Pet odors can be a big turnoff for potential buyers and could keep your home from selling in Albuquerque. Ask your real estate agent or a friend if your home has a pet smell. If you have pets, no doubt the answer will be yes.
If your home does have pet smell, here’s what you can do:
Air Out Your House
This is easy enough. Just open all the windows when you clean to get all that fresh New Mexico air flowing through your home. If you have carpets, you will need to shampoo them or have them professionally cleaned.
Once the smell is gone, you’ll have to keep on top of the smell until you sell you home. You may have to crate your dog more or keep them outside more often. Limit cats to one room if you can. Remove or replace pet bedding.
Scrub Thoroughly
Bare floors that are soiled by your furry friends can be scrubbed thoroughly with vinegar, wood floor cleaner, or an odor-neutralizing product, which you can purchase at a pet supply store for $10 to $25.
Try a 1:9 bleach-to-water solution on surfaces it won’t damage, like cement floors or walls.
For hard to clean stains, you may have to call in a professional. This may cost more, but it will be worth it when you sell your home.
Wash Your Drapes and Upholstery
Fabrics can really soak up odors. Clean all of your fabric window coverings and steam clean furniture.
Either buy a steam cleaner designed to remove pet hair for around $200 and do the job yourself, or pay a pro. You’ll spend about $40 for an upholstered chair, $100 for a sofa, and $7 for each dining room chair if a pro does your cleaning.
Clean Your Carpets
Carpets and rugs also hold in the odors. You can have a pro do it for you for the most effective results. A professional cleaner may try to sell you deodorizing treatments. You’ll know if you need to spend the extra money on those after the carpet dries and you have a friend perform a sniff test.
If this doesn’t get rid of the odor, you may want to think about replacing the offending carpets and padding. And if you do replace them, remember to scrub the subfloor with vinegar or an odor-removing product. But if the smell is in the subfloor, you may even have to replace that as well.
Again, think about cost-to-benefit. How much will you spend vs how much more you can get from the sale of your home.
Paint, Replace, or Seal Walls
If the smell is in the walls and can’t be removed with cleaners, then it’s time for a fresh coat of paint. Again, in extreme cases, you may have to replace the drywall or wood altogether.
On brick and cement, apply a sealant appropriate for the surface for $25 to $100. That may smother and seal in the odor, keeping it from reemerging.
Control Urine Smells
Indoor pee pads are really not a good idea to start with as far as controlling odors. But if you do use them, make sure you remove them every time Fido goes. And make sure you dispose of them in an outside container. Even if you have a clean one layed out, remove it before each showing.
Replace kitty litter daily, rather than scooping used litter clumps, and sweep up around the litter box. Hide the litter box before each showing.
These all may sound like drastic measures. But in the end, the extra steps will help sell your home faster and for more money.
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