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’d say it’s a normal amount.

Cats can easily be trained to poo outside

which means other people (usually non-cat owners) have to deal with it instead. 😡

I think you I've had lots of good suggestions here op. I agrée opening doors and windows is a must. Ours are open all day every day as long as someone is in. Winter time it's just the windows upstairs but you need to let the air in and the smells out!

My cat has a litter tray at night which goes out first thing in the morning. The wet food bowl can get smelly too so there's only kibble offered to graze throughout the day. Blankets on sofa are washed weekly and windows are always opened. Febreze on occasion is worthwhile.
I hoover daily although only have a small house now so its not a huge chore but something the children could get involved in, in yours maybe?

No-one knows what that is, so well done for being so clever, but maybe you could explain.

https://www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk/information-hub/heat-recovery-ventilation-mvhr/

It's a mechanical ventilation heat recovery system. Basically, it jettisons the crappy air from the house but retains the heat from it and it draws in fresh air from outside and cleans that too.

You must clean the litter trays out every day or they will smell. Keep your dog off the sofa and have more than one washable dog bed for them to sit in, changed and washed every week. Sorry OP but I can imagine your house does smell atm from what you've said, it's so easy to become nose blind though.

Xxx

I just feel sad that you feel you have to spend your precious week off sorting this out. Alone. No one else in your family seems remotely bothered enough to help you.

All dogs and cat homes smell. They just do. Just own it. You love your pets that's all that matters.

Like a PP suggested, get Cat's Best cat litter. It's not a cheap one but it has been a lifechanger for us. The wee clumps the litter into a ball shape which you can easily remove, leaving the rest of the tray clean. We remove poo as it happens, wee clumps twice a day, replenishing with a bit more litter if necessary, and do a full change once a week.

It's so different to other litter that our holiday cat sitter, who is obviously a bit of a litter expert, asked what it was so she could use it at home.
Cleaner litter trays will encourage your fussy cat to toilet in the right place, so long as you clear up the clothes she likes or remove access to them.
Good luck OP

People think I’m really OTT because I won’t eat at pot luck style dinners but these threads where people are aghast at a reasonable amount of cleaning being done really affirm my choices.

As has been said, it’s probably the cats. We have one and it takes a LOT of work to keep our (otherwise very very clean) house from smelling. Emptied multiple times a day, all fresh litter twice a week, floors and walls near the tray washed frequently…but I don’t do it, the person who wanted the cat does it. Whomever yours belong to should be in charge of it, it sounds like you’re carrying the entire load of keeping your home together here and that simply isn’t fair to you.

SadlyACupOfTeaDoesNotSolveEverything
When did you last shampoo your carpets/rugs? How often do you mop floors?

I insist the hallway is cleared of shoes, bags and coats daily after they all get dumped after school/work.

We have no pets but my routine on top of usual cleaning is:
WEEKLY; sweep and hoover the staircase, wash down the sofas in lounge and armchair in the hallway, change kitchen table cloth, f breeze curtains, wash throws, mop all floors.

I hoover and sweep daily (multiple times), bleach loos daily and deep clean twice a week, frequently change hand towels and kitchen towels, wipe all kitchen units after every use with a nice smelling spray, do dishes when needed (no pile up), clean out fridge weekly. All on top of actual cleaning because I am paranoid about having a house that smells fresh 😳.

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

*

I always thought of myself as pretty lazy with house work but I do all of this every week too, except I only deep clean the bathroom once a week and I only clean out the fridge veg drawer at the bottom weekly because that gets manky the quickest.

Sweeping, hoovering rug and mopping only takes an hour.

Cats can easily be trained to poo outside

which means other people (usually non-cat owners) have to deal with it instead

Even before I had cats, something used to regularly shit in my front garden flower pots. I was tempted to buy a Ring door bell just to find out who the culprit was. My money is on hedgehogs.

Point being: creatures will shit in your garden whether you like it or not. As well as hedgehogs, we also have foxes and squirrels crapping in the flowerbeds. No cats though.

People haven’t made an active choice to keep hedgehogs, foxes or squirrels as pets though. Massive difference between the domestic cat and wildlife. (And now you’ve reminded me that they’re also killing machines.)

I forgot-we also have an air purifier on all the time. We got it to remove the particulates from the stove but it’s actually fine when the stove is on. It does go crazy when you’re frying or cook g something smelly and does remove the smell more quickly.

MVHR sounds great but surely means they are running an electric pump and purification system 24/7 -so you retain the heat but use power to circulate it.

Haven't read the whole thing but nothing will work as long as you keep pets. Without fail they will give your house a distinctive smell.

Cat litter trays have all been sprayed. We have one of those fitted door mats in the hall which I've taken out in the garden to give it a hose down.

I've also ordered a rug doctor to do the carpets and sofa next week. We only have carpet up the stairs and landing but can't remember the last time it was cleaned.

If you have a garden OP then let the cats pee there! It’s madness having stinky litter trays when they could just go outside. That would cut the stink by half if not more.

Spraying litter trays does f all.

How do you dry your clothes, Dsis used to dry clothes around the house and didnt ventilate enough and her house always smelt fusty.

Is your cat peeing on the doormat? Mine has a habit of doing this and left unchecked, it's obvs the first thing you notice when you step into the house. I have a washable doormat that's washed regularly. Also - no carpets, wooden/laminate floors, and throws on the sofa that get washed weekly. Hoover a lot, get Febreze and a few nice diffusers - and throw out smelly shoes or use odour eaters!

Travelling by bus I can't help noticing how much a few people's coats and jackets stink, so while the contents of the hall might not be the biggest problem it would certainly be worth washing the outdoor stuff or having it cleaned - and removing some of your DH's coats.

On the other hand, spraying with Febreze etc as has been suggested can't be good. Surely it's unhealthy.

Some people hang coats on a hook on the back of the kitchen door and they pick up smells.