, these disks are excellent to keep in the properties. They last up to 1 year. Be sure to use several in large areas.
Brad Bennett
Real Living HER
Linda and I recently made a trip to Siberia to adopt a Russian toddler from an orphanage. I was quite impressed by the cleanliness, and the fresh smell, of the orphanage that housed 95 toddlers in an old brick school house. Each day, regardless of the weather, the care givers took the children outside for 1 1/2 hours in the morning and 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon. During the afternoon outing, all the windows are opened to air the orphanage. They attribute the health and cleanliness to this airing.
Susan Mullenix
Real Living HER
A good deep spring cleaning is the best for tackling odors. Make sure the home is well ventilated; open the windows as often as possible, run a dehumidifier or the furnace fan. A few drops of oils used for rejuvenating potpourri placed on a cotton ball near the register vents will permeate the scent through the home. Refresh carpet by sprinkling a light dusting of baking soda on the carpet at night and vacuum the next day. Freshen upholstered furniture and bed linens with a Fabreze type product.
Cathy Schwandt
Keller Williams AllStar 1
Open doors and windows as much/often as possible, let some fresh air in. Have carpets cleaned, wash all pet bedding, vacuum and/or have upholstery cleaned.
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