DS's friends say our house smells

[fruitstick]

I know it does but I'm mortified. DS's friends are also quite a bit wealthier than us with bigger houses etc but I don't want DS to feel he can't bring people round.

We keep the house clean but have a dog and two cats. The cats have litter trays upstairs which don't help.

I blame our hallway as no fucker puts their shoes away (DS & DH) and there are loads of coats (mainly DH's).

I have the next week off work so was planning on a big clean up anyway.

What do I need to be doing.

I know the dog on the sofa means we need to wash the cushions more regularly than we do. I'm not as religious about cleaning as I could be.

But tell me what I need to be doing.

I should say, the smell I find worst going into others’ homes isn’t the smell of pets, it’s the smell of general grime build-up, like a mixture of sour/stale body odour funk and a vague wee-like smell. How often do you wash your sheets? When was the last time you did a deep clean? If it were me, I’d try to tackle one room in the house per week over the next month or so and do really, really deep clean (not just a little tidy to clean up super visible grime). Rent a carpet cleaner and shampoo all the carpets. Bleach the tile surfaces, scour the bathroom, wash all of the linens and towels on high heat and either let them dry in the sun or take them to a laundromat to make sure they get really dry. Do a sniff test of all of your clothes and re-wash the sour smelling stuff (a few times if necessary) until it stops smelling like mold and sweaty armpits. Keep your DS’ bedroom door closed as a matter of course for the next few weeks/months to get the cats out of the habit of using his clothes like a toilet.

Oh yeah, forgot to say, if you don't have them already, get covered cat trays or hop-in-hop-out toilets. They contain the smells a bit better than an open tray does.

I always worry about this (I have four cats and two kids). I bought Litter Robots* (they self-sift the litter after every use), a robovac for downstairs (it is on everyday) and have an old steam cleaner (for floors etc). Windows are kept open for fresh air (but I open all the doors and windows wide first thing to really air the house out each day). The house is small so we hoover everyday. Floors are tiled or original wood floorboards, so a lot easier to keep clean. I do have a large rug in front room that I steam clean. Sofa has removable covers and these are washed frequently. This all seems to work for us.

*One is an LR3 that I got secondhand, the other is an LR4 which I just got. I add some activated charcoal in to the litter to help absorb smells. The litter boxes are cleaned weekly. The normal litter box is sifted daily and cleaned weekly (but the cats prefer the LR3 and LR4). The cats do have a cat flap, so they can go out during daylight hours but are all in at night time.

Don't fret, things will be ok xx

It's the cat litter and cat food. And dog. I know you said no but you really should consider letting the cat wee outside, catflap or open and close doors for them. Had the same issue. Catflap and switch to a non smelly catfood and if they have left overs throw away after a few hours, outside bin, not inside. Got rid of the problem.

I’m a big fan of airing the house out every single day- all windows and the back door/ patio needs to be opened for a minimum of good 1/2 hour in all weathers.

The moisture of having that many people living in one space plus clothes drying, cooking, showers and three animals needs airing regularly. It’s healthier too.

Can you afford a cleaner? Getting the basics done weekly (floors, bathroom and kitchen) will free up more time for you to do other things.

Can you afford to get carpets replaced with laminate? Carpets can get to whiffy with pets around.

Most of all you need proper input and change from the people in your home. This isn’t your burden alone!

My DD has a (very) small house and a cat who has a litter tray. The house doesn't smell at all (and I'm not nose blind to it as I don't visit particularly often, and nor do I have a cat).

The litter tray is lidded and stands on puppy pads. It's checked regularly (the cat is fussy about using it if there's any poo hiding in it, anyway) and DD is just generally very conscientious about it.

So no, cats don't all smell, nor do their trays. In a tiny house it would be all too obvious if hers did.

Oh and just to say, I visit a lot of houses weekly. They all smell. There's only one house that makes me heave and that house has 2 dogs. I don't ever accept a cup of coffee there as the first time I did, it had dog hair in it!

Cat houses honesty don't smell as terrible.

But nearly all houses have a 'smell' . Only one of my clients houses doesn't. Brand new build, everything brand new inside, very uncluttered.

I would strongly suggest opening all windows in all rooms for at least a couple of hours a day, and then if it’s too cold, keep at least one upstairs open and one downstairs open. The smell of fresh air really will help with any lingering smells.

All other smells will be in fabrics. Having carpets and sofas professionally cleaned will make a massive difference, especially having a dog and cats. I remember buying a Vax carpet cleaner when I lived at my mums and she had a dog. We cleaned regularly, but after the Vax clean, the water was BLACK! We had no idea that amount of dirt was in such a small lounge area.

it sounds like you keep on top of regular day to day cleaning so I wouldn’t give yourself a hard time. Just start new habits with always having windows open, and professionally cleaned carpets every 6 months or so?

