Carpet smell

[Cathy]

My sister is trying to sell her house. She has a dog. Now that the weather is warmer, and a little humid, she says she can smell 'dog'. I suggested baking soda. Anyone else have any ideas?

[angie r]

Has she had all the carpets, upholstery and curtains cleaned? If the dog owner can smell dog then it could be pretty bad to a non-dog owner. I'd try to clean everything and not to cover it up with anything and keep the dog very, very clean during the listing period. The smell can permeate the walls and floorboards too. I've shown houses that prospective clients may love but walk away from because of pet odors.

[AnnW]

Yep, I would call the professionals. Febreeze works pretty good at masking small odors.

[Cathy]

Everything's been cleaned, including the dog. She told me that people on Friday asked what the crate was for, because they hadn't smelled or seen evidence of dogs, but a guy who looked on Sunday commented that he could smell it. I haven't been there so I don't know, but I don't think it could be too bad.
I'll have to suggest Febreeze. Or some flowers as soon as she can get some to bloom. Thanks!

[Diane]

Tell her to try the enzyme odor neutralizers such as Simple Solution or Nature's Miracle. I’ve heard that Nature's Miracle is about the best. She's got to follow the directions to the T though... 8o You've got to saturate the area with the product, then leave it there the appropriate amount of time. You also have to treat ALL the areas where the animal has urinated... because if you leave even one little spot undone, the animal will smell that and think it's still "okay" to go there.

This stuff can be pretty expensive if you purchase it through a place like Pet Smart on a regular basis. The cheapest source of this stuff (and other pet products) to be Jeffer's Pet Supply http://www.1800jeffers.com ... they have some pretty good deals. They also sell an ultraviolet light to help you "view" the urine stains, but this seems kind of expensive for what it is.

Sometimes (as angie posted) depending on your sub-floor or flooring, the odors will continue. 8o Another product that I’ve heard works well is "Smell-Eze Granules" http://www.no-odor.com and these work fairly well... but they are also pretty expensive. For lingering odors you sprinkle this on your carpet and the granules absorb the odor (different from the grocery store-type carpet deodorizers... these have no smell on their own. You can also buy Smell-Eze bags of granules that you place around your home (for smoke, pet odors, etc.) and they work great for a while, but then they seem to conk out.

I hope she finds something that works. I know that when we moved from our old house we ended up having to take a few of our carpets out and replacing them with new (and kind of cheap) carpets just to get rid of the cat urine smell we had. 8o If you're not a pet owner... you can smell these smells the minute you walk into a room and it can be a definite turnoff... good luck!

Diane... :wave: