One of the biggest objections buyers have is a house that smells bad. Luckily the smell issue can usually be resolved without spending a lot of money. The first thing to do is determine the source of the smell. Pets are the number one culprit but cigarette smoke is not far behind. Vacant houses can start to smell due to the drain traps drying out allowing the sewer smell to permeate the house. Strong cooking odors or the smell of stale cooking grease may require lifestyle changes while the house is on the market. Moth balls are used to repel pests and have an incredibly strong smell that requires a lot of air circulation to remove.
The cat litter box, residual odor from dog pee pads, dander and oil from their coats, strong smelling food (who loves the smell of tuna-based cat food?) and of course the indoor accidents are typically contributing factors.
Cigarette smoke is a much harder challenge because there are different components to the smoke. The first is cigarettes produce many toxic and irritating gases such as carbon monoxide, phenol, and ammonia gases. The second component of the smoke odor is the high level of tar vapors released into the air as cigarettes are smoked. These smelly tar vapors become sticky when they contact surfaces. They travel everywhere in the house that air can flow into, including inside air vents, on walls and ceilings, on furniture, and even inside closets and cabinets. To totally eliminate cigarette smoke odor, you need something that will follow the same path and oxidize the odors away. A combination of Ozone generators, airing the house out, cleaning the carpet, drapes and furniture is a great start. Wood furniture needs to be cleaned using a furniture cleaner like Murphy’s Oil Soap, citrus based cleaner or vinegar and water.
Most realtors will have a carpet cleaner that specializes in removing odors. There a many chemical treatments but the most effective is a combination of odor neutralizers and running an ozone machine for 24 hours. Ozone generators create O3, or ozone, which disburses into the space to be treated. O3 attacks odor causing substances at their source to permanently remove odors in the treatment area. Then focus on washing or dry-cleaning window coverings and steam cleaning upholstered furniture.
Avoid using a lot of air fresheners as sone buyers may object to the scent you have selected and sometimes the scent can be overwhelming. And the buyers may be wondering what you are hiding. It is better to air out the house and see if the natural smell of the house is welcoming. Since people living in a house get use to the smells have a friend or two come over to do a smell test. With some work an owner with a smelly house should soon be smelling the sweet smell of a successful sale.