Stager’s Best Treatments for a Stinky House
No one wants to have the stinky house
A stinky house can totally wreck a real estate deal. It doesn’t matter if it’s stinky from mold, cat pee, smelly food, a dead mouse or cigar smoke. Our brains are hardwired to respond immediately, intensely, and emotionally to smells. A savvy home stager or real estate agent will harness that knowledge and take extraordinary measures to kill the offending smell. And while they’re at it, they may infuse a fragrance with mass appeal.
I furnished a rental property and battled with the scent of an old, stale house with lingering cigar essence. The house had been re-painted, but had been sitting empty for several months. After several marathon cleaning sessions with vinegar, bleach, and ammonia, and a furnace filter change, I could still detect the scent in the background. I started to question my own sense of smell—certainly my nose was deceiving me?
Solutions for to get the funkiness out of the house
To make sure that the stink was erased forever, I brought out the big guns and—finally—eliminated the stink. In this article, I will share with you the products that performed best for me during this very frustrating process!
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- OdoBan Pet Solutions neutral pH No-Rinse cleaner. This formula is safe for any type of hard flooring or surface, provided the surface is sealed. The citrus scent is pleasant, and the cleaner does not have to be rinsed, saving you time.
- Levoit air purifier wirh HEPA filter. Air purifiers remove small particles from the air, leaving the air clean and healthier. Running at a low 24 decibels, it is quiet yet powerful enough to clean the air of a 1000 square foot space.
- OdorStop ozone generator, professional. I have the larger version of this machine, and it is the absolute best! Although there are safety precautions you must take when using an ozone machine, such as evacuating living plants and animals from the space while the treatment is running, it is actually safe and performs like a champion. On this model, both the length of treatment time and the amount of ozone generation can be adjusted to achieve the desired result. After treatment, the air smells clean and fresh.
- Capri Blue Volcano candles and sprays. This is one of the most amazing fragrances—a lot of citrus! Every stager who I know uses Volcano to give a house a clean scent. If an odor is especially strong, Volcano will not be strong enough to neutralize it, but it is highly effective for houses with a faint odor.
- Ozium spray & odor-absorbing gel. Ozium provides a quick and easy option for anyone needing to remediate an odor quickly, but who may not like fragrance. The sprays are potent and remove odor from the environment very quickly. The original scent has a mild citrus overtone, but is pleasant. They offer vanilla, outdoor, new car, and unscented varieties. With the exception of new car, any of these fragrances would be appropriate and likely non-offensive for a property tenant or guest.
Whether you are showing a house, preparing your Airbnb for the next guest, or getting ready for the family to visit, a clean-smelling house is what you want. If your property doesn’t smell its very best, it can be embarrassing and costly. Make your home smell as impressive as it looks!
Please comment if you try any of these products, and let me know what you think. All of the products come highly rated by purchasers, but I want to hear about your own experiences.
Until next time!
XOXO,
Hillary
Hillary McAlhany is the owner and Senior Creative Consultant of Gate City Design. She is a certified professional home stager/redesigner, E-designer & color expert. Hillary is also the Managing Partner of Lakeside Property Group, LLC. Although she is based in North Carolina, she offers remote design services outside of the central North Carolina region.
