I’m an estate agent and have five ways to get rid of smells in your home – and no Febreze and candles WON’T do the trick
A REAL ESTATE agent has shared the ultimate tips to ensure your home smells incredible before having guests over.
While tidying up and spraying some Febreze may sound adequate to some, Amanda Callender has argued that most people are “nose blind”.
Often, she explained, people are unable to detect the hidden odours that fill the house, which can be unpleasant for guests.
“Your house stinks,” she started her TikTok video bluntly, adding: “And I don’t say that to be mean”.
@mandycallender went on to share: “But every house has an odour, so how do we eliminate this odour? Because yes, you are nose blind to it.
“… and I’m not talking candles or Febreze because that’s like putting perfume on somebody who hasn’t showered in months. And that’s just kind of gross.”
Going on to list a series of “natural methods” to get rid of these smells, she said: “Put coffee grounds in a room with the smell. Or, if you don’t know which room it is, then ask a friend over and be like, ‘Hey, does my room smell?’ Or you could do it in every room to be safe.
“You can do it with coffee grounds or white vinegar. You just pour it in a bowl and leave it in the room for a day or so.”
Amanda explained that these soak up the smells, leaving behind a pleasant coffee aroma in the air.
However, she warned people not to use the coffee grounds or white vinegar after leaving them in a room as it would be “pretty gross”.
She went on to speak about the laundry room in most people’s homes. While some might assume it’s just the dirty clothes that are causing an unpleasant smell, Amanda said it’s likely to be the drain instead.
“That’s crazy to think that it’s not common knowledge but yeah, your laundry drain is connected to sewage so when there’s not enough liquid in there then the smell just kind of comes up and it’s really gross,” she said.
The real estate agent said a homeowner should fill it with water once a month as it will evaporate over time.
Another common culprit to bad smells are sinks, she said, before sharing that apple cider vinegar is a good solution to clear it up.
Meanwhile, those who have a garbage disposal sink, otherwise known as waste disposals, can put some chopped up lemons in it to clean the “teeth”.
“Another thing – and this one is pretty common knowledge – but baking soda, put it on the carpet, especially if you have pets, and just vacuum it out,” she went on.
“It gets rid of the odour and it’s much better and more effective than people who come in and clean your carpets…
“Because if you’ve ever had that done you usually walk into your home and you’re like, ‘Wow, it smells even worse,’ and that is because it brings up everything from the carpet. It makes it wet and it brings it up.”
Viewers were quick to comment on the post with their own suggestions on how to eliminate unwanted odours.
One person wrote: “Charcoal bags on amazon. I have them everywhere and they work.”
Another said: “we had something rotting in the walls of a bedroom once. Bowls of coffee grounds, vinegar, and baking soda and an air purifier fixed the odor.” [sic]
While a third added: “I wash walls and shampoo carpets. They definitely hold the odor”. [sic]