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Stinky Stenches....Not a Blog for the Faint of Heart

By
Home Stager with CurbAppealForDummies.Com

Seen a lot of posts about houses with an aroma so unpleasant, it can prevent a sale?

People are taking drastic, expensive, and unnecessary measures to eradicate stench.

There is a fast, easy, and affordable, solution that works on every possible stink one can ever run in to.

Not to get too gruesome, but even crime scene cleanup pros know exacty how to attack a malodorous dwelling, and have the odor and it's  originating bacteria destroyed permanently and  without chemicals.... SWIFTLY!

You have probably heard of it, and dismissed it. Or maybe you have used it, improperly, and not acheived the purported results. But the bottom line is this: Industrial Strength Ionizers, when used according to the square footage, are 100% effective to eradicate odor, permanently, and in less than two hours. One use!!!

The secret is in the strength. Yes, you must leave the house. Return two hours later, and the home smells like it has been freshly bleached clean from top to bottom. Open the windows and air it out. In 10 minutes the air becomes inert. There is all kind of science behind the effectiveness of ionizers. They use them in hospitals, and the infection levels in surgical rooms have dropped to zero. Ionizers kill bacteria, and bacteria causes most horrific odors. They also wrangle paint fumes, smoking & cooking odors, and anything else you can wrinkle your nose at.

The only way an odor can re-occur in a properly ionized environment is if the source of the stench is REINTRODUCED, but old. imbedded odors are GONE FOREVER. 

I know it's unbelievable. But I have a first hand experience, involving a cousin, a pack of chicken necks, a hot car, and a one very incensed sister:

My cousin, Steve, borrowed Michelle's car while we were on vacation. He was house sitting our beach house near Galveston, Texas. It was JULY. He wanted to go crabbing, which requires chicken parts. HE LEFT A PACK OF CHICKEN NECKS IN THE TRUNK OF THE CAR. When we came home a week later, the scent was overpowering and absolutely condensed in that Mustang. No amount of air circulation or deodorizing products put a dent into the thick stench of death that permeated the car's upholstery. Two days with the doors and trunk wide open didn't help one iota. Car detailers said the car was a total loss!!!!

A lady we know heard about the problem and offered help. We went to her house, gagging and hanging our heads out the windows, for 45 minutes, to Houston. She put this little box in the car, rolled up the windows, snaked an electrical cord to an outlet through a crack, and invited us in for iced tea. Michelle was a train wreck, as the car was NEW and chicken rot was not covered by her insurance. About an hour later, the lady said the car was ready. To our shock, the car smelled super-clean. We didn't believe the smell would not return, but we were grateful it was gone for a while. Except, it never, ever, EVER came back. Michelle had that car for 7 more years! And, I am happy to report, Cousin Steve is still alive and presently resides in the Austin area with all his limbs intact.

So, we bought one of those boxes when we started staging. We rent them for $79 dollars a day. We sell them for $649 to Realtors and homeowners alike. NO REAL ESTATE OFFICE SHOULD BE WITHOUT ONE FOR THEIR MALODOROUS LISTINGS.

Contact us if you would like to know more. Shipping is included with the price, and we absolutely take credit cards, and offer you a money-back guarantee! 

If you would like to find out if Steve is really alive, click here. But be warned...he keeps Austin wierd.

Sue Eldredge

www.featurethisdotdotdot.com

and

www.curbappealfordummies.com

 

 

 

 

 

Sandra Hughes
Redesigned Spaces - Northern Virginia - Fairfax, VA
Redesigned Spaces - Fairfax County, Virginia

Sue - I am going to book mark this in case I have a use for this item or maybe I should say "when".   I have to say the dog is going to give me nightmares for the rest of my life. 

Jun 09, 2008 09:41 PM
Michelle Molinari
CurbAppealForDummies.Com - Lafayette, LA
CurbAppealForDummies.com

LOL, Sandra...I updated this blog with more info and links, and we adjusted our price to $649 for our Active Rain peeps.

Yes, poor Sam. He was very, very, very visually challenging to look at.

