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.

Sorry to hear that you are feeling down about what has happened. Think on the positive side though, it can be changed if you want it to be.

I have two dogs and they do get smelly! I wash their bed every couple of weeks (probably should do it once per week though), windows open when I can to let air circulate, regular hoovering and mopping, and Fabulosa foam freshener is my best friend! Don't bother with Febreeze it's awful. Try the Pet Fabulosa fabric freshener that's sage and vanilla scent. I can spray it on the evening and come downstairs the next morning and it still smells really strong. Another tip is a wax melt burner. Super cheap to run and smells a lot stronger than a candle x

I've never had a pet, but can always smell that animals live there when I go in a home that has them, and they never smell nice. I think owners have just got used to the pungent aroma.

I'd move the cats litter close to an outside door, ideally the back.

I wouldn't allow the dog to sit on any furniture, or if you do, you need to cover it with a big blanket that you wash very very regularly.

I’m always concerned my house smells and I don’t have pets any more. My husband is grotty tho so doesn’t help. The smell of dog lingers in the air. Cats don’t smell but litter tray’s definitely do, I was so thankful when a cat I had was able to go outside and I could do away with the dirty things. Lots of febreeze, mop with zoflora or similar and open the windows as much as you can. Slimming everything down to as minimal as you can will help as well. Good luck.

Careful with the plug in air conditioners they can be dangerous for cats.

2DC and a dog and a cat here. I have reed diffusers around the house and upend the Reed's frequently, also a lot of scented candles. I febreeze the sofas and rugs weekly and wash pet bedding every couple of weeks. The cat doesn't have a litter tray but when she injured her leg and was on crate rest I couldn't believe how awful the litter tray was. We don't have a cat flap but just let her out frequently, she rarely has accidents in the house. I Hoover every couple of days, wipe radiators down with tumble dryer sheets and use the method hard floor cleaner where we have wood which leaves a nice smell.

Bedding is washed weekly and I always open my windows for a bit, even in the winter. The dog is smooth haired miniature dachshund and she gets bathed every month and I use a deodorising spray between baths. Always clean kitchen after use and dettol the worktops and mop floor. Unfortunately you just need to up your game and do more frequent washing and cleaning I think. I'd be mortified if someone said my house smelled bad.

@headcheffer
"Cats STINK. Even if there's no litter box! You can tell a cat lives in a house as soon as you walk in."

Cats don't smell unless they're ill. A litter tray will smell if it's not cleaned regularly and I prefer to use a litter box with a flap.

We also have a dog and it sleeps on one sofa which has a throw over it and they are swapped over and washed regularly too. I agree that the dog sofa definitely smells a bit but we keep the windows open at that end of the room to ensure fresh air is circulating around the house.

I definitely wouldn't use any artificial room sprays as they're awful for your lungs and can exacerbate breathing problems.

A regular cleaning routine will help but don't use too much bleach or products like Febreeze. They're really unhealthy. You won't die from a pongy dog but excessive use of strong chemicals will have a lasting detrimental effect on your environment and your family's health.

No dogs on sofas. Let them dry off so where else before going through the house . Car litter every day . With animals hoover every day it’s also easier . open windows . Have An air freshener near the cat litter no instead of cleaning though.
get dogs to groomers makes such a difference .

It will be the litter trays. They are vile.

Coats can smell too if they’ve been rained on and not quite dried. They are horrible to brush against.

I use à really good cat litter called Cats Best. It’s brilliant and I only change it about once every 5 weeks. I poop scoop of course and all wee clumps and flush them. I ask friends regularly if our house smells and I’ve never had negative comments. It’s brilliant!!

I put the cat's litter tray outside during the day and then clean it and bring it in at bedtime. My car uses the litter tray outside during the day so my house doesn't smell of cats. I keep all the windows in the house open and vacuum and mop daily.

All the blankets, bedding and cushion covers are washed regularly. I also spray flea spray on the soft furnishings regularly and flea bomb the house twice a year.

OP has a garden so she doesn’t need a litter tray.

Is it possible that a pet (probably kitty) has chosen an odd corner of the house as an impromptu extra toilet area? Our cats did that once, and we had no idea. I found the horrible spot when digging something out of the back of a utility closet. Had to replace that area of the floor and block access to it.

