Can your house smell nice if you have pets

[fruitstick]

I'm obsessed with my house smelling nice. Everyone else's house smells clean and fresh and I don't feel like mine ever does - even when it's clean.

We have a dog and 2 cats. Since the dog has arrived the cats have taken to living upstairs- so they now have a litter tray in the upstairs bathroom. We use Catsan and I change it weekly and empty it as I go along.

I wash the dog's bedding regularly although he is allowed on the sofa.

On the whole, I'd say my house smells 'fusty'

I also have a teenage boy. Maybe he's the issue.

What are your best 'smell fresh' essentials.

I have Reed diffusers but I can never smell them.

Have you tried giving the litter tray a really good scrub and leaving it in the sun to dry?

I use tray liners but no, I probably need to do that.

Reed diffusers are rubbish for pet smells. I’d recommend airwick plug ins, or a plug in diffuser where you just add water and a few drops of whatever scent/oil you like. The diffuser is a lot more friendly as you can add natural oils. I’m obsessed with ylang ylang at the moment, one small diffuser in my living room fills up the whole house with the scent. It always smells really fresh and I’ve got a lot of animals.

I would say not, in my experience you can ALWAYS smell when someone has a dog, it's on the furniture, in the carpets etc, and can range from a mild mustiness to a full on stench. Cats aren't smelly themselves but the litter trays can be if not cleaned very often, same for food dishes. Maybe other dog owners (seems to be the majority of people these days) don't notice it though?

No and I say this as the owner of dogs. All you can do is try, but I think you’ll never have a fresh smelling home.

I can smell a litter tray at 100 yards, and reckon if you've got one in the house and it's not changed almost daily that won't be helping. Re the dogs, stick a throw on the sofa and bung that in the washer weekly, if they're long haired bung them in the bath regularly too. Be careful with scented products like air fresheners as they can affect dogs.

Open windows, make sure your bins are changed, and your drains are clear. Wash your cushion covers, stick your curtains in too while the weather is good. Make sure you've not got any mouldy shower curtains in the bathroom etc.

I can always always tell if someone has dogs when I go to their house, there's a doggy smell! Same with cars, if I get in I can smell the dog.

I have cats, and I'd say they probably don't smell as much as dogs (outdoor so no litter) but their food can pong! I keep food in the cool utility and wash out their bowls pretty much every day, hoover each day (different bits of the house), always have windows open and beds aired, fresh bedding every week and wash the cushion covers and blankets downstairs fairly often. All soft furnishings get hoovered / wiped down with damp cloths (in water with a tiny bit of fairy liquid) every week and I'm a sucker for home scents and essential oil diffusers.

Everyone that comes over (and sometimes even delivery people!) tell me it smells great, it's a lot of work with cats but I love having a fresh smelling house.

I have cats and use Catsan. Once a week for a full litter change isn't enough. I spot clean poops as soon as I can and full change about every 3rd day. My cats also go out so they don't use the tray every time. It's smells damp rather than of urine when it's been used.
Also the tray itself needs a thorough clean with detergent at least once a week. I also use clean bowls for every feed and don't leave wet food down in warm weather.
Dog and cat bedding needs regular washing.
Personally I don't like the smell of perfumed houses and dislike plug in room fresheners. Open windows for fresh air.

I think it would have to depend on the size and breed of the dogs. I've got two tiny fluffy dogs that refuse to go out in the rain so we never have a wet dog smell, and they generally don't really smell like anything, but I use scented conditioning wipes on them now and then anyway. Presumably an active Labrador would create more of an odour. I use plug in diffusers and sprinkle scented powder on the carpets before hoovering and the house just smells like cleaning products.

I've found that the fragrance of cat litter itself it pungent and notice the smell even when the cat box is clean.

I have a cat and a litter tray
Open windows a lot
Febreze small spaces in the bathroom, wax melts and Reed diffusers
People always comment it smells fresh

Its dogs that cause the most smells in my experience. I can always tell who has a dog as soon as the door is opened. Litter tray won't help either. We open windows daily literally every window, get fresh air in. I don't use reed diffusers and only use candles in the winter really. It's all about getting fresh air in to air a property.

