What is this smell?

One thing you can't tell about a house from the photos is how it smells. That should scare you into never considering a "sight unseen" offer. We've smelled some awful things in houses over the years. Here's a run down on the worst odors and what we've learned about them

1. Cigarette & cigar smoke - the absolute worst and hardest to eliminate. 

2. Pets - the intensity varies widely based on number/size of pets and breed. Cat urine/spray is the worst. 

3. Cooking - usually from strong spices or frying oil/grease. 

4. Mold/mildew - the most dangerous odor to encounter because it comes with environmental concerns

5. Rodent infestation - a barnyard smell that's worst in summer months

6. Marijuana smoke - easier to eliminate than cigarette smoke, but still undesirable

7. People smells - let's just leave it at that.

Rule #1 - DO NOT PAINT!!!! Do not even think about painting anything before you've treated the underlying odor. We've been in homes that were freshly painted and the paint just trapped the smell which came creeping right back out overtime. 

Any surface can hold onto odor - walls, floorcoverings, ceilings and even countertops. Grease and oil smells may be trapped in the porous stone and replacing the countertops could be the solution. 

Don't forget the underlayment when it comes to flooring. Before you replace soiled carpet, you need to remove the pad and treat the plywood subflooring. We have had success with Bac a Zap odor neutralizer. Don't install new flooring until the smell is eliminated

Our team has air purifiers that we bring into listings when there are minimal odors - usually from pets. If it's something stronger, we call on our preferred cleaning vendor Gretta Stanelle who swears by her Ozone machine. 

If it's a serious smell, we call in the professionals. Bess & John Leiti with Seaside Restoration successfully eliminated smoke smells in a rental of mine.