8 Stinky Odors That Will Kill Your Home Sale

The sense of smell is closely linked to emotional reactions.

Here’s some nerdy info for the non-medical people reading today: The olfactory nerve, cranial nerve I, regulates the sense of smell. Our sense of smell can be boiled down to chemicals reacting with olfactory receptors, and our brain processing the information. The primary purpose of our sense of smell is to warn us of potential danger: spoiled food, fire, bacterial contamination. Things to avoid.

Scents are also involved in the formation of involuntary memories—a specific scent is linked to people or events. You can smell a familiar perfume, for example, and be instantly teleported back to middle school. For me, Ralph Lauren Polo cologne brings me back to my 8th grade locker…sigh.

Why the sense of smell matters when you’re showing your home

The whole purpose of showing a home for sale is to leverage the emotional appeal of the home in marketing to potential buyers. Therefore, a bad first impression is guaranteed to turn off buyers and sink your chance to get an offer. I have personally been to showings and open houses where the scent of the home made me want to run for the door. In this article, I highlight eight of the worst scent offenders that you must avoid when selling your home.

For more helpful home showing advice, see “5 Items to Hide When Showing Your Home for Sale”

Stinky Odor #1: Tobacco (& cannabis) smoke

Sincerely, this one is a no-brainer, one would think! Unfortunately, even if you stop smoking inside of your home, the scent of old smoke permeates fabrics, carpet, wallpaper, and wood surfaces. You can spray Febreze on fabrics, use scent diffusers, and clean all day long, but the smell is likely to linger.

One advanced solution to consider is an ozone generator ( https://www.odorfreemachines.com/suite-1500/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces-across-google&bidkw&dvc=c&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAiAgbiQBhAHEiwAuQ6BksQklOgUbk8HApbhQFynP5Gl5Gt4yztPSqcnESDPtFIXhnOZcg85aRoCM9wQAvD_BwE )

The generators are frequently used by remediation teams to remove smells after house fires, and they show promise in removing smoke smells from homes. Of course, the least expensive way to avoid smoke smells is to never smoke in the house. That includes weed, too. I’m really not joking. That stuff reeks.

Stinky Odor #2: Fried Food

I enjoy the rare fried indulgence—tempura veggies and homemade French fries are delish! When you’re selling your home, though, you must avoid frying food in your house. The smell of cooking oil lingers for days sometimes, and what smelled incredible last night will be a stale and greasy olfactory hangover the next day. My advice? If you crave fried food, eat out.

Stinky Odor #3: Fish

Most people have a strong visceral reaction to fish—they either love it or hate it. Even if they love the flavor, I promise that most people do not enjoy the odor of fish. That would go for all seafood, by the way. Follow my advice from #2—eat out if you get a craving for smelly seafood, or you will definitely turn off potential buyers.

Stinky Odor #4: Brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower…

Why are so many of my favorite foods making the list? So weird.

Vegetables with a strong scent will produce a strong emotional response. Since these vegetables have extremely pungent smells (honestly, they smell kind of like diapers), avoid cooking these in your home while your house is listed for sale. Nobody would want to imagine themselves living in the “cabbage house.”

Stinky Odor #5: Diapers

All I can say is, gross! Diapers are the worst! Keep the diaper disposal can emptied daily, and consider placing it in the garage during showings. Nobody, I mean nobody, wants to smell diapers.

Stinky Odor #6: Pets

This is my sweet boy, Chester. I love his dog breath, but I doubt anyone else would appreciate it. 

Make sure your house is free from pet odors. Hamster cages, dog beds, and litter boxes that smell ripe will not attract buyers. I attended a house showing where the pungent scent of cat pee was only overshadowed by the three cat litter boxes at the top of the stairs. Let’s just say that the feline scent didn’t do anything to class up the place.

Stinky Odor #7: Burned food

I’m laughing about this one…I burn a lot of food in my kitchen! If I were listing my house, I would probably just get carry out every night. The scent from burned food takes a long time to dissipate, even if you open windows.

What can you do if you accidentally burn something, and find out you have a last-minute showing? Mopping the floors with diluted white vinegar may be helpful in removing the smell of burned food quickly. Vinegar is excellent for removing unpleasant odors, although it does leave a vinegar essence behind for a short time. Try it next time you burn something—you will be surprised at how effective and inexpensive it is.

Stinky Odor #8: Artificial fragrances

When I had some work done on my tile flooring, the crew mopped before they left. I have no idea what they used to mop the floor, but the artificial scent made me nauseous. For several days, the chemical scent stayed behind, giving me headaches. Even though I mopped again using my own cleaning solution, it took days for the smell to go away.

The lesson? Artificial scents may truly offend the nose of potential buyers. When you clean for a showing or open house, I recommend sticking with either unscented or natural fragrances: vanilla, lemon, cinnamon, peppermint. Not the artificial versions of those scents, either. People’s noses will know the difference, and artificial fragrance will be perceived as cheap.

Stinky Odor #9: Too much of any scent

Even the best fragrance in the world can overwhelm when applied too heavily. If you are using scented candles, diffusers, or spray fragrances, use them sparingly, and avoid using them in small, tight spaces. Your best bet? Open some windows ahead of a showing and run ceiling fans to circulate air. Buyers will respond better to a fresh space than they will to a heavily perfumed home.

It’s really a pain to keep your house smelling nice when it’s on the market, but it is an effort that will pay off in spades. Avoid these olfactory turn-offs, and you will be taking a huge step in the right direction.