I mean, every square inch of him was icky. It just goes to show you that even the lowliest creatures can inspire people. Sam was photograhed with many celebrities in his lifetime, and was and still is beloved by many. Ans nobody ever forgets his face! His progeny  (yes, this dog procreated!) are also competitiors in the World's Ugliest Dog Competition made famous by their doggy-daddy and three-consecutive-year Champion.

I have recently aquired a very homely, unattractive kitten, with terrible patches of fur missing from a raging ringworm infection. He has a bulging, hairless belly, spindly legs, a head like a bat, and he looks suspiciously like on of Satan's minions. He is, quite frankly, hideous. But somehow, when he is sleeping and posing the way actually-cute kittens do, I think to myself... awww...he's trying so hard to be cute...and it's just not working!

But he keeps trying to pass himself off as a darling baby kitty, and slowly, I'm seeing him in another light (he looks particularly attractive with no on light at all).

~Sue

Jun 12, 2008 03:35 AM
Michelle Molinari
CurbAppealForDummies.Com - Lafayette, LA
CurbAppealForDummies.com

Oh Donna,  I am so sorry I never did reply to your comment!

Thank you for your input on how well these devices work!

I too have noticed a difference in the way my body responds to allergens that used to plague me since we introduced the appropriately strengthed ionizer. We have a langustrom (spell check on that one?) bush outside the bedroom window, and they are notorious for producing incredible amounts of pollen. Having spent most my adult life in Georgia, I am very sensitized to pollen (the air is yellow there!). I have no problems with my sinuses presently, and this bush is 10 feet tall and about ten feet from my bedroom windows.  

Additionally, I live between two crawfish ponds  (fields flooded with water that are stocked with crawfish until they are ready for harvest). My big Red-Bone hound loves to stomp around in the muck and steal the crawfish bait (rotten fish....yum!). Then she comes home, goes in the doggy door, and hides in my bedroom, the only room with CARPET. She can be in there for hours, stinking up the place, until we notice her missing and check the bedroom. It's NASTY when you open the door! It seems as soon as I get her out of there and in the bathtub, the room instantly smells totally clean when I return because I have the unit that is made for occupied residences has already done it's thing.

 I have no idea how my house smelled before in reality overall, but I used a lot of Febreeze, Odo-ban, Glade Plug-ins, and a Lampbergere Lamp. I spent a lot of MONEY hiding the way my dog made my house smell! Now it costs 4 cents a day for my energy bill, and when I want some smell-pretty, I get turn off my unit and light a candle. I am not trying to fool my nose into thinking I am not smelling anything unpleasant. LOL. It's just so much better.

And I love my dog dearly. I just hate it that she sneaks in my room and lays on the carpet when she is at her stinky-best.

Sue

 

Jun 12, 2008 05:19 AM
Donna Schoby
Liberty Bank of Arkansas - Bentonville, AR

Sue,

You did reply to my comment earlier, thanks. I was just checking back to see what other comments were, because we love ours and we counldn't live without it. My daughter use to get a sinus infection about every couple of months, now she gets maybe one or two a year. So they are not only great for odor, but your families health also.

Jun 12, 2008 08:49 AM
Toronto's 2 Hounds Design: Decorating + Staging
2 Hounds Design + Home Staging - Toronto, ON

I'm totally intrigued!

I could have used one when Boo Boo was here with his bladder cancer. We replaced all the carpet in our house because his bladder would let go unexpectedly.

My bedroom always smells like dog too. What is it with dogs wanting to spend all their spare time in our bedrooms? You'd think they'd get enough of it from spending the night there.

I did try the links you provided above but they didn't work.

What is the manufacturer and models you recommend? 

Jun 21, 2008 02:47 PM
Anonymous
Sue Eldredge

Hi Dane,

All the links work for me... but perhaps A/R is having difficulties...I cannot login as a member for some reason.

Anyway, you can try Michelle's website... www.homepurificationpro.net.

The particular unit we recommend can be found on the above site. Click the words Commercial Units in the turquoise side-list. On the page it sends you to, look on the heading list at the top of the page. Click on "General". Then on the drop-down list, look at the last item, the San Air Blaster. Click on that, and you get a adobe reader page listing all the info on that unit.

