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I once looked at a condo foreclosure where the bathroom had a strong odor of sewer gas.
It permeated the air in the condo. The real estate agent tried to convince me it would clear up. Maybe yes, maybe no but I wasn't about to find out.
I am very sensitive to smells. When we were house hunting, any mildew or dampness smell was a deal breaker. Cat would have been too. I give my house the sniff test every time I come in from outside. My kitchen is in the center of the house so if there is something funky in the trash, I can smell it when I come in.
I'm sure they wouldn't do much for covering up smoke, animal smells or mildew, but for future "sellers" I've heard that either frying onions or baking an apple pie or homemade bread (the day your house is to be shown) is a good idea to make the house smell good and cover up "normal" house smells. Everyone likes the smell of freshly baked pie or bread, but I guess it depends if you like the smell of fried onions though.
I strive for no scent in my own home. When shopping for homes, I won't ever buy/rent a smoker home or a heavy pet odor. I told the realtor not to bother even showing those houses to us.
But yeah, there are some unusual scents from cooking, or perfume or whatever. I have no problem buying these types. I went into one home and it smelled strongly of engine oil. Turned out the owner used to fixed motorcycle motors parts in the house. That was a rental, got the snell out with no issues. Still think that's nuts.
My ex-husband used to do that, only it was boat motors and other boat parts in the house. He also cleaned our guns in the house. But that's not a big deal compared to the smell of cat urine. I had a litter of puppies in a home I sold and they had peed on the tile through newspapers I had laid down. I thought it might have the puppy pee smell. I couldn't smell anything, but people who live in a home often can't smell something a stranger visiting can. Fortunately, dog urine is much easier to get out than cat urine. So I bleached the tile a few times, sprayed some enzyme solution I got at PetSmart on it, and blew it dry with a fan before I listed the home. It was shown multiple times and not a single potential buyer complained about a smell. It sold soon after listing.
I'm sure they wouldn't do much for covering up smoke, animal smells or mildew, but for future "sellers" I've heard that either frying onions or baking an apple pie or homemade bread (the day your house is to be shown) is a good idea to make the house smell good and cover up "normal" house smells. Everyone likes the smell of freshly baked pie or bread, but I guess it depends if you like the smell of fried onions though.
I hate the smell and taste of onions so it would probably turn me off, TBH.
I am very sensitive to smells; my husband is not. If I think it's bad, it's a no. I have to say my dad used to smoke a lot and after he quit, the smell slowly dissipated over time. The smell definitely didn't stick around. And now everyone is SO sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke.
Ugh I had a best friend in high school whos mother LOVED to fry everything. Their house smelled so rancid and the surfaces of everything were sticky to the touch. Whenever he came to school you could smell that rancid oil smell on his clothes.
My brother in law is korean and I went to his sisters apartment once and my god, the smell. It was like garlic and some kind of spicey funk just poured out of the walls...
Not a completely serious topic but I am curious. Has the smell of a house ever effected your decision to buy a home? When I was looking, I came across several homes that had strange smells ranging from chemicals to old food to mildew to just funky unnamable smells. These smells were in old and new, occupied and unoccupied homes. I remember walking into my current home as a buyer and noticing how clean it smelled. I do not think this was the largest factor in my decision but I'm sure it had some sort of influence. Just curious on your thoughts.
We have looked at many homes and it seems the ones that have the heaviest artificial scent are the ones that have the biggest water/damage issues.
One home even had mud dauber nests in a closet in the attic where they had rooms with a dormer built.
There was not one next either, there were 4 nests in the one closet, we left and did not open any other doors.
In south FL you have to be careful of houses that smell like rotten eggs or chemicals. That's one of the signs that there may be Chinese drywall in the house.
Ugh I had a best friend in high school whos mother LOVED to fry everything. Their house smelled so rancid and the surfaces of everything were sticky to the touch. Whenever he came to school you could smell that rancid oil smell on his clothes.
My brother in law is korean and I went to his sisters apartment once and my god, the smell. It was like garlic and some kind of spicey funk just poured out of the walls...
thatguydownsouth brings up two other smells that really turn me off. Rancid grease - uggh. Pretty much as bad as cigarette smoke. Also, it leaved a sticky, gross film.
And some ethnic cuisines.
When I was first married I lived in a small apartment complex. The people who lived bellow us were Korean and they cooked a lot. I know the smell he is talking about.
We got to know them and tasted the food and it was actually delicious. The smell left by the cooking though was disgusting. We actually asked to be moved to another unit because all of my clothes began to smell like this.
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