Your House Smells Great!

[Tribo64]

So, I've lived in my home for 2 years. It was built and was brand new when we moved into it pet free. Every single time somebody walked in my front door, they commented on how "wonderful" and "nice" and "great" it smelled.

They don't do that anymore.

I finally said to my very frank and honest friend, "Okay, Nancy, tell me the truth. Does my house stink?"

She says, "Wellll.... it doesn't smell as nice as it used to."

Then she tries to clean it up by saying, "It just smells like puppies, that's all."

So I ask you, what do you do to keep your house from smelling like a barn? I love my dogs but I sure wish I could de-smell them somehow....

[toomanypaws]

Our house was also built as little over 2 yrs ago. I'll know the day it starts to smell because my sister will be the first to tell me. She is not a pet person and it still amazes me that we're from the same pet loving parents. I honestly don't have a smelly house. Our cairns and lab are allowed everywhere in the house except the formal living room and dining room. All of our other pets are kept in a backroom off of our family room. Our aussie only likes to come into a screen room that connects to our backroom. I have a Dyson vacuum called The Animal that is awesome for keeping the carpet clean. I usually swiffer the tiled areas everyday while the cairns are outside playing w/ my dd. Once a week I like washing the floors w/ that new Clorox Cleanup. I also love Pine-Sol! We have the cairn's kiddie pool set up so I just have to rinse them off and dry them when I bring them back in. Before I was wiping them down w/ baby wipes. I also mist the 3 w/ a perfume called Pooch Puppy Conditioning Eau De Parfum (what can I say, only the best for my girls). I use Bio-Groom cologne on my lab and I swear, that dog always smells great. I have some of those scented plug-ins too, but I'd use them regardless of having pets. We love burning incense at night too and that smell will linger on. My dh's favorite is Ocean Breeze that you buy at Pier I Imports.

[Tribo64]

Do you work outside the home, too, TooManyPaws? LOL Sounds like you are very busy, indeed!

I did burn some candles the other day like I used to and my friend informed me she didn't smell a thing when she walked in (referring to the dogs). So.... Hmmm.

We are going to look into a cleaning service. I just don't have the time to clean as much as I would like.

Pier 1 Incense? Sounds marvy! Thanks.

[Anna_525]

I don't know about my own house (I think it stinks) but my friend's house always smells great. She has two malteses that are paper trained, and she says the smell of poop hits her the moment she comes home from work. But I don't smell anything poop-like....she has those scent plug-ins all over her house. When she has visitors, she lights up scented candles.

[hallswel]

I like using candles. I am a terrible housekeeper. But I clean up pretty good or try to one day a week. We recently replaced our carpet and got this wonderful pad that has a barrier and keep all the hair and dirt in the carpet so it can be vacuumed up and doesn't get in the pad. I also use candles.

I have a sun conure and Simon's cage is the worse smelling thing in the house even though it is changed weekly. My friends tell me they can't smell it but I do the minute I walk in our home. I guess most people pay closer attention to the birds color than smell. I can't stand a dirty bird cage.

BTW the floor around the bird cage stays a mess with food because Simon throws his food at Rebel. Then he will squawk to let me know his food bowl is empty causing the pug to howl and sings which causing Rebel to bark or start the cairn talk thing, making me fill up the dish to get the bird quiet then it begins again....kind of like "if you give a mouse a cookie" for those of you who have read that children's book. But that is ok he is a good bird and so friendly. Love me love my pets and the smells!

[Maggie15]

I guess one thing is having a house that doesn't smell like dog and another that is masking the smell with different odours (i.e. plug-ins and candles)...sounds like a good cleaning regimen for the house and dog is the way to go!! (mixed with scent masking)...i really hope i can keep the doggy smell minimized!

A

[MikeC]

My regiment is pretty much the same as Toomanypaws. We keep Duffy and Mickey as clean as we can and their crates and blankets are cleaned/washed every couple of days. Carpeted rooms are vacuumed every other day and tiled/linoleum floors are liquid Swiftered every two days. We have a small house so this cleaning regiment is not a big deal. I entertain quite a bit so it is important to me for my house to smell good at all times. It is work, but worth it to me.

MikeC

[toomanypaws]

Mike,

I'm just like you. I forgot about their sheets, dog pillows (that go in their beds) and blankets. They too get washed every couple of days. I wash the pillow once a week being it has a pillow slip over it. Kiara doesn't use a crate, but Abbey's and Hannah's get sprayed and cleaned every few days.

Hallswel,

I know what you mean about the mess birds cause. After over 20 yrs having/breeding birds, I do not want one in my house. When we built this house, we added on a backroom for the birds and dh's bearded dragons and geckos. We do have a huge bird stand in our breakfast room for when we bring dh's cockatoo in. There's always alot of activity in the backroom and the spoiled cockatoo has his own video player to watch dd's old Disney films. I also have an African Grey and a lovebird in our screenroom so 3 cages is more than enough for me.

Tribo64,

I work p/t out of the house teaching, but I'm off for the summer. Yes, I do stay pretty busy, but I manage to sneak a nap in from time to time. Pier I also has the best fragrant candles. I love burning them in the backroom to always give it a fresh smell.

[Guest Darcy's Mom]

Do you all work outside the home as well as do the housework? I don't see how you have the time plus maintain two or three dogs. I work 40 hrs a week and then I try, key word is try, to come home and straighten up the kitchen and den areas as that is where we/dogs mainly stay. By the time I feed, walk Darcy, put out, bring in, play, put down toys, pick up toys, plus fix something to eat for my husband and me, etc. and then try to squeeze in a little tv, it's time to go to bed. What is your secret?

