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.

Can I also add that if you feed the animals better quality food the poo definitely smells less and the animals don’t smell as much .

Hi I have a cat uses a litter tray inside the house. I use good quality litter (it’s natural based one using corn husks I think) & I scoop solid matter as soon as I can, & put down the toilet. Urine caused the litter to clump, & I remove the clumps a couple of times & day, & dispose of these in the household rubbish bin outside.

The only time I notice the tray smells a little bit is when the level of litter needs topping up.

I do notice what smells the most, is not the litter tray, but empty cat food pouches/tins. I wash these out when empty, & again dispose in the outside rubbish bin.

@fruitstick just a thought op but does your extractor filter need changing. I’ve been caught out before when I’ve not done it for a while and realised it’s a bit greasy smelling.
So sorry about your ds, did your dh hoarding get worse afterwards as if so you may need a gentle approach if it’s an emotional response to your ds death.

Can you leave shoes at the door? Really helps and agree with washable throws on the furniture. As for the pets, more frequent litter box cleaning and do use air fresheners. Wash the dog more often. I wouldn't underestimate this as I feel bad for your son. He shouldn't have to be embarrassed to have friends over.

I have a litter tray, and the only comments I get are about how nice my house smells
But I have a thick layer of clumping litter so wee never reaches the bottom. I scoop immediately as WFH and then it goes in the outside bin

Coats and blankets are things people tend to miss with washing
Clean up any cat wee with an enzyme cleaner - it removes the smell and also puts them off going there again

Basically make sure everything is regularly washed and windows open as much as possible

No experience of cats, but we have a hairy dog (Labrador) and I am very conscious of the potential for dog smell in our house. I check it with my siblings and inlaws in case I'm noseblind (they are v honest and straightforward and would tell me straight) so thinking what I do does work.

Dog sleeps in the utility room but is only allowed to roam in open plan kitchen/sunroom where floors are tiled, definitely not near bedrooms or rugs. Allowed on the leather sofa which I quickly spray clean and wipe down before bed but she knows there's no chance on the fabric sofa. She has bedding for the floor if doesn't fancy the sofa never happens
Her blankets and bedding are washed weekly (in a horse blanket bag which saves the washing machine from rogue hair), and her plastic bed is cleaned, disinfected and aired weekly.
She is brushed daily to cut down on hair and bathed when she needs it
Robot vacuum on every night and all kitchen surfaces well washed and disinfected. Kitchen deep cleaned weekly.
Bowl cleaned at night and no pet food left out.

Otherwise......Windows open daily for as long as possible, all football boots and awful trainers kept in garage, outdoor coats washed frequently and/or in garage. Up to date with washing, floors vacuumed daily via robot and mopped by me.
Bathrooms bleached and cleaned daily, deep cleaned weekly. Dishes straight to dishwasher so don't ever stay lurking in sink
Towels and bedding on a schedule, all bins emptied and food waste to brown bin as it arrives.

It takes minutes but makes all the difference.
I do have a few plug in scents downstairs but think these only work when any underlying smells are removed to begin with, otherwise it's clear they're masking.

Agree. But there are also far more important things in life than a vaguely smelly house. And pets bring so much joy and comfort to people.
OP I'm so sorry for your loss

I'd have to be doing mine continuously then! I don't have pets, but my flat stinks with minimal cooking smells, I have a kitchen/sitting room and no fire door only a cheap badly fitting one. If I close it I feel claustrophobic during cooking etc, even with windows open.
So leaving it open doesn't help of course. But so annoying with things smelling.

I wash my towels every day.. thought everyone did.
Bedding changed twice a week.
I have a 12 week old cat and change her litter tray every day and it's under a plug with a plug in air fresher. My Dog died this march. .
Bi carb is great for getting smells out.. but you need your family to help.
Once the cats are old enough let them out to do their buisness.. they will always come back. Make sure pet food dishes are always clean.

I wash my towels every day.. thought everyone did.
Bedding changed twice a week.

absolutely unnecessary and awful for the planet.

Once the cats are old enough let them out to do their buisness.. they will always come back.

yes, us non-cat owners just adore having your cat shit all over our gardens. 😡

I agree it's the cats (and I have two).

