What readers thought about smelly houses
I am pleased to say that this cooler weather has lessened the overwhelming smells that plagued my house-hunting in early August (this year and last year.) The results of the smell survey I set up on August 8th are here.
Only one thing surprised me: There was not a single smell that I listed that someone else hadn’t experienced. I thought I was digging kind of deep with “aquarium/reptile” and “dead animal.”
Sellers, take note that buyers reject homes that smell mildewy, moldy, musty, or urine-soaked.
Buyers, take note of how much time or energy it takes to remove smells from your home.
Survey respondents said “run away!’ if the house smells of mold/mildew, musty/dusty or stale, oily, of chemicals (cleaners, fertilizers), smoky (from heater or cooking), smoky (from cigarettes/cigars/pipes), of urine, of cat, of dog, of bird, of aquarium or reptile, of neglected laundry, of overwhelming cleaners (ammonia or chlorine.)...and some of you think I’m harsh!
What is your smell story? How do you keep your home pleasant-smelling?
Have a pleasant-smelling weekend.
you did not include "neglected diaper pale"
i dont like when peoples house smell like weird cooking...if it smells like you are cooking alpo dog food, thats a turnoff. also, growing up i had a friend whose house always smelled funny. anything she brought into school from home always smelled like it. when they tore up the carpets in the house, the smell went away.
I use an alcohol fragrance lamp with Parfums de Nicolai Maharadjah scent. No matter if I've just cooked cabbage, broccoli, garlic, fish, the lamp pulls the air in the room through the ceramic wick and VOILA! House smells totally divine.
I use fresh scented candles from the basement up. Also open windows and doors.
The house is clean and vaccumed, the laundry is fresh. We have NO pets but lots of grandkids. The trash is emptied and the dishwasher is too, before a showing.
Fresh flowers ( not funereal ones) are a nice touch.
With a little thought and effort it can be done. Soft music is a nice touch.
I can't stand artificial fragrances and a friend of mine is actually hyper-allergic to most fragrances and will leave the house immediately, so be careful on using too much.
Usually when I see candles all over the place I assume they are covering up some other smell.
Open windows are the best defense against bad smells.
I wish people would not try to use scented candles or other sprays to cover up odors. If you must disguise an odor, clean up, remove the area saturated with the odor if possible, air the place out, and use an odor neutralizing spray, not a scent. What smells great to many people is an instant headache for me. Seriously, brain-splitting pain. Just keep in mind that there are plenty of people who are sensitive to chemical scents, and if I encounter them while house shopping, I won't even go in after the initial "bleahhh!"
Found a new one this weekend.
It was a half-renovated house in Newton, with some unpermitted work and renovations halted about 8 years ago. The house had been unoccupied and some pipes had burst.
The entire second floor of this vacant property smelled of Number Two.
It wasn't just the odor that freaked people out. It was the speculation about how it got there.
Heh comedy. We went to an open house in Needham last spring - while still about 10 feet from the house (doors and windows wide open) my wife says,"Nope I can't live here." She could smell that "old people" smell, so we turned around and walked away.
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