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.

@fruitstick

In your own words :

*No I don't clean the litter tray out as much as I should. Maybe I need to switch to cheaper litter (I use ever clean) but change it more frequently.

And possibly wash the dog more. Basically, I need to get off my lazy arse*

Problem solved.

No, that is not true at all. Cat pee and poo smells (so does ours!) but cats themselves have no smell. They are extremely clean animals.

All cats smell - it's very noticeable to non-cat owners.

If you have any kind of access to outdoor space I’d just let the cats out and they can pee outside. Litter tray stink is awful.

Any outside door can have a cat door (except the front door obviously) but if there’s literally no other door, they can always be let out the front.

Litter trays should be scooped and topped up daily then completely changed once a week. You can buy liners that make it easier and also scented stuff.

vacuum and ‘wash’ sofas weekly with soft sponge and hot water with a bit of clothes detergent and conditioner(for the scent). Then spray all soft furnishings with fe breeze including curtains etc.

vacuum as often as possible but definitely once a week deep vacuum with deodorising powder to help get doggy smell out.

grief is so hard OP. Be kind to yourself

I have just bought a house that had three dogs. The dogs had peed all over the main bedroom carpet. There was no way carpet washing would get rid of the smell. The top hall and stair carpets weren’t pees on but the dog smell went right through the underlay- again no amount of washing would have got rid of this. I pulled all the carpets up. Is that an option @fruitstick ?

Sorry, but litter trays do stink- it's poo & piss just sitting there! My gorgeous neighbour with an immaculate house, has 3 cats & the smell hits you as soon as you enter the hall despite litter changed daily. I feed her cats ; change litter daily when she's on holiday & it is still smelly even when no-one's living there.

On top of this, if there's too much stuff/ not cleaning enough, I can understand why it smells badly. Great advice on routines from PP- for everyone, don't let it just be you, that's incredibly unfair

For your DH just refusing to move coats/ shoes- fuck that, I'd be getting him told, what arsey behaviour.

Do you open windows every day? We open ours every day of the year (even if its frosty outside). I have a day off in the week so write a list of bigger jobs to do then but try and keep in top of hoovering/mopping through the week. Shoes in a shoe cupboard (if space allows). I also wash coats regularly - wait for a nice sunny day as they do go musty even just hanging there. But make sure the house has lots of fresh air most importantly.

No they don’t, you can’t walk into a house and tell if a house has a cat the way you can with a dog unless they have litter tray. You must only know stinky cat owners. It’s the litter that smells so if they’re outdoor cats there’s no smell at all.

Just be careful about some plug ins and essential oils in diffusers. Some can affect cats and dogs badly. I don’t think fabreeze is supposed to be great for animals either. Some react badly.

What is dh’s reaction to the kids saying the house smells. Will he up his game for his sons sake?

Everyone will rush to assure you that their pets don't smell, which is untrue because they all do, we just get used to our own animals.
I always think pet food smells horrible, I had to stop buying our cat fish varieties of 'wet' food because I couldn't bear the reek of it through the house.
You do need to clear away and wash pet dishes promptly, in hot weather meaty or fishy leftovers are bound to smell.
I'd feed and then clear wet food and leave only leave dry biscuit stuff down if we weren't going to be around.

Everyone's house smells to some extent. The cat litter, fair enough, that can be gross, but general dog/coat/shoe smells are just normal.

This kid almost certainly doesn't realise that his own house has a smell. I personally hate overpowering air fresheners etc (plus, lots of emerging data suggesting that perfumes products may be carcinogenic) one of my kids can't bear the smell of anything frying, my other kid hate the smell of his granddad's very expensive leather couches.

Open some windows, hoover a bit, maybe spray some odour eater spray into the worst shoes in the hallway. Don't stress it too much. (my favourite is to toast some raisin/cinnamon toast before anyone comes round 🤣🤣)

First of all, OP, I'm sorry for your loss 💐
Of course the housework hasn't been a priority. Possibly your husband's hoarding tendency is part of this too.
I would agree with pp that it's the dog and the litter tray. Dogs do smell, and I notice it in people's houses, although it doesn't bother me much. Just maybe get the dog groomed, change the litter trays more often and have washable rugs and throws. Have the windows open when you can, and try not to have a sink full of dishes!
However. Your home is just that, so as long as it's a safe and comfortable space, you're doing well 💐

If you don't have a dog and you go to a house with a dog, it smells. It just does, not necessarily bad (unless the dog is properly smelly) but pets do smell.

