Mitch Stephen’s Special Report:

 Sell That Stinking House

This is a must read report if you want:

• To sell a house that a pet has been living in.
• To learn how to remove pet odors and stains from almost any surface.
• To clean up pet accidents including urine, feces, vomit, blood, and fur.
• Little known secrets to completely removing the most stubborn pet smells.
• Other tips to keeping your home pet odor free.

Selling Homes That Smell Like Barnyards

There is no doubt that many people love their pets and allow them to freely roam their homes. Unfortunately, there is also no doubt that pets leave very bad odors in homes that can be very difficult to remove. Something important that many people don’t realize is that when you live with these odors, you become immune to them. But that doesn’t mean people first coming into your home don’t smell the stink. It can be overwhelming to the point of triggering a gag reflex.

Stinking Houses Don’t Sell

Dogs shed and stink, cats have litter boxes that stink, pet bird droppings stink, and hamster cages stink. All pets leave odors that are undesirable to people visiting your home. When you are trying to sell a home stinking with pet odors, it can have people turning to leave immediately after walking into your home and before even taking the tour.

On the other hand, if you’re investing in houses, those with bad pet odors can be great finds because most people won’t even consider them. You could grab these at big discounts and then use the methods from this report to get the stink out to sell at full retail!

How to Start Removing Odors

Your best solution when selling a house is having the animals removed from the house until it sells and then using the methods from this report to get rid of the stink. The animals can be boarded with relatives or at a pet boarding house.

Unfortunately, most sellers either can’t afford this or are unwilling to live without their pets for an extended period of time. The next best solution is doing a deep cleaning and keeping the home thoroughly cleaned until the house sells. This means doing much more than vacuuming up pet hair and dusting on a regular basis. Begin by taking these steps to get the stink out:

• Tear out all of the carpet and padding.
• Scrub the underlying plywood or concrete before sealing it with a paint or sealant containing chemicals specifically capable of sealing out odors.
• Replace furniture that pets have been allowed to sleep on or at least give it a thorough cleaning using cold water (steaming or hot water locks the smell in).
• Clean or replace drapes.
• Deep scrub tile and hardwood surfaces using special cleaners we’ll cover in this report.
• Clean air exchangers and replace filters. Clean out the furnace ductwork where pet hair and odors linger and spread odors throughout the house.
• Pet smells embed themselves into walls and ceilings. These need to be scrubbed, sealed, and painted using special cleaning materials and paints.
• Bathe pets regularly – once a week or more.
• Clean up dog poop in the backyard, cat litter boxes, and any other places pets use to relieve themselves.
• Get rid of pet toys, scratching posts, pet beds, and any other source of pet odors. Or at least store them in tightly sealed containers with a deodorizing chemical like baking soda.

Try confining pets to a small part of the house until it sells. This also makes it easier cleaning the sources of pet oders on a regular basis. Finally, barking, growling, or even friendly dogs in the house are not something most prospective buyers want to encounter when they come to tour your home. Take the pets with you when potential buyers are coming over.

Selecting the Right Paint

First of all, you must thoroughly clean walls and ceilings before applying paints that will seal in odors so the rooms in your house no longer smell like your pets. Start with a solution of household ammonia and water. After the ammonia solution has completely dried (for several days), follow up with a solution of one cup of bleach mixed in a gallon of water. Never mix ammonia and bleach because a chemical reaction will happen that will make you seriously sick and could kill you.

Next, seal the walls and ceiling using a sealant specifically designed to seal in odors. Talk to a paint specialist at your hardware store. Big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes recommend a product called Clear B-I-N sealer. This is a shellac-based sealant. Clear B-I-N is an excellent sealant for walls, ceiling, doors, trim, cabinets, furniture, and many other surfaces including masonry and fiberglass.

The sealant dries to the touch in about 15 minutes and can have a top coat applied in about 45 minutes. I recommend an enamel paint with special enzymes for absorbing and sealing in odors. Talk to your paint specialist about what he or she has available. Enamel paints are also easy to clean.

Solutions, Sprays, and Disinfectants

When a pet urinates or poops in your house, you need to immediately clean it up as well as deodorize to remove the odor. You want to use a product that uses an organic enzyme to break down the waste while neutralizing odors.

Urine. If there are still pets living in the house, this is one time you don’t want to use ammonia. Ammonia has an odor resembling urine. Animals will try to remark the area when you use ammonia. What’s recommended is that you first blot up the urine using paper towels including a ring at least a foot beyond where you can detect the urine. Then, thoroughly rinse the area with water. Use a wet/dry vacuum to pull out as much of the water as you can. Only after the area has completely dried, apply a deodorizing agent. Club soda has been known to work well and a commercial solution that does the job is Simple Solution. Whenever applying a deodorizer to any material, first apply it to a small section that cannot be seen. Allow to dry 24 hours to see if it causes any color change or staining.

Other commercial deodorizers you might consider include for your Stinking House:

• Odorsol
• Planet Urine
• Petastic Pet Laundry Detergent
• Parvo Disinfectant
• Sea-Yu Petrotech odor eliminator
• Pet Fresh Hair Release from Arm and Hammer

Poop. Clean up solid matter with paper towels and blot up moisture with paper  towels. Vacuum up any small loose material. The use the same process for urine to deodorize.

Vomit. Vomit contains acid that can stain quickly. Clean up solids fast. If it has dried, applying some water will help loosen it. The best organic chemicals for deodorizing are first applying baking soda and salt. Allow the vomit to dry while mixed with the baking soda and salt. Once dried, vacuum up what remains. Repeat the baking soda and salt process at least one more time. Next, pour club soda over the area and then blot it up with paper towels. If the area remains discolored, try Oxy Clean or a non-toxic cleaner/stain remover formulated for pet stains. Remember to give cleaners adequate time to digest stains.

