When I took Psychology in college my professor told us smell linked to memory formation. Odors trigger not only memories but the strongest memories.  He told us a story of his affinity to cinnamon because his first kiss as a young guy was from a girl who had chewed cinnamon gum.

That’s why one of the most potent sales techniques is to have a great smelling house. And well one of the most repulsive is a foul smelling home. Years ago I showed an investor a awesome opportunity. The property was a foreclosure for 50 cents on the dollar. It had the flooring ripped out due to cat pea smell. Believe it or not this can be remedied by sealing the slab with epoxy garage floor coating. The investor could not stand the smell and ran out the front door. Suffice to say the least there was no offer on that house.

Here’s a formula I have prescribed for years to my clients to ensure a pleasant smelling home despite pets and other odors:

Step 1 Clean up home

Here we need to get the home very clean. You may like to just hire a professional maid service.

1. Remove source of odor from home, pets, old food in fridge & pantry, musty cloths, etc.
2. Air out home, open windows, place box fans to purge old air from home for 12 hours
3. Have air ducts professionally cleaned.
4. Deep clean home: (a) steam clean rugs, (b) mop floors, (c) dust blinds, ceiling fans, trim, above & below appliances. The cleaner the better.

Step 2 Ionize air:

You may like to leave the house while this process is running. It makes the air have an electrical taste and is a bit uncomfortable to breath.

1. Get a ozone generator (they make box fan ionizers, but ozone generators are much more powerful).
2. Get a new filter (or two) for your air conditioning system.
3. Get a spray can of Endust.
4. Crack open a window, about 1″ to allow the home to breath during this process.
5. Find your home’s main air intake for the HVAC system.
6. Take out the filter, put a light coating of Endust on the outside of the filter. Use a new filter here if current filter is dirty.
7. Reinstall HVAC filter.
8. Turn HVAC fan to ON.
9. Place box fan and ozone generator below the HVAC air intake and turn them on.
10. Turn all your ceiling fans on.
11. Leave this run overnight or for a full day.
12. Replace air conditioning filter after complete.

Step 3 Fill home with a pleasant aroma:

I typically use those wax warmer lamps for this. They are quite inexpensive at Wal-Mart. I like to use natural smells, not the ones like fresh linen smell. I stick to cinnamon or vanilla.

1. Again find the air intake for your air conditioning system.
2. Place the wax warmer under the air intake and turn the lamp on to release the aroma.
3. Turn the air intake on for your air conditioning system.
4. Run the air intake for 8 hours or longer with the wax warmer on.

Afterwards place the wax warmer in a discrete location of your choice. Run the warmer periodically to keep the house with a hint of the smell you chose.