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.

...also agree that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself, with what you've been through.

You might find that you feel better for getting into a new cleaning routine but if it's honestly too much at the moment then it might be an idea to get the whole family involved. Everyone doing a little bit makes a huge difference.

Hi OP. If your DH won’t come onboard with the shoes and coats tell him he either does or you bundle up what’s lying around and it goes to the charity shop.

You’ve been given lots of tips. Open windows are a must. Ours are open pretty much all year round, including winter. We have throws and cushions on the sofa. They are washed every 2-3 weeks. We don’t have pets. Bedding and towels every week. Floors hoovered or mopped too.

Don’t take all of this on yourself. Make sure the family help.

If the cat is weeing on clothing , make sure you wash it thoroughly or bin it. Cat wee stinks.

My brother has cat and lives with my parents who are both disabled and have a cleaning call once a week and I also help out.

I bought some stuff from b&m for the litter tray, scented liners and also this stuff almost like talc which soaks up the smell of urine etc.

secondly I got smelly plug ins (I have them all over my house) and also 2 of the air fresheners that blast a smell in every few minutes, one in the hall way and one in the kitchen/living room. When I go there I also spray all the furniture etc with fabric freshener (black bottles from b&m various scents)

when you open the door now it just smells fresh.

i am always hoovering, spraying with nice smelling disinfectant on my work surfaces and tables, towels etc always changed, candles burning (not ideal with various pets) nag champa on the go occasionally, all my windows open when I am home downstairs, upstairs always open first thing. Bleach in the toilet and stuff down the sinks when everyone has gone to bed, I make sure i treat the washing machine too so it doesn’t build up smells.

I had cats and dogs throughout my childhood, and I now don't have them due to my DH's allergies. I do think people with pets get noseblind to their smells. I really notice them now.

Litter trays smell but, imo, if you have a dog and they are allowed on your soft furnishings, then there will be a smell. Definitely get something (blankets, whatever) that can be washed if it's a surface they are on.

Sprays just make the house smell like dog AND spray, imo.

Good luck OP :)

Tell your friend that her nose is too near her armpit..

Windows open as much as possible, clean floors with boiling water and lemon washing up liquid, nice scented candles, litter trays cleared out as much as possible. Check eg couches, coats etc, in case an animal has peed on them (we once got. abad smell in the hot press and cleared out anything, the cats had peed in a corner on a blanket!) We have a dog and two cats and our house is a horror movie but doesn't smell too bad. Best of luck op (and remember that it might not smell that bad to everyone, they could be super sensitive, super fussy etcX

@cuckyplunt

why? If OP’s house smells , it smells 🤷‍♀️
so she and her family need to do something about it
simple as that

I AM SO SORRY, I have offended someone, I will go and give myself a good talking to!

If you have animals, then your house smells. Probably a mixture of their food and the litter trays. We don’t have pets but relatives do and their houses smell. DS keeps dog food in the downstairs loo and it stinks. We once went to visit someone who said she was sorry about the smell of paint but she’s been decorating. All we could smell was cats. I’m afraid we all get used to the smell of our own houses.

Would you let a toddler do a poo in a potty, leave it stewing, then let the toddler tread in the potty, then run around your house, jump on the soft furnishings? That’s why your house smells. Cat is jumping in the litter tray and all the tiny poo crumbs that stick to its fur and paws are being trodden all over your house. My neighbour is very clean, worktops immaculate, carpet shampooed regularly etc but her house stinks of cats. When I feed them for her, it makes me heave. I think most cat owners are ‘nose blind’ they are so used to it. The same as smokers don’t realise how much it clings to your hair, clothes.

It’s horrible people are giving you a hard time when you’re being proactive. It’s possible you’re house just has a slight odour and the child who commented is very sensitive too. We’re all assuming from the thread that the smell is bad but haven’t considered that it’s a sensitive child!

Funny you should say that, I can’t fathom dogs (especially wet and muddy ones)! Cats can easily be trained to poo outside, it’s owners that dictate toilet training, same for the litter trays - cleaning regimes are in human hands. Bit like collecting dog poo.

Pet owners never seem to notice the smll of their own pets. I say this as someone who has had dogs in the past and know it was true of us.

Personally I find cats smell far worse, especially when owners insist on having cat litter trays in the house - I can’t think of anything grosser.

I definitely think cats’ homes have a smell - it’s a combination of the animal itself, hair, mostly their food if that’s left out for them and of course the litter tray if they use them. Even if the owner tries really hard to mitigate for this I can definitely detect a cat smell, every time.

I’m sorry for your loss OP. 💐 If your home has an air of a beloved pet, who cares what a couple of kids think? The pleasure and love that the animals bring is worth more than their judgement.

You can get robot litter trays now on amazon. They rotate to dispose of litter internally and tell you when to empty the bin part.

Id love one but my cat is timid and not particularly bright.

True.
I have a dog, windows throughout the house are opened every day, get fresh air in (I hate synthetic air fresheners with a vengeance)
All throws on the furniture are washed weekly, hard floors downstairs vacuumed every 1-2 days, mopped at least weekly.
when I had a cat I had a covered litter tray, emptied and cleaned daily, poop removed promptly.
Any cat that pissed on clothing would have limited access to the house and definitely not allowed anywhere near clothing, that really is disgusting 🤢
Get all your curtains cleaned, material absorbs odours.
Check what your sofa, chairs, bedding smells like; don’t allow animals upstairs at all. Get carpets properly cleaned and the dog groomed and bathed (brush it regularly too)
Vacuum everywhere daily to reduce levels of animal hair and dander.

We had a friend like this. The final straw was coming home covered in flea bites after staying overnight 🤬

Litter trays fully cleaned out once a week sounds seriously gross. I wouldn't piss in a tray and leave it there for a week, let alone let animals do it. If these are upstairs next to kids bedrooms I'd be worried about the health implications of these close to where the children are sleeping. Get a cat flap or get rid of the cats.

Animals do smell and it will seem worse in a smaller house. Probably worse in an older house too due to the crevices

Get Cats Best cat literally, it's amazing at containing smells. Wash pet bedding often. Get the carpets shampooed. Open the windows- amazes me how many people don't do this. Don't mask tge smell with chemical air fresheners, it will smell worse.

I find I can only control kitchen smells by shutting doors throughout cooking and window and back door open - how wide depends on the temperature outside!

Only one of my clients houses doesn't. Brand new build, everything brand new inside, very uncluttered.

This house may have MVHR - the difference is phenomenal.

Any dog deodorant recommendations? Thank you 🙏

• regular airing of house (windows open at least a crack most of the time)
• washing dog bed/replacing it every couple of years, but also washing the dog monthly helps a lot
• throws on the part of the sofa that the dog sits on/no dogs on the sofa
• air purifier machine (also helps with dust mites and asthma sufferers)
• regularly mop floors and sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on carpets before vacuuming
• not leaving out any uneaten dog food

this is what we do as dog owners. If I know someone is coming round I open the windows and back door for a good while before they come round. Also often put the dog and his bed out on the patio in the shade quite often.

and I expect our house still probably smells of dogs!