Smells you never want around when trying to sell your house

Home odors are one of the top complaints of potential buyers. Pet smells and smoke are at the top of the list with mold and mildew not far behind.

It is unfortunate that when you live with odors in your home for any given length of time it is harder to detect them then it is from the nose of a stranger. As embarrassing as it may be have a friend or relative come over and give your home the sniff test if you think you may have a problem.

There are many ways to get rid of pet odors, lets just list a few. Removing your pets from the home is a good start, if you are already in the process of moving start to transition your pets to their new home. Next start vacuuming. Get rid of all that unwanted pet hair, don't forget it likes to collect in carpets, under furniture and also in corners. You can also vacuum your furniture, if you notice hair still hanging around go ahead and try using a lint roller, it helps pick up the stragglers. After vacuuming, sweep up the rest, after that a good carpet cleaning and floor mopping is called for. Now you are almost done, lastly I suggest washing down at least the lower portion of the walls and door frames. This should really get a handle on the pet odor.


Smoke odors use a lot of the same techniques as above. Even though it doesn't seem like the smoke is in the furniture and on the walls it is. Smoke just seems to settle on everything. One additional thing to do along with the list above is to dust everything and/or wipe it down with a damp cloth. You will see the residual smoke appear on your cloth, and you know it is working.



One thing to note is that buyers do not want to smell fragrances. They just want to walk into a clean smelling home. Covering up the smell with scented candles, Lysol, or any other spray can also be a major turnoff because it seems as if you have something to hide.