Nothing creates a bad first impression quite like an overwhelming odor in the home. Whether it’s pet odors, lingering smoke or a damp, musky basement, it’s important to address odors in advance of listing your home. You may not notice the smell in your own home, so it’s important to have an impartial party, like a home stager, evaluate the smell and give you honest feedback. While this can be an unpleasant conversation, it’s essential to acknowledge and address any odors in the home to avoid losing potential buyers and potential sales. Here are our top tips for tackling home odors:

hire professional cleaners

We recommend that every homeowner hire professional cleaners prior to listing their home for sale. We all think we’ll have the time to perform a deep clean ourselves, but between packing and all the other pre-listing to-do’s, it’s a good idea to hire help for cleaning. It’s inexpensive and effective and we suggest that cleaning occur right before home staging or right before listing photos. If there is carpeting or heavy rugs, we also recommend the use of professional carpet cleaning which makes the carpets both look and smell better, particularly if there are pets in the home. And don’t forget that upholstered furniture can also absorb nasty odors, so it might be necessary to professionally clean those pieces as well. My 14 year old dog loves to drool and pee on our sofa, so I speak from experience when I say that the couch can be the source of the problem!

add a fresh coat of interior paint

While paint alone won’t address all the odors in the home, when done in conjunction with other efforts, like carpet cleaning, it can work wonders to eliminate home smells. Particularly in older homes, a fresh coat of paint can completely transform a space to both the eyes and the nose. We recommend that homeowners choose a light, neutral color for their interior spaces and often suggest that when selling, only one color be used throughout the home to keep it simple. Not all neutral colors look the same in every space, so it’s important to consider factors like windows and lighting, flooring and other surfaces. If you need help, our girl Steph provides color consultations to help you find that perfect shade. Walking into a home with a new coat of paint gives potential buyers (and their noses) the impression that the home has been well maintained and loved.

remove or replace carpets

In the event that professional carpet cleaning cannot totally remove the odor, the next best solution would be to remove and/or replace the existing carpet. No one wants to pay for upgrades to a house that you’re selling, but the return on investment is well worth it and the cost to replace carpet is typically well under the cost of a price reduction. We recommend that you replace with a neutral, low pile carpet and there are plenty of inexpensive options at large retailers like Home Depot and Lowes. In the event there are hard wood floors under existing carpet, congratulations, you hit the jackpot. Again, the cost to refinish existing hardwood floors might be overwhelming, but the seller will see that return in the list and sale price of the home.

take down heavy drapery

Removing heavy drapery is another one-two punch for both smell and sight. Similar to carpet and rugs, heavy window coverings tend to absorb and retain smells over time, giving the home an old, musky scent. Additionally, custom drapes are often pretty specific to a homeowner’s design aesthetic, so we typically ask that homeowners remove them for visual appeal as well. Sometimes the space needs window coverings, particularly for privacy purposes, but many times we tell the homeowner to leave the windows bare to allow for more light. Below are some affordable and neutral drape options.

SOURCES: Amazon, West Elm, Target

use (mild) air fresheners and candles

Our final tip for neutralizing odors is to bring in pleasant smells through flowers, air fresheners or candles. Similar to a coat of paint, air fresheners and candles alone will not eliminate smells, and can actually make it worse if the home is not properly cleaned. But a light, clean scent to welcome your potential buyers can create a warm reception at open houses and showings. We love the use of fresh flowers, again both in sight and smell, and candles and air fresheners can help so long as they are not too overwhelming. Below are some great neutral scents we recommend at an open house.

SOURCES: Aveda, Crate & Barrel, Nest

At the end of the day, the house needs to look good and smell good. You only have a few seconds to make a first impression, so take the necessary steps to present an odor-free stunner.