Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

Lifestyle Parenting, Household Affairs and Cuisine corner
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A close pal is trying to sell her home. She has an open house this weekend but the realtor told her her home has a distinct smell of food that can put off the people.

Some suggestions he made are to not cook for the rest of the days, place vinegar in small bowl in different parts of the home and run an air purifier.

Any other tips?

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

candles...??...scented oils...maybe she can plug in a week before....
potpourri or diffusers in every room...??
We were looking at few houses a while ago and wherever we went they smelled so so good..I was more interested in how they did that rather than the house itself...!

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

I don't know chips...I think our food just has stronger and more penetrating smells :(

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

just leave all the doors & windows open for a week ..let the mother nature take care of it.. :chai:

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

The food smell is mostly stuck in carpet and upholstery, covering it up wont do much, so they have to tackle it.

shampoo carpets and clean curtains, air the place out, and do some strategic painting, dont paint whole walls, paint all the doors for example, it gives more of a new house smell.

if they want to do things on the cheap, they can rent a carpet shampoo machine and cleaner and for 60-70 bucks they can shampoo the whole house.

dry clean curtains and if they are washable , wash them or if u want to do things on the cheap take them off, put them in a car, crack the windows and park in the sun..the combo should do it. or just febreze the hell out of them.

febreze the sofas and stuff.

the smell may actually have gone in the clothes in the closets as well, so wash them thoroughly and put diffusers.

ahhh and the secret trick, bake cinnamon oatmeal cookies the day of the open house..

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

ventilation has to be directly proportional to the amount of aroma..ppl need to run exhausts and air the place out during/after cooking

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

also, dry walls are like hard sponges. They absorb smells and years and years of cooking can make the house smell like a nihari restaurant. A fresh coat of paint can help.

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

OK I like the carpet/upholstery cleaning solution. Lemme suggest to her.

Now I'm thinking how important it is to use good exhausts when cooking. Most people I know cook with windows closed.

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

yup a fresh coat of paint goes a long way, and the whole house does not have to be painted, kitchen and hallways should do the trick.

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

windows closed is okay-ish if u have a good exhaust over the cooktop. I have one of those industrial strength hoods and I still open windows even if it is for a few minutes, some cross ventilation and the place is fine.

if they simply dont have the time to shampoo, I would suggest they baking soda the hell out of carpet and let it sit there and then vacuum it up.

but all that I suggested can be done over a weekend..

if they want to spend a bit then drop curtains at cleaners, call carpet cleaning service and a painter. and problem solved.

we are not the only people with food smell issues, ever been to a house with bacon cooking...not a unique challenge to sort :D

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

We have an industrial strenghth hood as well but I think I get better results when I have the window in our kitchen opne with a box fan working as an exhaust in addition. I think it prevents smells from sticking.

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

I figured that its not only the smelly air that needs to be thrown out but fresh air should be blown in. We start putting two box fans on 2 opposite windows. One fan facing inside to bring the fresh air in, the other facing out to blow the odor out. That arrangement works like a charm

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

Professional carpet cleaning and having them deodorized might help reduce the smell...

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

I think that regardless of the type of food that you cook, if you have lived in a house for 4-5 years and now trying to sell it, professional carpet cleaning must get done.

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

Try using bhakhoor..the smell is quite strong and is nice too

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

if she has carpet, tell her to do a professional carpet cleaning.

air out the place by opening the windows and doors.

use febreeze.

my cousin is a real estate agent, and he once told me that if you have an open house, its a good idea to bake a cake/cookies the morning of, which fills the place with that yummy baking smell and is more inviting. (also masks the "house" scent people have)

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

VERY IMPORTANT and if you see it pays off in long run too.

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

the way to get rid of bad smells in your house is to boil water with a cinnamon stick and orange peel in a kettle. Just let it keep boiling, and when the water starts to run out, put more in, and keep boiling.

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

paint your home, the smell with go away and wash the carpets.

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Re: Trying to sell: Horrible smell in home, need urgent help

love this idea…
def fabreeze the whole house…

good luck :bb: