I just went and looked at this adorable house, but it's got a nasty odor, how do I get rid of it?

Question

The inside of the house smells like trash, dirty water and cat...what's the best way to get rid of nasty house smell before and after cleaning and scrubbing? I really like the house itself, would love to buy it, it just needs some cleaning.

Answer 1

First, after removing all debris and disinfecting the cupboards, you should paint all of the walls and woodwork. You'll then probably have to change the carpets. When you have the installers remove the old carpet and pad, you might have to use a bleach solution on the floor in order to eliminate the smell of cat urine. Some friends of ours bought a house that smelled like that. With a lot of TLC and ridding of the old floor coverings, you will probably find, like they did, that it will no longer have those odors.

Lemon-scented amonia is my favorite inexpensive cleaning solution.

Answer 2

you have to decide whether or not ;you want to take a chance. Cat urnine will not come out there is a chance you could have to replace the whole floor. That is the hard part about buying a house you don't really know what your going to get into. like we just did a roof and didn't know when we ripped off the old shingling that the plywood underneath was really rotton. had to be replaced. There could also be mold growing in there. that would need bleach or replace walls. that means sheetrock. If you have no construction skills you may want to ask or hire a professional carpenter to come in and look at it and give you an estimate on repairs. to me if I didn't know what I was doing it would be worth the price of hiring a profesional to look at it. Maybe all it needs is a good cleaning but it is better safe then sorry.

Answer 3

Not sure about the dirty water, unless there is a septic problem?
Make sure the toilet bowls are clean and dont have rusty brown water. You have to refill the water bin with salt pellets.

But for cat /animal smells a steam cleaning on carpets and upholstery will work ( if not worn already.) (Stanley steamer)

Take out the trash, clean the can and use baking soda to absorb any left over odors.

Answer 4

Before you move into any "pre-owned" house you should consider getting new carpets, having the plumbing redone/fixed, and repainting/replacing walls. This should give the home the smell of a brand new house. If the problem still persists you may need to use extra odor-removing supplements such as febreeze and baking soda. The uses can be found in this article:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2590491

Answer 5

Try coffee! Placing ground coffee in containers around the house may help get rid of the odors. Something in the coffee makes it absorb all the odors in the air around it. This would be a cheap fix if it works. I have used it to get shrimp smell out of car (shrimp platter spilled) and it worked wonders! Also great for the inside of a smelly fridge!

Answer 6

Well, the best way to get rid of this smelly house is to hire a group of person who will clean it very well and with knowledge in preparation of cleaning solutions. otherwise it will be the same again and open the window, doors so the smell will come out and try to dispatch the cat, Cat's smell. urine takes time to remove. have a nice day.

Answer 7

Pull out all of the carpets and any other fabric coverings because they will hold odors. Then scrub the walls and other hard surfaces with cleaners that will remove odor and greasy residue. That should do it! If you're buying, factor the cost of cleaning into the price you offer.

Answer 8

Replace the carpets or have them professionally cleaned. Paint the walls and ceiling. Walls will hold smells, and people don't usually think of that. (Added hint. Add a few drops of vanilla extract to the paint can and stir in. It cuts the wet paint smell.)

Answer 9

baking soda and water. in a bucket-removes the dirt and odor on surfaces. opening the windows gets rid of the stale odors. when you vacuum-put down Pet Fresh Carpet Powder or Nutra Air carpet powder. The house that I moved in used to contain big huge dogs that were locked inside an area. It was yucky....

Answer 10

You'll probably need to repaint it and all new carpets and pads. If the smell has permeated into the floor, you'll also need to paint the floor before putting in the new carpets. But this should cure your problems. One more thing...have you inspected the crawl space (or cellar)? It could be a dead animal there.