[Milopup]

Two questions:

1) Doggy cologne/deodorant - does it interfere with the Frontline Plus / Advanix medicines?

2) Any suggestions for carpets? Our house is fully carpetted and though Bosco is very clean it does get a bit of a doggy smell sometimes.

Thanks.

[Anna_525]

Darcy's mom- we call our friend with the good-smelling house a military mother. She also works 40 hours a week and commutes 1 hour each way. Every Wednesday, she drops everything just to clean the house for 1 hour. And she means it -- if we call her she won't answer her phone. When her children were teenagers, they were required to clean something in the house. No TV. Homework later. I'm not like her. We tried doing the every Wednesday thing but my husband and I like to relax the moment we get home....and leave everything for tomorrow...then tomorrow...then tomorrow....

Then I have another friend with two dogs who has a cleaning woman come to her house every week. That always works!!!

[Cairns2]

Tribo64, perhaps your house doesn't smell of the pets, it's just that the new smell of wood, paint, etc. is probably gone. It's like when the new car smell fades away.

Looks like most of us work and there are only so many hours in the day. I am lucky to get home at 4:30 so after I feed the herd - 2 Cairns, 5 cats - I do a little each night. Bathrooms one night, dust & vacuum another night, laundry one night and groceries one night. I always leave one night to just come home and collapse and I try to keep the weekends free, except for gardening and grooming. I don't know how woman with children do all this and raise a family! God Bless them!

In another post I mentioned some cleaning products - Nature's Miracle to remove pet odors and Spot Shot to remove stains. I also have all of Linda Cobb's books on cleaning. She's the Queen of Clean and her advice has helped me a lot.

[Eliz222]

I work full time too, and it IS hard keeping the house (and yourself!) clean all the time. I've always been told that my house is always clean, but I guess I just see all my dirt and it bothers me. I try to pick up and keep things neat. When the kids are home from college (freshman and junior) the house is more messy than when they are at school. I'm lucky in that my DH helps around the house. No, he doesn't do it the way I WOULD do it, but it gets done. We also do alot of gardening, so I spend alot of my time outside planting, weeding, and watering.

We have a new house too, but have been here for 4 years this summer. We don't have alot of carpet and the other areas are hardwood, tile, and granite. We don't do anything special to our floors and we don't burn alot of candles. I am very paraniod about smells so I always ask close friends, or relatives, if the house smells...but they always say no (or they are being polite!).

For carpets, you could sprinkle on a few boxes of baking soda. Leave it on for a few hours and then vacuum up. I can't stand the smell of the perfumed powders, so this works for me, although I haven't done it in a long time. Also, if you need your house to smell better, you can take containers of white vinegar and hide them around the house. I did this in my other home and it really worked. Just take a cup, or saucer, pour vinegar in it, and then hide it behind things (books, pictures). This helps rid the house of odors. I keep alot of windows and doors open too, which smells and feels nice.

Don't beat yourself up over a house that's not spic and span. My mom told me a long time ago, and I haven't forgotten it......what do you want to remember when you get old...how clean your house was, or all the good times you had with your kids/family/pets?? Makes sense to me!

[Anna_525]

I agree 100% with your mother, Shoe!!!!!

[Marmielin]

One thing I "was" proud of was the clean smell of my house because we had no pets for the first 5 years in this new house. Well, now we have Tink, who is a pill to housebreak (another subject). Anyway, I'm trying to keep that clean smell but that may be a lost cause. I am famous among my family and friends for my sense of smell, and so far I only smell bad odors around the rug in the breakfast room. So that one is on its way out. My dh says we will just change it once a year - wonder if he knows how expensive rugs are I do use the Nature's Miracle products, but I don't think I have been consistent with it on that particular rug. Urine must dry quickly on that rug, because I don't notice it fast enough to soak it up while fresh.

Until my daughter and her family moved in four months ago, my house was quite clean. But with two grandchildren and two extra adults around, Tink and my dh and me, being obsessively clean has gone out the window. They will be gone in another month (the extras) so maybe neatness will reappear somehow. If I could just get Tink to pick up her toys

Lindab

[Milopup]

Shoe,

Thanks for the baking soda tip! :-D Do you know if it harms the pups if they lick some by mistake? Also, can you use the cologne even though you use Frontline on your pups??

[Eliz222]

Not sure about the baking soda, but I wouldn't think it would harm them. I don't use cologne, so I don't know. I bought some "puppy wipes" for the dogs. They smell good and gets some of the grime off of them. I wouldn't think these would interfere with Frontline, since I know you can bathe your dog with the Frontline without washing away the medicine.

[MikeC]

I have heard that some doggie colognes (or is it people colognes put on dogs) can interfere with the animals sense of smell so I don't use them. Shoe and Milopup, I buy the scented baby wipes which work just as well as the puppy wipes and are WAY cheaper!

MikeC

[Milopup]

Thanks MikeC - we dont use cologne but I did find a spray which is a deodorizing detangler, which is much much lighter than cologne. Was thinking of trying that, especially as we head into the summer months.

[kayharley]

This is a great thread...

My house is clean and doesn't smell like Cairns until you go into the den. That is THEIR room and I do notice a slight odor at times but to me it's like a breath of fresh air.

I wash their bedding every few days, vac the rug daily, shampoo it every couple weeks and dust out the fur when it starts to pile up around my ankles.

I love that saying from your Mom, Shoe. I will remember that next time I get stressed over a little dirt.

I'm fortunate to work part time and have the summers off too.