I've got three cats and a dog.
The two trays are poo picked and that refresher powder used on them twice a day, then changed completely after dinner. (Use liners so not a huge task)
They get scrubbed out weekly.

Dog isn't allowed on the soft furnishings, I have to hoover at least twice a day to keep on top of the hair and the floor is spray mopped every evening with a disinfectant.

Windows are opened daily.

My house still probably smells of animals 🤷‍♀️

I have 2 spaniels, and have tried all sorts of air fresheners. I've just discovered that Febreze 3volution do a "pet odours" fragrance, and it's made an unbelievable difference.

I have always had pets. I have two dogs and two cats and my house does not smell. I have asked people who come in to tell me if they can smell anything and they always say it smells nice in here. Yes - there is always going to be hair but I have vacuums and use them a lot.
I am a fan of leaving doors and windows open.
If you feed your pets wet food and leave it hanging around long after it has been eaten then this will be what causes those nasty fusty smells

Fabric spray to use on sofa, beds, carpet, pet beds… I use the Dettol one and everything smells like it just came out of the laundry!

Also I think it can depend upon the breed of dog you have regarding smells. I love German Shepherds but won't have one as I could not stand the smell of them especially when wet

I chose the breed of dog partly because they were described as 'low odour' but she is hairy, medium sized so we get damp dog or sweaty dog when she's been travelling. I use doggy spray on her. There is a good mane and tail spray for horses which smells nice and so I squirt that on when grooming. Her food doesn't smell which helps. We have wood floors and generally she doesn't come upstairs. There are times when the living room gets a bit whiffy so scented candles or a room atomiser is used. My son's room is way more whiffy than her!

Having windows and doors open wide whenever possible helps and the plug in air wicks in every socket

We have a spaniel. Both are only on dry food. But yes, I probably do need to clean the litter trays a little more often.

Cat litter is so expensive though. Is it better to buy cheaper litter and change it more often?

I'm going to wash the sofa covers/cushions and then get some more throws I think.

Thank you!

I have two cats and I've cleared a patch of earth in my garden for them to use instead of the litter tray and they do prefer it. I clear it everyday.
Other than that they don't smell although the hideous rotting smell I couldn't find all week turned out to be a rotting mouse under my bed.
My last cat however did smell and I couldn't invite anyone to my house untill she eventually died. She was 21 when she died and was a high needs kitty. She had kidney disease, thyroid disease and bowel disease - all treated properly by the vet.
She would have explosive diarrhoea in random places and would walk in poo in the litter tray and then over my bed.
But I loved her, so what can you do.

My MIL is the most house proud person I have ever met. She was never a doggy person but SIL, who l lives with her, managed to talk her into allowing her to have a dog. The dog was regularly bathed and groomed, the house cleaned regularly to within an inch of its life and pet bedding washed etc, but there was still a slight fusty smell. Then SIL decided she wanted another dog and now there is no mistaking the very ripe doggy smell. MIL asked me outright if I could smell 'dog' in her house and I had to say yes. But it's part and parcel of owning a pet. They are not human and smell differently to us. They probably think we stink of human being!!

Light some incense & clean those litter trays!

Nothing stinks like cat piss.

I’m not a fan of that catsan type litter and think it smells quickly. I use Ever Clean strong-clumping stuff that I buy from Amazon. Scooped twice per day. I only do a full change once in a blue moon.

If you’ve got a strong-clumping litter with odour control then you can scoop out all of the wee and poo and it rarely needs a full change. The initial cost of a box of litter is higher than the non-clumping catsan stuff but you don’t have to buy it anywhere near as often. I think slightly more expensive litter is well worth it in terms of reducing smell.

I’d also ditch the litter box liners. Just make sure you have a really good big, deep tray and fill it with a really decent amount of litter and then when you scoop out the wee it usually hasn’t even seeped through to the bottom. Using a thinner layer of litter is a false economy, as it means the box needs a full change way more often as the box itself is more likely to get soiled.

Dog houses always smell faintly of dog but I wouldn’t say its a fusty smell.

Litter trays as so hard but if you use a clumping catsan and remove the dirty clumps every day it shouldn’t make the downstairs smelly.

Hm tips. Lots of open windows and nice smelling plants?

@fruitstick I use the cheapest cat litter from Tesco as I'm changing two trays per day. It's fine.