Enclosed litter box.

Use catsan and a scented sprinkle powder thing.

Clean the box after every single use. And wash it properly with soap and water.

Or get one of those things where you train them to use the toilet 😂

if you feed raw cat food, like Katkin, you should find it makes the litter tray less smelly. However, it is expensive food.

Pets smell.
I can tell straight away if someone has pets or not, simply because of the smell.

I have an air freshener right by the front door and on the landing, so as soon as people walk in they think it smells nice.

I have throws of the sofa which I change regularly but take off completely when guests come.
I also have an enclosed litter tray.

If I know people are coming over I’ll use zoflora and give it a good mop.

The OP's house isn't just "vaguely smelly" if her child's friends are commenting on it. They will have been to other pet households before I'm sure, all of which will smell to a certain degree...this must be on a different level

Clean the box after every single use. And wash it properly with soap and water.

I always clean my litter tray but I recently needed to get a new one and I didn’t realise how much the old one smell.

The urine must have seeped into the plastic over time.

Never understood why people let dogs in furniture/beds. They are gross. No matter how clean you think they are.

We recently looked after BIL’s dog for a week. The dog had been washed and groomed before coming here. Our house absolutely stank by the end of day 1!! I ended up at Tesco buying anything that could deodorise pet smells.

Other relative has a cat and her house doesn’t smell until the cat uses the litter box, then it is such a disgusting smell until cleaned. Thankfully she empties it immediately.

Opening windows helps massively and I only hear good things from friends who have robot vacs.

Do you have a decent vacuum cleaner? I recently got a corded Shark after being a bit paranoid about dog smell and the amount of crap it's got out of the rugs and carpets is unreal.

Add Tesco antibacterial wash to your washes.

Open all windows every day for 30 minutes in the morning, it really is a healthy thing to do and makes a huge difference.

I burn an incense stick last thing at night after any cooking and even fried fish is eliminated.

I don't have a deep fat fryer in the house, they are the worst for a greasy smell IMO.

Not to be mean but 2 cats and a dog is going to stink to people who maybe have a bigger house and only 1 pet.

As someone who doesnt have pets we viewed a few house to sell and the stench of the animals was over powering.

You might want to wash your carpets occasionally as well as your sofas and open the window even if it is cold for some ventilation.

Goodluck I hate cleaning.

Our house goes musty quickly, the air doesn’t seem to circulate well at all.

10 year old cats aren’t going to be easy to rehome and I think you may regret it later if they were your sons.

Cats know how to use flaps, cats have had holes cut in doors for them for centuries. Even Sir Isaac Newtons cat had a flap.

A cleaning company would do a one off deep clean if it would help you. My dh died last year and my house has suffered. I never struggled before when I was working and doing the house etc.

OP I’m so sorry for your monumental loss, your family must be reeling collectively and individually. Those effects ripple down to everything, as small as housework. For your household standards have slid in my family’s household growing up (my youngest sibling died) my mother’s went up in OCD. Neither is unhealthy. While seemingly bitchy (all teen girls are) they have done you a favour. You’ll be more aware and able to get on top of it again. I wish the NHS had more money as it sounds like bereavement therapy would be good for all of you. My family didn’t do this, and I’m almost down to no contact with my remaining parent as she causes me so, so so much stress that it physically effects me.

on a practical note, plug ins do nothing except fool the homeowner. My mil never washes her dog unless they roll in shit so bad she can’t get it out with wipes, doesn’t wash their bedding, soft furnishings etc and her house reeks of smelly dog and reed diffusers/plug ins/febreeze

*healthy not unhealthy

Dog people get the 'nose blind' thing, in the same way that smokers and chip-pan users do, and don't realise how prevalent the smell is to visitors.

I definitely think washable blankets are a good idea. Enough to have on rotation while others are being washed. Maybe things like scented carpet powders, febreeze and those air fresheners that puff every so often, if family lungs can hack it.

Agree that regular hoovering/mopping etc is vital with dogs.

I'd also be reassessing the litter trays upstairs 😬