Your home wouldn’t be the same without Fido or Fluffy. They’re part of the family. Living with animals provides years of joy, happiness, entertainment, and love, but it also takes a toll on your furniture and home.
Before listing your home, we recommend taking some time to address any pet odors that may be present.
Start with the Carpets
If your home is carpeted, it’s important to get rid of any smells or stains that will be a turn-off to most homebuyers. Many people believe that steam cleaning the carpets is the best idea, however, the heat from steam cleaning will only set pet urine stains. The best way to remove pet odors from carpet is with a HEPA vacuum. These special devices are designed to trap micron-sized particles. The filters in a HEPA vacuum are efficient enough to trap 99.97% of dust, debris, and dander that is larger than 0.3 microns. This makes a HEPA vacuum the most effective way to remove years of built-up pet dander and odor from the carpet. However, HEPA vacuums are notoriously expensive. If you don’t see yourself investing in a new device, many hardware or vacuum stores will rent them.
Tackle the Upholstery
Even if you try to keep the pets off the furniture, your couch and chairs are probably covered in microscopic pet dander and odors. For these situations, a bottle of Febreeze will not cut it. For the upholstery, we recommend airing it out for a few hours if you can and whacking it with a broom or tennis racket to get all the dust and dander out. After vacuuming the furniture with a HEPA vacuum, you can use a strong pet-odor-removing soak. Nature’s Miracle Stain and Odor Remover is a great product that works wonders. Use a wet vac to thoroughly rinse the furniture and remove the rest of the soak. As the furniture dries, leave the windows open and use a HEPA air filter in the room to trap any airborne impurities that may be in the air. This method will remove pet odors from furniture and leave your upholstery smelling fresh and clean.
How to Clean Other Surfaces
Other surfaces such as hardwood and linoleum also soak up pet odors, especially if your pet has had an accident on the floor. Pet urine, specifically cat urine is an acidic substance that is difficult to clean completely. However, there are numerous products on the market that are great for getting urine out of linoleum or hardwood. Additionally, you can make your own cleaning solution with vinegar and baking soda. However, keep in mind that vinegar also has a strong (clean) scent, so make sure you do this prior to any showings.
For more advice and tips on how to prepare your home for listing, call My Santa Cruz Real Estate today at 800-226-4717.
Posted by Lauren Spencer on
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