To be really really pissed off with the vendor of my house?

[BigButtons]

I moved in last weds.
I knew she had a dog. Turns out she had three pug dogs which were often let alone for extended periods.
the house was covered in dog hair- it was even in the fridge and freezer. These had not been cleaned of food debris either.
dog shit left all of the back garden.
there was so much dog hair in the carpets that it formed an almost solid dog hair tube in all the pipe work and on the rollers which I had to use a stick to push out.🤢 it looked like a long piece of shit when I finally got it out.
my bedroom has carpet- the 2 others do not- lucky them because my bedroom REEKS of dog- I mean you can smell it before you go in the room- the Hal and startles have the same carpet which also stinks.

I have used a carpet cleaner on it three times and even spent more money getting a special pet cleaner.
according to my neighbour the dogs used to spend a lot time in that room on their own- letting themselves out through a cat flap to the garden.
She could hear them barking when the owner was out.
the carpet has clearly been pissed on multiple times and there were remnants of dog shit on it too.
I cannot get the smell out. It wakes me up in the night.

How can people live like that?
I am not a crazy cleaning lady by any means. I hate cleaning, but I do it to a reasonable standard- but this?
it is a decent carpet with good bounce in it, but I am beginning to think it is unsaveable because the dog urine has been there so long.
Does anyone know a way to get rid of the smell? As soon as the carpet shampoo the smell is back.

I HATE sleeping in there I feel so dirty.
I might just pull it up and have that as yet another thing I have to fix in the house.

Do dog owners really not realise how bad their houses can smell?
Clearly she is a bit of an extreme case , but I am absolutely flipping furious.
she also took stuff that she said she would leave on the fixtures and fittings - I am talking to my solicitor about that.😡

There is laminate downstairs and there is no smell down there thank heavens.
urgh- your house sounds rank. Some people a really crazy and filthy

Carpets are up and in my front garden. All staples and grip pulled out. Floor swept and then hoovered. It already smells a million times better.
I have identified the areas where urine has seeped through the underlay- will deal with that tomorrow.
I feel absolutely filthy and am going for a shower.

Well done you.

IKEA do some decent pots& pans that can be used on induction hobs.

Something like these:

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ikea-365-9-piece-cookware-set-stainless-steel-20484332/

Check the floors really don’t smell before putting new carpets or underlay down - we had tenants who let dogs wee everywhere and it took months and months to get the smell out of the cement floors, it had gone through everything.

Also second the suggestion re: fleas. We moved into a house when I was about 13. It had been left in a disgusting state. They had had cats, and a hessian/rattan porch mat. There were fleas in it, so we all unknowingly traipsed them in all around the house. Me, my brother and my 3 year old sister were all covered in flea bites, my parents were mortified and so upset.

Seems excessive.

Thank you all ( mostly) for your support. I have literally been on my feet trying to clean and sort since 5 am. I sleep but wake early. I am on school summer hols and will probably go back more exhausted than when we broke up🥴.
I feel happy sleeping in my room tonight. I have had to schlep heavy furniture round it constantly in an effort to clean the carpets this week.
i will go to the dump tomorrow - will take a few trips.
then if I have the energy I am going to get rid of the remaining carpet on the stairs and in in the very small upstairs hallway. This also reeks.
you know when I first viewed the house it was very tidy and well presented. I assumed the owner was a clean person. Well, you live and you learn.
when I left my rental on weds I had spent the week before washing carpets, cleaning ALL surfaces, including right into corners, skirting and door frames. Not because I had to but because I wanted the new family to move into a clean house. I know I had to clean to get my deposit back, but I did it more for the next family.
I guess skanky lady will currently be having her three pugs peeing all over the carpets in her new home.
the great irony is that a neighbour told me that my vendor was so upset at the state of the carpets in this house when she bought it, that she had them all replaced.🤷🏻‍♀️
I will also email my solicitor my grievances. I know nothing will come if it and I am not prepared to sue. My solicitor told me that the conveyancing system in England is not fit for purpose for many reasons, but vendors being in breach of contract was one of them.

DM used to have a rule of never buying a “second hand” house.

I used to eyeroll at that (and live in a Victorian house myself), but then sometimes I just think yep, new build is the only way to be sure.

I always deep clean (as in, hire a company for an end of tenancy deep-clean) before I move in anywhere.

I’ve always factored this cost in. No way do I want to be moving in and living with someone else’s dead skin cells, pet hair, places their kids have vomited etc etc.

Carpets and toilets have to replaced for me.

We had the same situation. Viewed house twice, no sign of any dogs. Rugs on all the floors, but in keeping with the style of house. Nice smell of incense throughout.

Moved in and the reek of dog made me physically sick. So much dog hair everywhere, carpets all stained. Weirdly locks on all the outsides of the internal rooms which we think is so the owners could keep the dog contained??? Hired a rug doctor which just made the house smell like wet dog. We moved in that cold snap last December so it was too cold to rip up carpets, especially with kids, so we bought massive rugs for the living and bed rooms and have gradually being replacing. House generally was an absolute state, left us with a full loft and a skips worth of rubbish hidden behind the shed. Absolute arseholes.

