How to have a gorgeous smelling house.

[Socrates73]

Any tips much appreciated!
My house downstairs is all open plan with unfortunately nowhere to put the cat's litter tray except tucked into a corner of the kitchen. He won't use a coveted litter tray and will go on beds/sofa instead if I don't leave an open tray. Although I keep this very clean I'm conscious that my house always smells vaguely catty. I'd love to have one of those houses that people walk into and just think " mmm nice smell"
If you have a delicious smelling house, how do you achieve it?
I go through air freshener like it's going out of fashion but it doesn't achieve the result I'm looking for.
Thank you.

I use diffusers from tk maxx, the best ones I have found are parks aromatherapy or pecksniffs. The smell really does fill the room. Cheaper ones don't seem to do it, but I always get the reduced ones in t k maxx because they always have a few

I think the key is fresh air- open windows/doors as much as possible. I'm a bit stuck with this one though as we have an indoor cat who is too daft to go outside (rag doll) so have to keep the doors closed unless she is supervised outside.

Stupid cat!

I have recently started to use plug in air fresheners and try and keep the windows open for fresh air

House smells lovely you can even get the automatic air fresheners that go of after 5-10 mins

My (rented) house is old with aging carpets so never smells fresh 😟 I leave Windows open as much as possible and use zoflora diluted in a spray bottle for cleaning. Shake n vac actually does leave a fresh smell for a few hours but these are all chemicals masking smells rather than removing them.

I was thinking to buy one of those pulsating aromatherapy mister things, has anyone tried one? Essential oils such as tea tree, lavender, rosemary and lemon would actually be beneficial.

I saw the Zoflora thread recommended a drop or two down the radiator. Might try a reed diffuser although I've looked at them before and can't get my head round them. Kept thinking I had to light them 😁

I have a scented candle burning on my windowsill pretty much all the time. Makes the place smell so fresh and clean. I use ‘fresh cotton’ scent

Don't use a feed diffuser if you have pets. I remember a newspaper article about a cat that knocked it over and the liquid gave it really severe burns.

I wipe the radiators with diluted Zoflora and it does give a nice smell, but if you have 'undertones' of pet then it doesn't actually remove it. I can smell our cat in certain rooms, but DH is convinced it is all in my head!

I have a dog and always conscious of any smells.

I get candles from tk max , always reduced

We don't have carpet downstairs but when I hoover up stairs I will use once a week shake 'n' vak . Squirt of febreeze every now and then.

Zoflora in the sinks over night is a good tip. I also hoover up lenor unstoppables so my hoover smells fresh when I use it! Careful if you have children or pets though because sometimes they fall back out so I have to keep a watch. x

We got Royal Canin indoor cat food. It really helps with poop smells. Pretty much eliminated them. Its pricy but the difference is so much that we gladly pay it.

I have loads of scentsy warmers. I absolutely love them. Wax warmers which double as soft lamps.

Good tip pebblespony I may look into that food.... he is a smelly cat!!

What's your budget? If you're happy (!) to spend about £250, then a air filter works really well to clear smells.

My parents bought a Vax one when my Grandmother moved in with them as she unfortunately initially had chronic leg ulcers (once smelt, never forgotten). It really worked!

I've got a Dyson one as wanted a fan function. We used to rent and the bedroom smelt really odd/musty (I was convinced someone was buried under the floorboards). The Dyson completely removed the smell, you could really tell when it had been turned off.

If the above are out of budget, other options I like are essential-oiled cotton wool in the vacuum cleaner, aromastone on a timer (keep out of cat's reach) or ultrasonic room fragrance thingies.

That's definitely out of budget just now, sadly! But thanks for the tip I might treat myself when things get a bit easier.

What cat litter are you using? I can only use the Sainsburys ultra clumping, anything else doesn't cover the smell well

That combined with auto air fresher, frequent mopping with zoflora and an air purifier

Highly recommend scentsy. A little expensive to set up but my home smells amazing.

(No I'm not a rep)

Another which cat litter? We get Cat's Best from Zooplus and smells disappear v quickly.

Which bit of covered litter tray does your cat object to? Ours wouldn't go through the catflap but were quite happy to use one if the catflap was taped permanently open. Also they may just want a bigger tray so they can wiggle about in there.

Finally, and this is the big budget option, we bought Modkat trays from Zooplus. They are big boxes the cat hops into from the top. Expensive, but always on offer so you don't have to pay full price which is ridiculous, look acceptable in the house, all the cats like them and we use far less litter too.

Zoflora, it's amazing. I wipe down surfaces with it and mop with it. In the winter I washed the radiators with it and the heating then encouraged the smell. It's gorgeous and actually makes me want to clean.

I have finally replaced the lounge and hallway carpet. The dog smell was almost gone instantly.

I also use ambi pur plugs in and regularly use the slow cooker which fills the house with nice cooking smells.

Lastly I use those little balls in the wash, Lenore something or other, they make all the linen in the house smell lush.

I second the person who said essential oils. And open windows as much as possible.

I think Zoflora smells horrible and it gives me a headache

Wash wooden floors with Flash lemon, spray soft furnishings, blinds and curtains with pet Febreze, cotton fresh wax melts. Lots of open windows and use wood pellet cat litter.

Works a treat here for dog and cat.

We have 1 dog and 1 cat now but was 2 until recently.
I use candles, reed diffusers and these air fresheners that pump little sprays out.
Reed diffusers are in most bathrooms. Bathroom with cat litter box has both pump air freshener and the reed diffusers. In the kitchen I also have candles.

I am looking for a gorgeous smelling house as well. A cat, Labrador and guinea pigs makes it smell rather petty. Which I hate! I want a beautiful smelling home rather than a sweaty shoes in the hall, kids dirty clothes everywhere, horrible smelling house.

I’ve started using wood pellet cat litter and noticed that it’s reduced the smell a lot. In fact I couldn’t smell anything yesterday

I also highly recommend Scentsy. Unlike a dented candle you can leave they on all the time without any risk of fire.
They have loads of different scents.
We have on in the living room and even when it has been off all night and we walk in it still smells lovely.

Off to buy wood pellets then, thanks for that. Got some ikea candles yesterday but might look into scentsys too. Where do you buy them?