We have all seen the commercial on TV about being nose blind to odours in your home and think it’s quite funny.  We even may be very sensitive to smells ourselves, but many times we cannot smell the offensive odours in our own Orangeville homes.  Some of the offensive scents can be from smoking, pets, cooking and just people in general.  The best way to know if you have gone nose blind is to invite a good friend over (maybe bribe with a coffee or glass of wine) and ask for an honest opinion.  If you are thinking of selling your Orangeville home, then this is an imperative step in getting your home ready for sale.  Truly the best smell is no smell.

Tobacco Smoke:  Most of the people I know do not smoke in their homes anymore.  They sometimes use the garage or just outside the home.  Unfortunately some of the smoke still permeates the home and leaves an essence of smoke in the home.  Clothes definitely hold onto the smell of cigarettes or cannabis.  If you do smoke in the home, you will certainly want to do some prep before offering your Orangeville Home for sale to be able to get top dollar.

• Hire a professional to shampoo and steam-clean your carpets and upholstery.

• Wash your walls. You may have to repeat the procedure several times.
• Paint the ceiling if it has turned yellow. Rent yourself a power paint sprayer to save time.
• Wipe non-fabric surfaces with a vinegar and water mix.
• Take smoking far outside the house once you’ve gone to the trouble of cleaning and getting rid of the odour
• If you have a cannabis plant you may want to rehome it for a while because they can certainly cause odours in the home

Pets:  All pets smell.  This is probably one of the areas people are most nose blind to.  Your pet is part of your family and we just have to find a way to work around their scent.  Maybe trying to limit where they roam in the house while you are doing the prep may help keep their odour to one area.

• Hire a professional to steam-clean your carpets and upholstery. They have special cleaners to remove stubborn smells and stains.
• Thoroughly clean the corner where your pet sleeps.
• Remove pet hairs from upholstery.
• Patch and repaint scratched doors.
• Remember to clean cages and litter boxes frequently and take the trash out of the home.

If you are lucky to have a friend or relative that can keep your fur baby while you are for sale would be an added bonus for a couple of reasons. First it will reduce the cleaning you will be doing and second your fur baby will not become stressed with the number of strangers going through their home.

Mildew:  Mildew and mold thrive in moist areas such as around the tub, shower and sink, or as the result of a leak. In places with poor air circulation, such as basements, they can produce a strong musty odour. Any sign of mildew or mold is a big turn off.

• Install a dehumidifier in the basement especially in the summer months when the air conditioning is running.
• Repair any leaks. Clean the affected area with diluted chlorine bleach. Let dry and repaint if necessary.
• Use mildew remover on the tub rim and between tiles.
• Re-caulk and re-grout as required.
• Check cold rooms to make sure there is adequate ventilation.

Cooking:  Some foods may be very tasty but can leave a strong odour that can be very offensive to some such as fish, garlic, curry, cabbage and asparagus.  If your home is for sale in this crazy market, you are most likely not even in your home long enough to cook a full meal; but, if you are, you may want to refrain from some of these aromatic dishes.  A nice apple pie in the oven or cinnamon cookies would not be too bad.

People Smells:  This may seem funny but it is true.  When you think of your grandparent’s home does it bring a smell to mind? You may think old person smell.  What is that?  I have walked into my walk-in closet and thought…am I at gramma’s house? What is that smell? Well I have come to the conclusion that it is wearing clothes and not washing them immediately.  It is old clothes that we are hanging onto for far too long.  It’s dry-cleaning chemicals on some of our clothes.  It’s just good old fashioned body odour that has penetrated the fabric and no amount of washing will get rid of it.

Another ‘people smell’ is teenage boys smell.  I recently showed a property that my client commented that she thought they had just eaten hotdogs as we were walking into a boy’s room.  I knew right away that it was a teenage boy’s room.  If you have a teenage son, you know what I am referring to.  A good plan would be to wash bedding often, get new pillows for their bed, relocate their shoe collection to the garage for the time being.  This will help with their scent.

These are some helpful tips on getting rid of smells in your Orangeville home that you may not even be aware exist.  Regardless of the actions you take, open the windows and let fresh air circulate through your house whenever possible. Another huge mistake is trying to use other odours to mask the bad odours.  Honestly the wall plug-in scents and automatic spray deodorizers can be equally as offensive.  Many times they are too overpowering.  Like I said earlier, the best smell is no smell.