What can I get to make my house smell nice?

[fishingforflies]

I have too many pets & my house is starting to smell.

The reason I have too many pets is that my Mum died and I inherited 2 of her cats and I already had a dog.
I can't rehome any of them elsewhere, please don't suggest that! The cats don't have a litter tray and there's nothing particularly smelly about any of the pets individually, they are youngish, healthy and regular vet checked.
But please suggest a way I can make my house smell pleasant again. I absolutely hate fragrances like Fabrezze etc, I'm hoping I can find some natural but strong scents, I can't bake bread and make coffee all day unfortunately.

If you have carpets put an odour neutraliser down before you vacuum.
You can get a fabreze that is a neutral smell rather than scented

Sorry nothing to add but watching with interest as our dog is old and smelly I'd love my house to smell of something other than that!

Windows open when practical
Wash the bedding very regularly
Clean their bowls daily, incl water bowls, if they can be placed in a shallow tray that will stop old food sticking to the floor adding to the general smell (btdt)
Vacuum very often, if shedding time then daily

You are so lovely taking on the 2 cats, I am so sorry for your loss.

Natural smells would be boiling a pair of clementine and a few cloves/cinnamon stick for about 20 mins, lid off, the aroma will percolate (again same as if you had time to bake of course) anyway worth a thought?

If you have carpets then putting something nice smelling in your hoover makes a massive difference. Otherwise every time you vacuum you fill the house with the smell of grubby carpet and hot pet hair I put a broken sandalwood incense stick into the compartment under the bag whenever I change it. You can get little scented teabag things with a floral scent, or you could put something like essential oil on a cotton ball in there. I wouldn't put it directly on the filter/sponges though.

I recently bought a Neom Organics Perfect Nights Sleep diffuser and its made my whole living room smell gorgeous

Bath the animals regularly.
wash bedding once a week together with toys etc.
bacarb soda on carpet and left for a couple of hours then vacuum.

numatic "harry" hoover instead of henry..has a pet specific filter on it i find brill.. air the house out as much as u can and bleach/equivalent any suitable surface.. keep pets off carpets if possible

Coffee scented candles are nice!! Also wax melts and air freshener might help. Hoovering more. Have you lots of carpet or fabrics? Any new purchases, avoid fabric sofas/fluffy rugs etc if you can.

Good luck OP, and sorry for your loss!! How lovely of you to take on the pets :)

Lampe Berger! It eliminates smells and 99% of airborne nasties!
I have two indoor-only cats and light mine twice a day for 20 mins.
Also I agree with PP re putting scents in hoover filter.

Open windows as often as possible. Vacuum regularly and if poss shampoo the carpet’s reasonably frequently.
I like candles, diffusers etc but some are not suitable with pets so check.

Unless the cats are shitting and pissing all over, or if they're unable to properly clean themselves, they should not smell. Cats are normally very clean animals. Does your dog stink? Do you allow the dog to get up on your furniture? Are you hoovering very regularly? Mopping hard floors?

Replace carpets with hard flooring and fabric furniture with leather. Don’t allow animals on beds etc. Clean a lot. Open windows.

You can add as many scents as you like over the top but it’ll just smell like nicely fragranced eau de pet.

If you have carpeting, get rid of it. It's just gross.

I've got only hard flooring downstairs, with rugs though obviously.
I can't really keep them off the beds/sofas, my house is very small and if I close all the doors all the time it's very dark and miserable plus my daughter would never remember to do it consistently and it would drive me mad trying!
I don't think any of the animals really smell, my dog gets fairly regular baths, but I think it's the accumulative effect of all the animals, and maybe the cat food as the cats have a mixture of wet and dry which they graze at, whereas the dog gobbles hers down immediately?

I just remember the other day I walked in the house and I could really smell the pets, I even walked around the house seeing if one of them had an accident or brought in a dead animal of something! - but after 5 mins I didn't notice it, which worried me that I'm just getting used to a stinky house.

I remember when I was a schoolchild my friends house really stank of old dog (they did have an old dog to be fair) and I really don't want my house to be known for that.

I'll try and up the cleaning, but it's not easy as I'm a solo parent and work full time and no money for a cleaner.

Thanks for the best wishes about my Mum, I miss her horribly and having her pets are a comfort to me and her daughter and a reminder of Mum, and there was no question that I would give them a home with me, they are family too.

Aw, I am glad having your mums pets is bringing you comfort. I have three cats and a dog. I have a floor steamer and regularly steam my rugs which really seems to help. I also use the dettox neutra air freshener which doesn’t really have its own smell, it just gets rid of other smells, if that makes sense.

I'm sorry about your mum x
I've started using Dove bar soap in the bathroom and kitchen and I've noticed the smell spreads (if you like the smell of Dove!). I know you don't like Fabreze but their pet one doesn't smell of anything but might help on soft furnishings that tend to absorb odours - I use it on our curtains if we've had curry!

I bet it’s not your pets that smell, it will be the food that is left out for the cats, can you put a lid on the food when they are not eating? I think that would help massively.

I have cat feeding mats on top of carpet samples. Feeding cats regularly washed and carpet samples regularly aired outside. I'm sure it makes a difference, especially as cats are fed in a corner of the hall.

Do you have Bath and Bodyworks in the UK. Their candles combat my dogs, cats, pigeon (don't ask) and smoking. They are not very expensive either.

Puressentiel Purifying Air Spray (you can get it on Amazon) is really good, made with essential oils. It has quite a strong herbal smell and isn't the cheapest, but you don't need much and it does work.

Spray a nice furniture polish on top of the radiator so that when it warms up the smell carries through the room.

Second those saying nothing beats the smell of fresh air though!

Wax melts, febreeze or zodlora. All the above will give you a headache...

Do you have a garden/outside area. Are your petts allowed out/dogs have walkies???

Sorry for your loss Op x