Until you can get a cat flap installed, just leave the window open for them to go in and out, and take the litter box outside. It’s a temporary measure but few things are as stomach churning as a cat litter box. Then do a major airing and cleaning - maybe get a company in to do a one-off spring clean. Maybe get your curtains cleaned too.

Some dogs smell, some don’t. We have a washable blanket on the sofa, which is the only furniture where the dog is allowed. Maybe book a carpet shampoo day? And give the dog a wash.

You can buy carpet cleaning granules to clean and freshen up the carpet before you vacuum - some actually smell ok - and you could do this regularly.
Good luck OP!

And try wood pellets for cat litter. I find they don’t smell, and as soon as the ammonia smell starts, you know it’s time to change.

Blankets for dogs to lie on that are washed at least weekly. Open windows every day for as long as possible. I hoover/ wash floors a few times per week. I also have wax melts for up and down stairs.

Agree with PP who say smell is in fabrics. Why not go room by room and remove all soft furnishings (towels, bedsheets, curtains etc.) take them to the laundrette, get them all washed and dried. Go back to your room and clean/ declutter every last thing in there. Replace all the clean bed linen then take the stuff you have de cluttered to the top/ charity shop.

repeat for every room in the house.

It sounds a tough situation and I'm sorry for your loss. No wonder the wheels have come off a little. We have sofa dogs ( lurchers) so when it's new sofa time, we only buy leather, second hand good condition, as it's easier to keep clean, just give it a wipe down once a week. Saves on the blanket washing. Might that help going forward? X

😂

😍 This is the loveliest response I've ever read on Mumsnet 🤗

What would you say your house smells of if anything

Windows open in every room. Polish, dust, get DH to clear clutter, throw old rugs away, get everyone involved in a big weekend clean up, skirtings.
I have two dogs, no smells, sounds like the cat litter trays is the issue, try emptying daily and see if things improve.

I’d highly recommend hiring a rug doctor carpet cleaner if you have carpets! I’ve just done my lounge floor last night and it is immensely satisfying and really gets rid of any lingering pet smells.

I am a clean freak, but this is too much .
I feel exhausted just reading this.

Some white vinegar and water in a plug in diffuser is great for getting rid of odors and no you can't smell the vinegar. Home bargains and B and M also have a stardrops vinegar spray for laundry. Which I use on carpets. It's also safe for pet's. What about having your carpets steam cleaned?

Cats.Clumping litter makes it easier to get all the wet out.Clean out poos immediately as they are eye watering.clean out obvious wet clumps at the same time. Once a day soft through the whole tray and be fastidious about it and once a day sweep and wash the floor round the tray.

Dog needs regular bath/grooming.

Pet bowls smell too and need washing daily, including the water bowl. And the floor around the bowl.

Washable covers on furniture.

We bought our house off someone with 3 dogs, the stench was unbelievable. It'd had 40 viewings, someone I later met told me they'd viewed our house and liked it but omg the smell, they also nicknamed it "dog house". We offered and pulled out, then reoffered, I was also pregnant so it was 1000 times worse to me. It took about 6 months to get rid of the smell, every single floor in the entire house was ripped up and walls were stripped, it was just in everything. The only place we didn't rip up the floor (been meaning to for years!) Is the porch, we returned from holiday the other day and my husband said the porch still smells of dog, it's been 8 years since we bought this house, the porch has been scrubbed, redecorated countless times yet it lingers in the tile flooring somehow. I think the smell just ends up ingrained in things, furniture, carpets, walls etc. We ripped everything out, but having all your carpets and soft furnishings professionally cleaned by a carpet cleaning company will probably help. I'm not sure it's possible to have pets and not a slight whiff unless you are ott ocd, I do know someone like this but she is cleaning all the time, she exhausts me!

Thank you for this post! I also worry about my house smelling with a dog.
But I think the bigger cause of smell is my kids kit and clobber they dump in my hall everyday. Football boots go out to the porch, the shin guard and boot bags too. (Yes it's me that does this, not the kids). PE kit washed as soon as possible. Summer shoes stored away in the Winter and vice versa.
Get rid of all clutter - if it's not there you don't need to clean it or around it.
1 thing which I don't think has been mentioned is the dog toys. Fabric ones reek and snd need running through the washing machine and others need a good wash in the sink etc.

It’s the cats.

Our house was always sparkling clean because my mum was a cleaning obsessive! I noticed the (not overwhelming but lingering cat smell) after I left home. I had never noticed it when I was living at home. I never mentioned it because my mum would have been mortified! And our two cats were lovely.

Dogs and cats smell. Their beds smell. Their food bowls smell.

Everyone’s house with a pet smells.