@fruitstick put a sheet of folded newspaper down inside the litter tray once you've lined it with the bag. Then put the cat litter on top of the newspaper, the cat won't puncture the bag this way.

Use wood chip cat litter - so much less smelly than the usual stuff - and change it regularly. Even better let your cats go out - peeing on clothes/other items is a sign of anxiety - it’s not good for cats to be stuck in the house without an escape route, especially if they’re scared of the dog. You can put cat flaps through solid walls and glass panels these days - doesn’t need to be a back door. But I agree with posters above - the dog is unavoidably smelly. All you can do is keep things clean (including the dog) and air the house - nothing worse than an airless house overpowered by smell of dog.

But tell me what I need to be doing.

Rehoming your pets.

You can always smell pets.

I use bicarbonate of soda in little bags in drawers. You could put one in jockey pockets and secreted around the house. It’s great for soaking up smells. Not sure if it works with cat litter

Some disgusting comments on here OP- truly odious!
Honestly, if any of my DC's friends had made such comments, they would have been swiftly shown the exit door by both us and DC. Luckily it never happened and our little cottage (with pets) was filled with plenty of people who remain friends to this day, 30 + years later. You mention people with large homes but in this area anyway, they are the people with even more animals - large dogs, horses etc. Do your best to keep your home well ventilated, fresh and clean, but honestly, there are far more important issues in life as I'm sure you know 💐

See, I don't understand why some pp are saying it's the cats who are causing (or at least contributing to) the odour in OP's house. We have 6 cats and 4 covered (this may matter?) litter trays in various places in the house. ( And before anyone spoyts the '1 per cat + 1' mantra, our cats have 😹😹😹😹 at that as a marketing ploy to make their designated humabs spend unnecessary money!).

However, all our covered trays have a litter tray inside the base of the covered tray, and beliw the added tray the covered tray base is lined with newspaper. We use Catsan clumping litter.

All 4 covered traysare all scooped daily, but only cleaned out completely every 4 weeks (coincides with flea/worming treatments!) Our house absolutely does not 'smell of cat'. My DH wfh and has people here for meetings who (and I'm not kidding 😄) hate cats! (Not allergic, just can't stand). Believe me, none of them would tolerate being here if our house 'smelt of cat' 🙀

But dogs? Oh yes, OP, they smell. A lot. Even if you can't smell 'dog', others will, especially in the circumstances you describe! DH, DS, Ddog... triple aroma threat 😄😄

I am sorry for your loss OP.
Our cat goes outside and I am so glad not to have a littertray.
I get sometimes they are necessary.
Our pet food smells as both cat and dog are fussy eaters and leave food in their bowls. If we are expecting guests (esp kids friends) I wash up animal food bowls.

you have 6 cats.

your house smells.

Catsan litter
Wash blankets/throws in fairy non bio fabric softer and have on sofas/chairs
I also put some fairy softer in mop bucket but not sure if this is safe 🤣
Yankee clean cotton plug in
Polish wood With a good polish
Tell son his friends are dicks

First of all I wanted to say I’m sorry for your loss OP 🤍

If you need help with the cat smell get a cat litter tray with a roof and door. They’re a total lifesaver

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/flip-cat-hooded-loo

Everyone commenting “cats and their litter trays completely stink” isn’t helping at all. What do you want OP to do, get rid of her cats? When my dog was being toilet trained and would piss on the carpets I would soak it up, saturate zoflora on the area and then mist all over the carpet to neutralise any smells. It’s safe for pets and it overpowers any wee or animal smell much better than the plugins. I also used to put a few droplets of essential oil in the carpet too. x

Cat and dog owner here.

The hoover is the worst smelling thing in my house - never used to be a problem before I had pets.

Currently using some deodorising discs from Home Bargains which do work but need replacing regularly.

Good luck with it!

It’ll probably be the litter trays and cat food.

For gods sake… I sometimes wonder if the people on this site are real sometimes. OP says she’s been less concerned with housework because she’s suffered a loss and you’re saying she should go nuclear and get rid of her pets? Madness