Scented Candles Can Backfire

Good point, Brian -- we don't advise using scented candles in a home for sale, for that very reason.  Too many people are sensitive to those heavy scents.

Brian, great post.  Scented candles can be the worst especially if it is a smell the potential buyer can't stand.  It's hard to look at a house when you can't stand the smell.  --Krystal

I agree..... Some folks do go way overboard on the candles, Scentsy, and other odor products.  My opinion is just a hint of a scent is just about right!  That's only.... if you must do a scent.

I use a product called ODO BAN for homes that smell bad. It has a very clean smell. The odor is not offencive and you would not think "cover up" It does however cover up smoke smell and cat pee. 

Cleaning used to work, having a very clean house, painting if the house has odors removes the odors.  I hate sweet smelling stuff that makes your eyes water and you can still smell the odors under the sweet smell, good post, I agree.

Brian - I'm getting a headache just imagining how that house must have smelled with those scented candles.  I'm with Maureen - we don't recommend any type of artificial scent for all the reasons you stated.  You are so right.  A clean home is key.

You are so correct Brian! I discuss odors with every one of my clients and tell them a buyer doesn't want to smell anything but clean when they walk in. No cat litter, no musty basement odor and no fake smells.

Great post Brian and its one of my pet peeves about homes up for sale. So many use those chemical scents and they are almost always overpowering AND they don't often smell like what they're supposed to!

One thing we tend to use are coffee beans - especially in centerpieces in a kitchen or dining area. Coffee beans leave a lovely scent and cleanse the air of other scents making them an ideal choice for staging. I like to work with vanilla hazelnut coffee beans because they smell just gorgeous and not at all fake.

Brian, good points.  Just another example of how one persons preferences are not necessarily a good idea when offering a home for sale.  We frequently use candles in our stagings but we clip out the wicks and it's in our contract that they're not to be burned.  They are simply there for display and to set a mood. 

Heather....hazelnut coffee is one of my fav's to drink and to smell, just wish that the scent would last longer! 

Brian- these are excellent points.  I staged a home once that had 5 dogs, 2 over 85 pounds.  Every room had a lit candle in it.  I told him, as I tell every seller, that candles are not only a fire hazard but also the buyer begins to wonder "what's up?".  Like Heather I'll use coffee beans too.

HI Brian, I have to agree 100% with your thoughts on this one. I have asthma and those candles or night lights plugged in throughout the home actually trigger my asthma and I have to ask clients to remove them before I can continue my consultation. In Canada the latest numbers are that 25% of Canadians have a breathing issue. With that in mind, scented anything is looking for a way to push a  lot of buyers back out the front door before they can see the property.

In many of our public spaces and especially in hospitals there are no scents allowed and for good reason. Why not make the effort in a house for sale as well.

My suggestion is to burn bees wax candles if you must burn anything at all as they smell like honey.

As a home stager no scent is better than what you had experienced.  Most of the stagers are on the same page about this. Thanks for a great post.