I found shake and vac very good for keeping on top of the doggy smell in carpets. There’s few versions, eg Neutradol, Glade. Gives your home an aggressively clean fragrance!

Yes send them to poo in next doors garden.🙄

Just to add…if you struggle with housework/time to do it, set a timer (even just half an hour), put away your phone or any distractions, and do what you can in that time. It really does work.

cats themselves have no smell.

Lol, they definitely have a smell. We have no pets but are regularly invaded visited by next doors cat. He doesn’t stink or even smell “bad” but he certainly has a smell, a definite cat smell. Same as several friends cats. It’s not a tragedy cat owners seem to think it is. But all animals have a scent.

Unless you get rid of the animals your house will likely always smell of animals, especially to those of us who don’t have pets. We had Guineas pigs and all I could ever smell was hay but friend soften commented how “farmy” they smelled, which is just a nice way of saying they smelled lol.

The main culprit is likely the dog, they can get really bad. My parents dog is honking if he isn’t bathed regularly.

@SoShallINever - that's what our neighbours do with their three cats 😡

agree throws on chairs and sofa easy to wash,plug in air freshener on low.coats get musty when been wet check if they smell a bit musty and wash.open a window a bit ,i have a dog but know cat but litter tray must smell ,try and empty as soon as used

After I left home my Mum looked after a cat for a friend for a couple of weeks. The cat went for a wee in the spare bedroom and it stank. I could still smell it a year later even though it had been thoroughly cleaned up. You need to get your cats to toilet outside. Dogs smell too. I never stay in an hotel that allows dogs.

The dog is only allowed in one room of the house (it's our big open plan family room) so there's no doggy smells on carpets - hence why the cat litter is upstairs.

I've made an enquiry about a cat flap and where we could put one. It could go in the glass by our front door maybe - then just teach the fuckers to use them. They are 10.

No they don’t, you can’t walk into a house and tell if a house has a cat the way you can with a dog unless they have litter tray. You must only know stinky cat owners. It’s the litter that smells so if they’re outdoor cats there’s no smell at all.

You're in denial. I can tell - without fail - if there is a cat living in a house regardles of how clean the owner believes their house is. All cats smell including ourdoor cats.

I’m overwhelmed reading this thread; can’t imagine how you’re feeling @fruitstick

It’s too much to try and tackle everything at once. What I would suggest is prioritise the litter boxes and clean them daily. It’s a very habit to form, but stick with it. Wear gloves, and put a dab of something smelly under your nose if it makes it easier. If the cats litter tray is cleaned daily it will probably reduce the peeing elsewhere.

But… cats can be habit forming and if there’s a trace of that pee smell they seem to lose bladder control. We had to get rid of carpets because of that. Your ds might need to keep his bedroom door shut.

Focus on the litter trays for now and maybe opening the windows for a few minutes to get air round the house. Keep the cleaning supplies near the litter trays.

Then if you can do one extra load of laundry a week and work your way through the soft furnishings you’ll start to get on top of it.

It’s always better to try and build up good habits, than to try and sort everything in one exhausting swoop. One new daily habit, and one new weekly habit will get ground under your feet.

I am so sorry for your loss. You are right to prioritise yourselves over cleaning

I agree with others, don't feel guilty or bad about this. I never cared when I was a kid about other peoples houses, I only remember whether it was fun to play there or their mum or dad were scary! One of my friends Dads scared the hell out of me. Anyway, I have lots of animals and have a few tips but they're similar to others. Just scoop out poop ASAP, make sure there is plenty of water available for your cats. Cats only drink nice fresh water, preferably from a fountain if you can. The strong smells can be due to lack of water or cheap nasty food. You're on the ball with the dogs things, wash blankets weekly if they're big dogs and if there is lots of hair about a quick sweep or hoover where they spend most of their time. I spray my homemade spray about every time I know the cats been to the litter tray, I add some essential oils to water and use it liberally. I think shoes are the smelliest thing in a house! So it could be that!! Check if someone has a foot odour problem or move the shoes to the laundry if you have one or a more out of the main area place.

Yes! The smell of neighbour's cat food when I give it always makes me wince! She has the.most beautiful kitchen & it does smell of cat due to the food.

I agree all pets smell to some degree.