Your home’s smell can have just as much of an impact on a potential buyer as your home’s appearance. Let’s face it: no matter how much curb appeal your property has, pungent odors can be as much of a turnoff as a bad paint job or ragged carpet. The worst part is that friends and family may be hesitant to tell you that your home is perhaps “less than fresh” for fear of hurting your feelings.
As you prepare to show your property to potential buyers, here are some ways that you can help deodorize different problem spots around the house.
1. Air it out.
The best thing you can do is simply open up the windows. Try to do this in the early morning or late evening when it’s cool outside. If possible, try to create a cross-breeze by opening windows on opposite sides of a room or opposite ends of your home. The idea is to exchange stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air.
2. Get rid of “sink stink” with baking soda and vinegar.
Kitchen drains and garbage disposals can collect grease and food remnants, which can lead to bad odors. Clean your garbage disposal by “feeding” it a cup of ice cubes. The ice will scrape away debris as the blades grind it up.
For a smelly kitchen drain, you’ll need baking soda and white vinegar. Sprinkle a cup of baking soda down the drain, and pour three cups of white vinegar after it. This mixture will react together to break up grease and other smelly substances lining your kitchen drain. After this mixture has had about 15 minutes to work, rinse the drain with cold water.
3. Steam clean carpeting and rugs.
With few exceptions, most area rugs are not machine washable. To get a thorough cleaning in these areas, you’ll want to either hire a professional to steam clean your rugs and carpeting or rent a steam cleaner. These machines are available for rent at most home improvement stores, rug cleaning shops, and even at some grocery stores.
4. Eliminate pet odors from upholstery with a two-step method.
First, vacuum the furniture thoroughly with your vacuum cleaner’s furniture attachments so that you can pick up as much pet hair and dander as possible. Next, you can either spray your furniture with a pet-specific odor eliminator or sprinkle it with baking soda. If you’re using the odor eliminator spray, use the manufacturer’s directions.
For the baking soda method, sprinkle your furniture with baking soda wherever you want to eliminate odors. Let the baking soda sit overnight so that it has time to absorb the smells. By the next day, the smells should be mostly (if not completely) gone, and you can vacuum up all the baking soda.
With your home sale well underway, you’ll need to pack quickly! At True Friends Moving Company, we offer both moving and packing services to assist you with your short- or long-distance move: (615) 240-2811!