If your pet is vomiting frequently, it needs to be seen by a vet.

Pet fur. If your pet has one or two favorite napping spots, place an easy to wash towel or blanket there to absorb odors and collect pet fur. Wash the towel or blanket weekly.

Old rubber gloves create a static charge that works well for wiping pet fur off furniture and clothes. You can also mix one part fabric softener with four parts water. Spray it on carpets and furniture (after first testing for discoloration). Wait two or three hours and the fur will vacuum up easily. You can also spray these with a static guard to make them easier to vacuum pet fur from.

Brush your pet daily to minimize the amount of fur that is shed. If you can train your pet to tolerate the vacuum, you should vacuum them weekly.

Fleas. Fleas can be pesky little things that not only spread disease but can make pets scratch and pull fur out all over the house and the scratching can get bad enough to draw blood. Fortunately, putting Frontline, Advantage, or other modern flea repellants on your animal during flea and tick season has proven very effective at getting rid of the pests and killing the eggs.

Once they are in your carpet, you need to spread a thin layer of boric acid, borax, or diatomaceous earth (a purchasable food product used in toothpaste and other eatables) on the carpet. Leave it there for a full 24 hours and then vacuum. These powders kill fleas and dry out the eggs. You can also salt your carpet, leaving it on for 10 minutes. Do this shortly before the flea season starts at the end of winter.

Blood. Soak fresh stains with cold water and/or rub with an ice cube. Avoid warm or hot water because it will set the stain. Hydrogen peroxide is another good way to remove bloodstains. Apply it to the stained area and allow it to bubble. Repeat until the stain is gone. Then dab the area with water and allow to dry naturally.

Removing Pet Odors from Concrete and Woods

Urine odors will soak into almost any surface if not cleaned up immediately. Porous surfaces can be some of the most difficult to clean.

Concrete. Despite being very hard, concrete and related materials are very porous and soak up animal waste easily. The first step is getting these pores to open up. The best starting treatment is tri sodium phosphate (TSP). Following the mixing instructions, mix enough to generously treat an 8 foot by 10 foot section of concrete. Don’t try working a larger area because it will dry out before the pores in the concrete open up. Spread the solution around and work it into the concrete using a stiff brushed broom. Add more solution if it begins drying out or absorbs while you brush the area for at least 5 minutes. Other acceptable cleaners are Simple Green, or laundry detergent but these aren’t as effective as TSP.

After scrubbing for at least 5 minutes, hose the area off with fresh water for another 3 to 5 minutes. Allow the concrete to dry overnight. The next day, if the concrete is dry, you should find a white powder, probably in an isolated spot. This is where the urine is concentrated. Vacuum it up with a shop vacuum. Next, repeat the TSP procedure until no white powder is found after the concrete dries.

Next, mix 4 ounces of OdorXit and 12 ounces of a carpet cleaning solution with enough water to create a gallon of solution. Use a yard sprayer to apply this to a 4 foot by 10 foot section of the concrete. Apply enough so that there is solution standing on the concrete. Pay particular attention to the section that had the white powder on it. Repeat for the other 4 foot by 10 foot section. Do not rinse, allow it to dry naturally. One treatment should be enough but repeat if needed.

Hardwood floors. Depending on how bad the urine stains are, you may or may not need to refinish hardwood floors. Regardless, you first need to remove the stain and odor. Begin by pouring hydrogen peroxide directly on the stain. Cover this with a rag soaked in hydrogen peroxide and cover with plastic wrap. Allow this to soak for 24 hours. In the morning, the black stain and odor should be gone. You then need to make a decision if the wood needs to be sanded and refinished.

You can use this same technique for removing urine odors from floor cabinets and closets. However, if there is carpet in these places, use the carpet odor removal method instead.

Other Pet Cleaning Tips

Here are some other ideas for keeping you home free of pet odors and stains.

• Don’t allow your pet to watch you clean up the mess; most pets get the mistaken idea that “person cleaning up my mess” is a game. Put the pet in another room while you clean up after it.
• If your pet suddenly starts have potty accidents, see the vet. The problem could be a treatable bladder infection, worms, or other easy-to-treat condition.
• Baby diapers are great for absorbing pet mess. Over time, diapers can be cheaper than paper towels.
• Standard white vinegar mixed half and half with water gives you a great, inexpensive, multi-purpose, nontoxic deodorizer and cleaner.
• Another inexpensive homemade formula for cleaning urine and other organic messes – mix equal parts water and white vinegar with a couple squirts of gentle dishwashing soap.
• Foaming shaving cream can remove many pet stains. Spray on, gently rub in, allow to dry, and then vacuum.
• Place a small towel or pad under water and food bowls to absorb drips and dribbles. Launder the towel weekly.
• Plastic bowls absorb germs and get smelly. Instead, use stainless steel or coated ceramic bowls.
• Clean cat litter boxes frequently. Change the litter and wash the box. Try a covered box if your cat sprays litter all over.

Never punish your pet for having an accident. Dogs don’t potty indoors out of spite. If you catch a dog in the act of going indoors, state firmly “Nah-ah-ah!”, pick the dog up, put on its leash, and/or carry it outside to an approved potty spot. If you do not catch it in the act, and discover the mess after the fact, just clean it up. Scolding doesn’t work. Dogs don’t remember what they did a minute ago.

 

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