Does your home have pet odors?

You love your four-legged friends, but you might not leave their scents in your home. Luckily, there are ways you can keep your home smelling fresh, before lingering pet odors set into your home and belongings. Follow these tips to keep your home smelling fresh:

6 Steps to an Odor-Free Home

1. Vacuum first! Begin with a thorough vacuum of the area to remove pet hair and dander.
2. Sprinkle on a little baking soda. Sprinkle some on to your carpets after a thorough vacuum. Let it sit for several hours, and then vacuum it again. Baking soda neutralizes trapped odors, just as it does when used to remove funky smells in a refrigerator.
3. Sunlight and fresh air

This tip is for upholstered furniture, throw rugs, or any portable fabric-covered items.

Take those items outdoors to expose them to fresh air and a little sunshine. A clothesline is a great way to avoid bugs, and expose the piece to the wind and fresh air.

Leave them outside for several hours on a dry, non-humid day. Sunlight and airflow help remove all types of odors stuck within fabric fibers.

Sunshine and fresh air (if the air is dry) are great for the rental unit, too. Open the curtains and windows to air the place out for several hours a day.

1. Toss it in the wash. Area rugs, throw blankets, and machine washable draperies and linens are easily deodorized in the washer. Start by adding a 1-lb box of baking soda to your regular detergent, air-drying items in the sun when possible. If you can still smell pet odors, rewash with an enzymatic cleaner.
2. Seek and destroy surface odors. Vinegar and essential oils offer an environmentally safe and effective way of cleaning and deodorizing surfaces in your home. Safe for use around kids and pets, simply fill a spray bottle with white vinegar, adding 10-20 drops of essential oil. Then, use the solution to spray and wipe-down any hard surfaces in your home. As pets are more sensitive to essential oils than humans, never use them undiluted, and obviously, never allow animals to ingest the oils. If you are diffusing the oils in lieu of chemical air fresheners, use only a few drops, and don’t diffuse them an extended time, researching the most appropriate oils for your species. Popular anti-bacterial essential oils for pet odors include:
   • Lavender
   • Eucalyptus
   • Tea Tree
   • Lemongrass
   • Lemon
   • Peppermint
   • Rosemary
   • Oregano

6. Find the Source of the Stench

When pets and carpeted floors coexist, urine odors may be an issue. If you can’t pinpoint the source of the stench, walk through the room with a handheld black light after dusk with the rest of the room’s lights turned off. The black light reveals urine spots and potential problem areas that need spot cleaning.

1. Eliminate odors with ozone. If odors refuse to leave, an ozone machine might just do the trick. Cost-effective and safe, ozone generators disinfect and deodorize without the need for irritating chemicals. Unlike stable oxygen molecules containing 2 oxygen atoms, ozone is composed of 3 atoms. The third easily detaches/attaches to substances, altering their chemistry. Ozone machines are available for purchase or rent, or you can pay a service to tackle the task for you. Ozone treatment takes anywhere from 1-12+ hours depending on the size of the area. Many opt for a service, as ozone machines are not operable when your home is occupied by people, animals, or plants. Services can also provide fans and ventilation equipment necessary to assist ozone treatment, ensuring every crack and crevice is reached and the building is properly aired out to decrease exposure to ozone, boosting its conversion back to oxygen.

Have we missed any of your tried-and-true methods? If so, let us know! Thompson Building Associates