While most of us rely on sight for first impressions of a home, smell will probably be second on the list. Smells, whether from pets, smoke or last night’s takeout, can assault our senses and tarnish an excellent first impression of anyone’s home, whether for sale or not.
Whether you’re a real estate agent selling BVI VACATION homes, sorting out a musty basement or you just want to freshen up your home, here are some tips to assist you in eliminating odors.
Find and eliminate the source of the smell:
You will only be able to achieve so much to make a room smell more pleasant without eliminating the source of the smell completely. You might need to clean walls to eliminate mold, take up floorboards or carpet that are permanently soiled or take other drastic measures if you have serious odor. You will need to investigate so that you can find the cause of the smell and remove it before doing anything else.
Clean areas one at a time:
Carpet: Sprinkle baking powder over the area to soak up the odor. Vacuum the powder after an hour or so. To keep baking soda fresh, you can keep a box of it in the fridge.
Basement: You may not believe it but onions are excellent odor eliminators. Cut an onion in 2 and leave on a plate in the basement to absorb moldy smells. Departing out clean, dry charcoal briquettes will also work.
Kitchen: Make your sink smell fresh by putting orange, grapefruit or lemon peels in the garbage disposal.
Living room: White vinegar, similar to onions, soak up smells. Simply Pour some into a bowl and close door to the room to eliminate odor. For better results, get air circulating within the room by opening doors and windows, you can even turn on a fan if you have one.
Entire house: Heavy perfumed scents make an odor worse. Rather than using a perfumed candle or plug-in, mix equal parts of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle to eliminate air odors. If you still want that vanilla scent you can add a scented candle or plug-in afterward.
Fresh fresh paint it Over:
In the event you purchased an older home, it is likely that the home will have a musty smell. The house proprietors may have smoked in the house too. One of the easiest techniques to mask these smells is to repaint rooms to literally cover the scents that linger on the walls.
If you follow these simple tips, you will have very pleasant odor in your home in no time.
