Smells, pets and air quality

The short answer

Smell is the first thing a viewer registers and the last thing they mention, which makes it easy to miss as a seller because you have stopped noticing it. Deal with the source — soft furnishings, litter trays, bins, drains, damp — then ventilate properly. Heavy air fresheners and scented candles read as concealment and make buyers look for what is being hidden.

What the work involves

Deep cleaning soft furnishings and carpets, removing or relocating pet items during viewings, checking waste traps, ventilating daily, and addressing any damp source.

Rules and responsibilities in Scotland

A persistent smell often points to a defect such as damp or a drainage fault, and known defects must be disclosed in the property questionnaire.

What commonly goes wrong

Masking with strong air freshener before each viewing, which buyers read as an attempt to hide something.

What it usually costs

Indicative ranges only, to help you judge a quote. They are not an estimate for your property — only the business doing the work can give you that.

• Carpet and upholstery cleaning is usually the largest single item and is often enough on its own.
• A dry trap or blocked gully is inexpensive to resolve and a common source.
• Persistent damp smells need diagnosis rather than treatment products.

What to do, in order

1. 1Ask someone who does not live there to tell you honestly what they smell.
2. 2Clean carpets, curtains and upholstery.
3. 3Remove litter trays, pet beds and bins during viewings.
4. 4Run taps in unused rooms to refill dry waste traps.
5. 5Ventilate every morning rather than using air freshener.

Local detail for the Lothians

• Tenement stairs can carry cooking and bin smells that affect the impression of the flat — raise bin store management with neighbours.
• Older Edinburgh flats with unused bathrooms or utility drains often have dry traps, an easy fix.
• Solid-wall flats that are under-ventilated in winter develop a damp smell that ventilation alone will not resolve if there is a defect.

When you need a professional

A carpet and upholstery cleaner; a surveyor or drainage contractor where the smell points to damp or drains.

Common questions

How do I know if my house smells?

You cannot judge it yourself. Ask someone who does not live there to be honest after being out of the property for a while.

What if the smell is damp?

That is a defect signal rather than a cleaning problem. Get it diagnosed — it will be recorded in the Home Report anyway.

Related pages

• Pre-sale deep clean

  The clean that happens once, before photographs, and is then maintained for viewings.

• Fixing damp before selling

  Diagnosing and dealing with damp before a surveyor records it.

• Viewing day routine

  A repeatable twenty-minute routine before every viewing.