So you want to buy a new home…but before you can do that you need to sell your current home. If you have pets there is one important step you should consider taking before you begin showing your home. Ask your REALTOR® if they notice any pet-related odor. Time and time again studies show that when we are continually exposed to certain orders we become desensitized to them and no longer noticed them. Have you ever visited someone’s home who has cats and you walk in the front door and immediately you said yourself: “oh, I smell cats”. Chances are that the pet owner doesn’t notice that odor, and yet they have been living with it for years.
If there is a pervasive odor that is noticeable as soon as guests enter the house, what can you do? Deodorizers and scented-candles simply “mask” the source of the odor, they don’t remove and eliminate it. For me, deodorizers and scented-candles can be a telltale sign that there is something else going on in the house.
One of the first things I do as a Buyer Agent when I walk into a home is to take a deep breath. What I smell tells me a lot about the house…and its occupants. If I smell cigarette smoke, mold, or pet odors, it is an immediate “red flag” that I will ring to the attention of my Buyers. Why? Because it is going to be an added expense to get that smell removed, and it could indicate other deferred maintenance issues lurking within.
Usually, I ask my Buyer: “If there were to be a lingering smell post-closing, would that be an issue?” If the answer is yes they need to consider retaining the services of Green Home Solutions to remove the odor or remove the house from consideration. 
Green Home Solutions uses a fine spray that is free of harmful chemicals and uses fast-acting enzymes that bind to and neutralize odor molecules. No perfumes or masking agents are ever used.
Conversely, you just moved into a new home and you want to avoid that “Pet Odor” from enveloping guests as soon as they enter. You love your pet(s) so getting rid of them is out of the question…what can you do? The old adage “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is very appropriate in this instance.
There are certain things you can do to mitigate the smelly situation. Whether switching to a premium pet food, or to premium cat litter, you can proactively address the problem. Premium pet foods and cat litter have the potential to literally save you thousands when you sell your home. If you are preparing to put your house on the market the above applies to you too.
How can a Premium Pet Food help me when I sell my house?
If you feed your pet a premium pet food, they will not have to eat as much food because they will receive more than enough nutrition from a smaller amount of food. Additionally, since your pet is eating less food, they will have fewer bowel movements. That means less pooper-scooping in the yard, less residual waste, or smaller poops in the Litter Box. If there are fewer “land-mines” in the yard, and less “poop” in the litter box, that means there is less a chance that someone will “step-in-it” and less of a chance that the house will smell from your cat doing its business.
Cat litter can affect the sale of my house???
Most definitely. As the owner of two indoor cats, I know from first-hand experience. Over the years I have been in thousands of houses and all too often, you can tell the houses that have cats immediately upon entering. There is that “ammonia smell” that identifies the house as a “cat house”. There are some new, specialized premium cat litters that prevent that ammonia stench. The best one I’ve found and use is Lucy Pet’s Cats Incredible Litter, it may cost a bit more but you will notice that there is NO ammonia smell; even if you wait a whole week to change your litter box…I know I tested it and use it in my home. It still “clumps” so it is easy to clean, and it works well with multiple cats.
While neither of these products is the cheapest, they aren’t the most expensive either. Every time I change the cat litter, I find that the extra upfront cost is well worth it because it is much less unpleasant. I was impressed that there are companies that make specialized products for pets and in the case of Lucy Pet, I was also impressed to find they make some really great high-end specialized pet food as well. My friends with dogs feeding Lucy Pet dog food find that their pets shed less, there are fewer, and less-stinky, “land-mines” in the backyard, and their pets just look healthier overall. The lesson here is that just because you have pets you don’t have to let that interfere with, or potentially decrease the selling price of your home. … Aside from the fact that as pet lovers we all want to give our pets the very best, there really are benefits not only to their health but to the condition of your home. Your pets, and your home are worth the small investment.
CupOfJoeLuca 