Animal smells

[frugalone]

Spouse and I went to look at a rental house the other day. The tenants are in the midst of moving out and quite a lot of their possessions are still in the house, including clothing, area rugs, and various and sundry.

One of the first things we noticed when we entered was an animal smell. I know the tenant has a dog, and during the Grand Tour, the landlord mentioned that he has or has had cats. The landlord also commented that the place "smelled of dog." It was not pleasant.

I'm wondering: will this smell go when Mr. Tenant takes his fabric goods out of the home? I know they're moving, but the place was in a real tip, and I'm wondering if there were "accidents" and cats peed on the floor or something. In which case, I have no idea how the landlord would get that smell out of hardwood floors.

This concerns me. Years ago, we rented a place (but never moved into it) that smelled overwhelmingly of dog. We bought a couple of those "bombs" that you set off and leave the house for a day. It did not make a durned bit of difference.

Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? A permanent smell like this would be a deal-breaker for both spouse and me. Thanks!

[Teacher Terry]

Neither cat or dog pee will come out of hardwood. WE bought a house where the dog peed on the carpet but we didn't care because we were going to pergo. However, it went through to the floor beneath it and we had to remove that too in order to get rid of the smell.

[frugalone]

Terry--that's what I'm afraid of. How can one possibly tell if it's in the wood or just a general "atmospheric" smell?

[sweetana3]

I think a black light will show up cat and probably dog pee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRTIDH74esc

We bought a house that really did not have a cat smell for the short times we were in the house. When we moved in it turned out the cat had used one big spot in the basement. We had to strip out some of the molding and the drywall and seal all around with Kilz before repairing and repainting. It is a lot like cigarette smoke. It permeates the porous surfaces like walls and floors if the animal areas are not kept clean.

[lmerullo]

If the smell is very noticible, then I'm going to guess it's semi-permanent. Unless landlord will be replacing flooring and painting everything then I think it's in the surfaces for the long haul. It will be inside the walls, ductwork, cabinets etc even if there's a decent amount of clean up done.

That said, I think one can rent an ozone machine and put it in the space and get rid of unpleasant smells. I don't know the cost, though.

[frugalone]

OK...wow...this is not so good. They did say they would paint, as I mentioned above. However, the hardwood floors were refinished a couple of years ago. Then Mr. Tenant (I shouldn't call him that--It reminds me of David Tennant, whom I love!) got the pets and they scratched up the floors. Then Mr. T. tried to paint over them and did a half-a$$ed job.

My sister got new wood floors and she has three (yes, three) Labradoodles. Of course the floors got spoiled.

I would hate to move into someplace and find out that smell is there to stay. One of my friends that I spoke to about it said she didn't think it would be a problem. Based upon what, I don't know.

[Gardnr]

It may not leave if there were accidents on the floor. one option is to write into the rental agreement that if the smell is not gone after the thorough post-renter cleaning, that you are due a full refund of all $ put down on the contract based upon YOUR acceptance of the Odor or lack thereof in a pre move-in walkthrough.

The landlord may care less and say no especially if they have other interested parties. But at least if you have to find something else, you're not stuck with a stinky home.

[Yppej]

When one of my dogs got old and incontinent he used a wooden folding closet door as his tree when we were not watching. After he passed it had to be thrown out and a new door installed.

[frugalone]

A good idea, Gardnr.

It may not leave if there were accidents on the floor. one option is to write into the rental agreement that if the smell is not gone after the thorough post-renter cleaning, that you are due a full refund of all $ put down on the contract based upon YOUR acceptance of the Odor or lack thereof in a pre move-in walkthrough.

The landlord may care less and say no especially if they have other interested parties. But at least if you have to find something else, you're not stuck with a stinky home.

[frugalone]

OK, wow...I'm just kinda catching my breath here. Perhaps I should have explained: the landlady is a friend of mine. I posted about this in the summer, and the majority of respondents said "don't rent from your friend." But we haven't found anything else so spouse said let's take a look. He's not crazy about the place for a variety of reasons--the smell being one.

But get this: She just walked INTO MY WORKPLACE and in front of two coworkers and two student workers, asked me if I had made up my mind yet. I was flabbergasted. I just sort of smiled and said, "I was gonna email you". She smiled and said, "Ok, see you" and left.

OK, is this weird, or is it just me? Was that inappropriate? My place of employment IS on her route (she walks home) to her house.