It is actually recommended for use for the real estate industry. We prefer it primarily because it is FAST, and portable, and powerful enough for 3000 square feet.  Drawback: you must vacate the property while it does it's thing. It does not have a setting for non-commercial use while humans and pets are present.

Units that have adjustments for the ionizers to be used in occupied areas while people and animals are present are pricier, due to the technology that turns them off when the air has reach maximum safe ion concentration levels.

I want it fast, effective, and over with with asap, so we can rent it again as soon as possible. For our purposes, the San Air Blaster is the weapon of choice.  With no one in the building, I can blast it for two hours, and the house is no longer haunted with odors. Period.

We are selling it for $649 right now. I cannot express the effectiveness of this unit. It is a miracle device, and a permanent solution to any odor issue. That it KILLS mold, mildew, and bacteria is a phenomenal bonus, but not the main reason I love it. It's the odor eradication that blows me away every time we use it. Once the unit is turned off, the ion levels begin to return to normal immediately. Only a bleach-like smell remains, and even that dissipates rapidly, within five or ten minutes.

I think people don't consider them useful because they have had experiences with less-powerful models that are not made to be cleaned. Ionizers STOP IONIZING when they are dirty. There is a metal plate that must be kept clean for it to do it's job. If  you have a weak ionizer with a cleanable metal plate, at least it still ionizes on some level after the plate is cleaned. I have used many units in the past that had NO PLATE, just a filter. They just don't work like they did fresh out of the packaging the first week I bought them. Within a couple of weeks, they don't work at all, and are completely useless. So I have paid $150 bucks for two weeks of fresh air. That's ridiculous, and I learned my lesson after being burned by many units.

Now that we have commercial grade, it's a whole 'nother story. The ionizers we sell WORK, EVERY TIME, and they have a cleanable plate. You don't buy filters. It['s stays just as powerful as it ever was.

Eight years ago, this ionizer cost $1200, and we bought one. Now, they are exactly the same technology, only improved, and the price is nearly half. It was WORTH IT at $1200!

I know people are not going to believe ther is such a simple. easy answer to odor.

But there is. And it's affordable. And it makes me money. And if you get one, Dane, you will never regret it. You will be floored by it's effectiveness and you'll be blogging you rear end off  when someone asks for advice on how to solve an odor problem, ANY ODOR PROBLEM, no matter how long it's been imbedded.

As a nation, we are obscessed with fragrance for the home. I personally have a lampbergere that costs A FORTUNE to feed it oil, to the tune of about $40 a month if I use it daily. I have 13 plug-ins (w/nightlights). I have the carpet-powders, the enzyme liquids to eat the pee smells, the ODO-BAN from Sam's club. These are temporary fixes that never  truly eradicate, and they are VERY VERY EXPENSIVE, and I used to keep replacing it when it ran out. Now that I have a real ionizer, I only light my lampbergere when I want to create a mood. I am not addictied to plug-ins.

I don't walk in my house and sniff deeply to acess if there is a detectale animal smell. I just don't have issues in that department anymore. It is a great relief to know when I have guests, they are not engulfed in artificial perfume or authentic animal odors. My house smells like  clean, real rain-freshened air, Not somebody's idea of a "RAIN-FRESH SCENT".

If you get one, and it doesn't do everything we say it does, we will give your money back. I am not here to suck a buck out of fellow stagers.

Telling people to reapint and throw out carpet is great advice if the carpet is ugly and the wall color isn't condusive for a sale. For odor, that is an ridiculously expensive and unnecessary, and just plain wrong suggestion. It's bad advice, it's costly, and it probably will not solve the problem. As stagers, we need to offer the BEST solution, the BEST answer. Clean carpet when it's dirty. Paint walls when they are ugly. When a house stinks, ionize it.

Sue

 

 

 

Jun 21, 2008 06:04 PM
#19
Michelle Molinari
FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor - Lafayette, LA
Feature This Real, Estate Staging & Curb Appeal Concepts

Hi Dane,

We have an old Boston Terrier, Cujo (or Cujito the Burrito, or Mister Pissy-Pants). He is older than Methuselah and apparently has lost his ability to hold his tee-tee.