I hope your house starts to feel like home soon OP!

I don't think it's excessive.

It's horrible to smell the previous occupants, and I agree with PP about changing the toilets!

Well done OP, you'll get there in no time.

Ok whatever you think. All homes with dogs do not smell of dog.
i can always smell certain homes i visit with dogs and some do not smell of dog at all. This is in my experience of visiting about 20 dog owners a week in their homes. I have also in the past worked for a fragrance house as a “nose”, as my olfactory senses are about as good as it gets, so i can smell everything!

*This is in my experience of visiting about 20 dog owners a week in their homes. I have also in the past worked for a fragrance house as a “nose”, as my olfactory senses are about as good as it gets, so i can smell everything!

Honestly, you can't. The fact that you visit 20 dog owners a week in their homes explains why you can't smell it - your brain has accepted the smell of dog as "normal, default, nothing to report".

For those of us who don't have dogs, didn't grow up around dogs, don't spend a great deal of time around dogs, and are always very aware of dogs in our vicinity...we can absolutely smell when they live in a house. It isn't necessarily an unpleasant or unclean smell, but it is there.

Did you offer substantially less than the asking price? Were you a pain over completion dates? We had one purchaser who was really obnoxious to us. We still cleaned the house but they didnt get items not specified in the contract that we would have left if they had been decent.

Obviously you had an extreme example @BigButtons but imo I’d want to replace carpets asap in any case especially in bedrooms because they collect dust and other people’s skin cells don’t really appeal.

I have a dog and she has never ever had an accident in the house so I’m slightly irritated by the sweeping statements that all pet homes will smell. Mine certainly doesn’t smell of anything i don’t want it to but I’m very aware and make the effort to ensure this.

I’ve been in many houses where you know instantly a cat or dog or smoker lives there but this can easily apply to those with small children or men that don’t aim properly. People who don’t look after their homes properly aren’t all pet owners!

Get this stuff.... Its designed to break down the urine smells. Don't use the Dr Beckmann stuff - it will still only mask the smell. This enzymatically breaks down urine and other smells. Dowse your floor boards in it. It will help.
https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/simple-solution-stain-and-odour-remover-4ltr

How do you cope on holiday? Or do you have a second home for that purpose?

@ItsNotRocketSalad
You can!
Like people who used to smoke in rooms but said it didn't smell.

No you won’t, just air for a few days before relaying.

No and I was a cash buyer who was ready to complete way earlier than the rest of the chain.
she initially offered to move out early to take me out of the chain and then went back in that just as we were ready to exchange.

I managed to sleep for 9 hours straight last night. The longest I have slept for weeks and weeks. No smell in my room- so so much better.
I am definitely going to pull up the upper hall and stair carpet today- will be a cinch after yesterday’s moving furniture around to chop up bits of carpet marathon.
ooh- replacing toilets? It does look a bit grim- mind you the whole bathroom is grim- filthy dirty .
I have my plumber coming round tomorrow and will mention it to him. I have to have GHC put in and he may as well do bits in the bathroom as well.

DH’s first house was like this - must have been so thoroughly aired before he viewed (he did remember that the windows were always open). Moved in and it stank, carpet cleaning just pulled the smell up from the underlay and floorboards and made it worse. We binned all the carpets and underlay and scrubbed the floorboards with very diluted disinfectant.

And DH always reckons he can smell if a dog has been in a house, he is much more sensitive to it than me (I was brought up with a dog, he wasn’t).

Glad you have found a solution OP.

Just this morning we've put an offer in on a house that the strong small of dog hits you as they opened the door. It is also dirty and brim full of junk And you kept your eyes peeled for the dog laid landmines walking down the large garden. It's why it is cheap and hasn't sold.

We are under no illusions that every item of soft furnishing will be binned and the useable but dated kitchen and bathroom (loo not cleaned for our first viewing and the lid up!) will need a very very deep clean.

On our second viewing the lady was very apologetic that she'd been told we only wanted to see the garden again - like there was anything she could have done to meaningfully tidy the place for the viewing.

We may consider a retention in the contract regarding the junk, because it would need three or more vans full to clear at £600+ a van full. We aren't convinced they are capable of clearing it, it not being cleaned we are expecting.

I love my induction hob, though I had to say goodbye to my lovely set of pans to use it. This house has a gas hob and it'll be going the way of the carpets and curtains as soon as we get the keys.

You have my sympathies, our house was the same. We could obviously smell dog when we viewed as other people are suggesting. What I didn’t realise is how completely ingrained the smell was in the actual bones of the house, so that even without their dogs and belongings and after ripping up all carpets and sanding the floors, it STILL stank for months afterwards.