Smelly house

[MisguidedAngel]

Not mine! A friend looks after holiday homes. One of them doesn't get let very often and she finds it difficult to freshen it up when guests are due. She can't leave windows open or use scented candles for obvious reasons and she hasn't been able to find a scent diffuser which doesn't make the place smell like a funeral home/public lavatory. We live in rural France so she might not be able to buy the proprietary brands you can get in UK. Any suggestions? Maybe tips from your gran?

What does it smell of?

Musty, fusty, a bit damp so a hint of mould. She always cleans it meticulously when someone leaves, but it just spends too long shut up.

A dehumidifier would help, but ultimately if there is damp, it needs to be addressed. Bowls of bicarb in the worst rooms will help absorb odours. What about the damp absorber things you put on windowsills, etc? They could help. Also cotton wool balls soaked in essential oils might be better than commercial airfresheners but you are just masking the smells.

I use essential oils as natural air fresheners. They're good for an instant nice smell. Mix water, small bit alcohol (gin or vodka works) and oil of choice. I like lavender but bergamot and citrus slap good. They do have anti bacterial properties so not just about smell.

Ooh @Mumteedum how do you use them exactly? Got loads of lovely oils that would work well.

Just mix in spray bottle and use as airfreshner. I also like having pine cones on radiators when it's colder and just put few drops on them.

Oh and another top tip... Put few drops on tissue. Shred it and vacuum it up. It then spreads nice smells as you hoover.

Sounds good, what proportions do you use of alcohol to oil?

Thanks for your suggestions, I'll pass them on.

I use as many drops to get requirements strength of smell. Capful of gin. Top up with water and shake. Highly scientific I am!

Required not requirements!

A bowl of white vinegar left in each room works really well. Then a quick airing with the windows open before guests arrive.

These guys do good sprays and you should be able to find them at pharmacies

fr.puressentiel.com/assainissant-spray-aerien

If not as PPs have said white vinegar in boils should work, of if it's really musty, boil a pan of 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water plus some drops of essential oils to a roiling boil then move from room to room with the pan whilst it's steaming.

Thanks for all the replies. She's trying them all out, she particularly likes the idea of vinegar. You can buy white vinegar really cheaply here.

Do report back! I didn't know white vinegar absorbs smells. I use it with lavender essential oil as fabric conditioner.

I use silica cat litter in bowls, with some lavender flowers or oil in. The litter absorbs smells and damp.

I used vinegar when we moved into this house to remove the smell of curry from the kitchen units and the unpainted wooden stairs (and in some cases, the walls). Along with a tray of cat litter.

How often can she go to the house before the guests are there? If it's musty, then an electric dehumidifier may be the best thing, but she'll need to empty it once a day, to begin with. We bought one and it really helped again the condensation/smell, and our neighbour bought one and got 23 litres of water over a week from his flat (we both had massive issues due to electric heaters and single glazed windows)
We tried those little dehumidifying boxes, but they didn't really touch the problem.

A small bowl of ground coffee in every room! I used to work in a nursery, and if a child had an "accident" and the smell lingered, we just left a bowl of coffee grounds on a high shelf. It worked like a charm.
I also use it if the fridge is a bit niffy, from strong cheeses.

A splash of bleach in all loos, drains, plug holes, makes a huge difference when I go on holiday. Really stops the stale smell.