to ask a boring house keeping question?

[HugeGlassofMalbec]

I'm shamelessly posting for traffic!

We're renovating a shithole and although it is now infinitely better than it was when we exchanged I'm still haunted my the scent of excrement and urine. It doesn't smell anymore but I want to give the house a scent of its own.

Are there any natural/non-chemical air fresheners that won't leave us all with migraines available to buy?

Ah right, ok, gottit!! Once you get new stuff in, it'll be a lovely blank canvas to put your own stamp on. Zoflora on the radiators is nice (once it's radiator weather again!).

When we guest moved in our home smelled like the previous owners. Also I bought beautiful curtains second hand that smelled of their previous owner. Every day we'd come home and do the smell test. The house was clean and freshly painted but it took many months for the pervious owners to finally fully vacate. We cook, bake and make jams etc., a lot, and the windows are open year round a lot so the house did finally take on our smells!

Don't use cheapo mass market air fresheners, or zoflora, it's a cheap synthetic smell.

Depending on your budget you can go up as high as jo Malone diffusers, room scents and even candles, they are very strong.

If budget is less, something like the white company do some fabulous ones, for example i love the Seychelles one, beautiful smell and not cheap synthetic that give you a headache smell.

These will associate your house with lovely smells. Then move to something like Yankee, cheaper and strong, not as good, but still better than things like glade or whatever.

Verbena or orange blossom are very fresh smelling.

I'm not sure about the chemical side of things but I have a Yankee plug in (midnight jasmine) which is gorgeous, everyone comments on it.

I put essential oils on our hoover bag which takes away the doggy smell when I'm hoovering.

There are lots of natural urine removers for dogs which can also be used in bathrooms etc.

Method do a great pink grapefruit spray, also an orange one which is nice.

If it helps, we've been through very similar with our house and by the time you've painted, decorated, I stalled new floors and carpets and made your changes, the smell will be long forgotten!

Yankee is ok. I've their clean linen one, and although it doesn't match to white company or Malone, they aren't bottom end chemical ones either and they tend to be strong,. For some reason the cheap glade and the like give me splitting headaches. They aren't good smells either.

Jo Malone is the strongest, but I think the white company ones are lovely. If you're going to associate your house with a nice smell I'd go with one of them depending on budget,

I've got a bunch of Yankee candles from Christmas gifts etc ... does the smell last after it's out?

I'm not a fan of glade/airwick etc they make me feel like my eyeballs are swollen!

Where do you put essential oils?

I do like these scent suggestions. I might go for Apple as there's an orchard in the field behind the house. Apple and cinnamon or orange.

No, it doesn't really last much after it's out,

Did you have the floorboards sorted as well? Lifting the carpets will be no good if the urine soaked into the actual wood underneath.

I think I need a reed diffuser but I can't justify £60 on Jo Malone.

The floorboards in the shittiest room have been replaced. The other bedrooms were filthy but not shit filthy!

Dettol spray, added bonus of destroying the viruses

Ok that’s good. What about behind any radiators? Haveyou had a goodclean if behind those?

Check out the candles and reed diffusers in Sainsbury’s. I think they are really good. I have a White company ‘21’ diffuser in my hall way and that get commented on a lot. Also are supposed to do good diffuser and candle dupes for Jo Malone.

I have a Yankee Candle in "clean cotton" that I was given as a gift as it doesn't smell too artificial if you see what I mean. It just smells like cleanliness and laundry.

If you have pets I think you need to be careful with essential oils some can make animals quite poorly. Pine, mint and tea tree are a few that affect dogs.

The cleaners did an amazing job but I admit I didn't check the backs of radiators.

Luckily we've had amazing weather and the windows have been opened since we exchanged 2 weeks ago.

It really is so much better. I just want it to smell nice / naice without a hint of the trolls that lives there before.

Would it be worth spraying the floorboards with essential oils before the carpet goes down? Or is that a bad idea?

The White Company Seychelles reed diffuser (as mentioned by a pp) is lovely and only £20ish as opposed to £60 for Jo Malone.

I have an electric essential oil diffuser that I bought from amazon.
Loads of ‘recipes’ on Pinterest of good combinations of oils to put inside.
I often use lavender/eucalyptus/bergamot/peppermint and that makes my house smell lovely and clean.

We have two cats so I'll have to look into that.

I don't want it smelling of chemical air fresheners but nice!

They also do a room spray in Seychelles - maybe spray that on floorboards??

If I go for the white company diffuser, should I stick to similar linen scents? I don't want a huge clashing of random scents!

Sid the house was that filthy it's likely the urine/faeces will have penetrated the plaster - a house along from ours had to be replastered for 4' up every wall, for just the same reason and all skirting boards and doors replaced.

Or Seychelles, rather.