He doesn't pee in one spot. He recently has developed an inability to know he needs to pee, so he walks and pees. He's now confined to the hard-surfaces of the house, but the damage was done by the time we figured out he was unable to even recognize the urge.

Our carpet needed replacement before this, but now it is imperative. Our new  flooring is on back-order hell, and the ionizer has saved us. It isn't one spot, but entire pathways affected. No one knows what is on  our carpet is except us, because the house smells grand. Also, it's antibacterialized, so I don't feel totally creeped out walking around barefoot.

Additionally, Sue's dog, Rosie, is a great big red-boned hound who loves those crawfish ponds. The fish heads are already rotten when they throw them in, and Rosie can't stay out of the ponds, then she cruises in the house, and before we even figure out we are smelling something horrid, she is in Sue's room laying down. It's the only room with any carpet left. We plan to restore the hardwood floors this fall, but until then, the ionizers are saving her house, too!

The things we put up with! But it is my opinion a house is not really a home unless a fuzzy kid greets you at the door, and they make us laugh so hard, they are worth every stinky inch from snout to tail. And Cujito is the liveliest, most playful dog, even though he is over 100 dog years old. He isn't done being a happy member of our family, pee or no pee. So until he has a problem that makes HIS life miserable, he's gonna be with us a while.

If you do end up getting the ionizer, you will wonder how you ever got along without one. They are so effective, it's unbelievable!

~Michelle

Jun 21, 2008 09:24 PM
c m
Colorado Springs, CO

I just wanted to say hi to someone with GOOD TASTE!  I also use a peacock feather in my photo and on my webpage.  I live in Colorado, but I used to work in Galveston, about 30 years ago, I am sure those chicken necks smelled terrific! ;o(  Great story!

Jun 21, 2008 09:49 PM
Virginia Tatseos
Stage-Show-Sell - Bloomfield Township, MI

I loan mine to my clients.  Never did I think of renting it to them.

Silly me

Jun 21, 2008 11:37 PM
Michelle Molinari
CurbAppealForDummies.Com - Lafayette, LA
CurbAppealForDummies.com

Hi Cheryl,

Yes, we love peacocks! Our decision to make it part of our logo (it's a signature design we incorporate into the entry way of every home we stage), was when Christine Rae told us during our CSP course "A house is not fully staged unless you are fully proud." 

So, our penchant for collecting peacock-themed art and statuary became the "Feature This..." mascot! Realtors know it's our work without seeing our business cards or brochures at the sites we stage.

We have even include a real peacock eye feather in our final bill. Cheap, cute, and yet, still classy!

Galveston is a great place to live. It's just a lovely historic city with wonderful architecture and charm. Glad to meet a fellow former Galvestonian!!!

Sue

 

 

Jun 22, 2008 04:20 AM
Michelle Molinari
CurbAppealForDummies.Com - Lafayette, LA
CurbAppealForDummies.com

Hi Virginia,

Girl...rent that sucker!  We have already paid for our lastest commercial ionizer three times over. We offer it free one time per Real Estate office, so they can experience the totality of the eradication capabilities. After that, the office will rent it a few times, then buy they buy one. We are doing really well with them in our humid environment. We have sold several units from this blog alone.

We have sold them in other states to Realtors that have entirely different scent issues. It is customary in some parts of the country to disconnect the sewage line on a vacant. The smell backs up into the houses, and people can't even walk in the front door. Can you imagine? Lordy, that must be hard to be a Realtor in those areas.

Sue

Jun 22, 2008 04:28 AM
Chris Horton
Horton's Lawn Care L.L.C. - Burton, MI

I love my little honeywell ionizer/ air purifier. I just use it in my bedroom which is also where our dog sleeps and has her own bed, and you can only tell because of all the hair lol. We all also sleep alot better since getting it. It definitly works good, so I am sure yours do a great job throught the entire home/ office.

Jun 27, 2008 05:37 PM
j r
International, IT

Great post ,the dog is very cute though lol

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