Smelly house

[Lovemybunnies]

We have just moved into a house that isn’t very old. The family were splitting up and we bought it privately. We paid slightly over what it is probably worth to secure it as it is a popular location. We had only been in once as we were familiar with the type of house and wanted to give the family some privacy with it being a difficult situation. The move in was absolute chaos and they hadn’t done any cleaning at all. The hard floors were covered in tiny flies and all the drains and plug holes smell. The shower trap in the en-suite smells so badly you can smell it in our bedroom. The utility room smells of cats but they didn’t have cats. We are working our way through it cleaning thoroughly but can’t seem to make much of an impact on the smell. They had air fresheners everywhere. I don’t want to do the same as both my DC and I are asthmatic and I coughed all night for the first night, I want it to smell clean because it is clean. Can I have some great tips please?

Soda crystals and hot water. Soda crystals will go down the plug holes and clean up any sticky residue or grease. You need the windows open if it's not too cold.

Have you put drain cleaner/unblocker down all the plug holes? Something like Mr Muscle. You also need to clear out the shower trap - lift it out, clear out the hair/gunk and give it a good wash. I agree with leaving all the windows open for as long as possible. Sweaty trainers can smell like cat wee. Maybe they stored their running shoes in the utility room. You could keep some stove top potpourri going to make things smell a bit nicer.
https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/cooking-tips-tutorials/a100532/how-to-make-stovetop-potpourri/

Run plenty of water through the traps. They can dry out and allow sewage smells through.

Regular kettle of boiling water down each drain. A capful of disinfectant or bleach, if possible.

Hot wash with vinegar in the washing machine and dishwasher if they were left- and check the fridge drain if there’s an integrated one.

Once everything’s been done once, it should gradually dissipate.

Thank you, all great tips which I will try! That sounds about right about the trainers. There is black mould all around the door where she used to keep her airer.

If budget allows I'd get a company in for a deep clean. We had to do the same and it took so long I swore if we were in that situation again. I'd call an agency!

Deep, deep clean otherwise it will always feel smelly and dirty.

We had all the (beige) carpets professionally cleaned today and they are still grey in places around the edges.

I can highly recommend a product which disinfects and kills odours on everything while not irritating people who have asthma and allergies like chemical formulas do. It's based on thymol, the active ingredient in thyme, which is a natural broad spectrum antimicrobial. I used it to clean up a basement that stank from being infested with mice and it did the trick. It's called Benefect Decon 30. No wiping required, you just spray it on and it kills the bacteria/fungi that cause odours within 30 seconds. I was skeptical that it could work that fast, but I noticed the difference right away. It does have a light natural fragrance, but it doesn't last long so it shouldn't be irritating. I have severe allergies and I was fine with it.
I checked and it is available from Amazon in the UK. The downside is that it's pricey, but a little does go a long way. Best of luck to you.