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Get Rid of Household Odors..Especially If You're Selling Your House!

Reblogger Roy Kelley
Industry Observer with Retired

Mix equal parts of water and white vinegar, add some citrus peel and a stick of cinnamon, simmer on low heat for an hour and let it sit for couple of hours.

Original content by Beth Atalay

Get Rid of Household Odors..Especially If You're Selling Your House!

When selling your house, you want to make sure it smells good and inviting. Plug-ins and candles don’t work, on the contrary, many of the strong flowery ones can be a turn off to many potential buyers. Remember, you only get ONE shot at making a good impression enough for buyers to even come inside the house and once they're in, you want their experience to be a good one, not distracted by an odor that's not pleasing.

What if you’re in the process of buying a smelly house or already bought one hoping the smell would go away by the the time you closed on the house? Once you move in, you realize, that unpleasant smell is still there. What do you do?

Let’s be honest, we all burn our food time to time(at least I do) or we place mothballs to get rid of insects, we kill the insects, now the smell of mothballs killing us. What do you do?

Here are some tips I’ve learned through the years that work;

-Cigarette Smoke- I must be honest, even if you smoke outside of the house, that strong smell does get inside. It is possible to get rid of the smell. Once you clean your home, steam the carpets, wash the baseboards, paint, soak couple of  hand towels in white vinegar and place them throughout the house for at least 24 hrs. If I'm listing a house that's been smoked in, I put several bowls through the house with filled with white vinegar and place dryer sheets in the vents. No matter where you live, air out your home as much as possible.

-Smell of mothballs- After removing all the mothballs from the house, place activated charcoal where the mothballs were or throughout the house. Charcoal will absorb the odor, however, you want to make sure to air out the house as much as you’re able to.

-Food odors- I do this at least once a week in my home after cleaning. Mix equal parts of water and white vinegar, add some citrus peel and a stick of cinnamon, simmer on low heat for an hour and let it sit for couple of hours. You can also do this without boiling, simply put the mixture in a bowl sitting out in the room.

-General household odors- Every home has a different odor, good, bad, inviting or not..I like to make my own room sprays using essential oils. All you need is a spray bottle, mix one part of vodka into three parts of water, add 15-20 drops of essential oils. My favorite essential oil is eucalyptus.

Remember, to completely get rid of the odor, you must eliminate the cause!

My go to items are white vinegar and activated charcoal. They work like magic!! Hope you’ll give some of these a try.

If you’re buying or selling a home in Clermont FL area, I would love to hear from you. You can call me at 407-929-1852 or visit www.WhereToLiveInOrlando.com

 

 

Get Rid of Household Odors..Especially If You're Selling Your House!

 

Where to live in Orlando

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Beth Atalay, Broker/Owner

Cam Realty and Property Management

407-929-1852
Wheretoliveinorlando.com BethAtalay@Gmail.com
Your Orlando Agent - Where to Live in Orlando

 

CAM Realty

Posted by

Roy Kelley, Retired, Former Associate Broker, RE/MAX Realty Group

Gaithersburg, Maryland  

Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

We also beak up pieces of charcoal and put them on plate in closets and around the house especially for a house that may have been closed up for a while.

Nov 16, 2015 05:38 PM
TeamCHI - Complete Home Inspections, Inc.
Complete Home Inspections, Inc. - Brentwood, TN
Home Inspectons - Nashville, TN area - 615.661.029

 Good Tuesday morning Roy. Excellent choice for a re-blog. I have been in some rather stinky houses.

Nov 16, 2015 05:58 PM
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Thank you for the great tips. I have a rental listing that has strong food odors. 

Nov 16, 2015 07:59 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Please be sure to leave comments at the original blog by Beth Atalay

Nov 16, 2015 08:30 PM
Rob Thomas
Prestige Homes of The Tri Cities, Inc. CALL....423-341-6954 - Bristol, TN
Bristol TN-VA & Tri Cities Agent, ABR, GRI, e-Pro

I remember this one from Beth Atalay .....Thanks for the re-post Roy Kelley 

Have a great day in MD!

Nov 16, 2015 08:40 PM
Kristin Johnston - REALTOR®
RE/MAX Platinum - Waukesha, WI
Giving Back With Each Home Sold!

I love this tip and the reblog of course...I have actually done this one!

Nov 16, 2015 09:22 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thank you very much for your comments. It is always good to hear from you.

 

Nov 16, 2015 09:51 PM
Sheri Sperry - MCNE®
Coldwell Banker Realty - Sedona, AZ
(928) 274-7355 ~ YOUR Solutions REALTOR®

Roy,  Great tips.  I bookmarked this to use as needed.  I have seen some agents use candles during a showing and that makes my guard go up.  You have to actually get rid of the smell.  Covering it up just doesn't cut it and can hurt your reputation.

Nov 16, 2015 10:20 PM
John McCormack, CRS
Albuquerque Homes Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Honesty, Integrity, Results, Experienced. HIRE Me!

Good Tuesday morning Roy.  Another great choice of reposting. Many just don't understand that odors can turn off buyers big time.

Nov 16, 2015 11:12 PM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thanks, again, for your comments and for your continued support.

Nov 16, 2015 11:45 PM
Rebecca Gaujot, Realtor®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

Roy, thanks for reblogging this post. Beth provided some great tips to remove odors from our homes.

Nov 17, 2015 01:30 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Good Monday morning to all. This is the coldest morning so far this season in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Have a very special Thanksgiving week.

Nov 22, 2015 07:28 PM