OT: House Fragrances, Air Fresheners

[jenmcadams]

We're in the process of getting our house ready to put on the market and one thing that has been suggested (in books like "Dress Your House for Success" and other articles on prepping your house for sale) is to place some scented candles, Potpourri, air freshener-type stuff around. In general I don't think our house has any particular odors that need to be masked, but we do have one or two rooms that can get musty smelling b/c they don't have great window/air circulation. Does anyone have any favorite scents/products that you use around your house? Neither my DH or I are into scented anything (we don't wear perfume/cologne, rarely use candles, etc.), so we're looking for something that's basic and not too strong.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Jen

[Marisa6826]

I burned Aveda Lavandou candles when our condo was on the market. I was always asked what the nice smell was. It's not overly strong, but very pleasant and calming. Their Madagascar one is nice too.

If you can't get to an Aveda place, l'Occitane has great candles and you can get them at Sephora. I like them since they're MUCH more subtle than say, Yankee Candles, which I think are really overpowering.

Another great idea (my grandmother taught me) is to take a little saucepan of water, put in some cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice and simmer on low. Smells like you have an apple pie in the oven!

-m

[Saartje]

If you'll be home when people are looking, have cookies or bread in the oven. (You can keep a batch of dough in the fridge or freezer & pop it in to bake just before the appointment.) That's a smell most people associate with "home."

[papal]

Also keep some of those cookies out on a plate... man, the number of places we saw that smelt of cookies and after a while I was like 'I WANT COOKIES.. STOP TORTURING ME'.. so maybe you can share them with the hungry buyers.. like me.. by putting them next to the brochure/listing stack.

[egoldber]

I would second the suggestion for baking smells as opposed to fragrances. I am VERY sensitive to scents and fragrances. I can't tell you what a turnoff it was for us as buyers to walk into a potpourri-filled house.

That being said, we have sold a couple houses and never used the "smells" trick and never had a problem. If your house is neat and attractive and priced well, it should sell.

HTH,

[llcoddington]

I definitely would skip potpourri and air fresheners. I am allergic to most. A plate full of freshly baked cookies would be nice, but I doubt you would want to do that everyday!

I will say that if you feel you really need an air freshener in the musty rooms, I can handle vanilla better than any other smell. Maybe others are like me?

Lana
mommy to Lauren 12/5/03

[jubilee]

A friend of mine got a frozen pie and baked it to get the bakery smell in her house, then she refroze it and did it again before each time the house was being shown. She did this with the same pie 6 or 7 times! Then they just threw out the pie once they got a good offer on the house.

But I like the cookie idea! Especially if you leave a few on a plate with a note to help themselves. What a good impression that would be!

[pritchettzoo]

Yankee Candle makes some baking-scented candles. We have the Vanilla Wafer one (not the actual name, but there's a picture of what appears to be vanilla wafers on the jar). It smells really yummy.

Good luck selling your house! :)

Anna

[miki]

Another vote for actual baking smells. Bake a tray of those ready to bake cookies from the supermarket.

But if you still want to do candles, the last time I was in Bath and Body Works, they started carrying some fancy candles from a high-end store (maybe Henri Bendel or something like that). Those smelled really nice.

[kristine_elen]

I looked at a house for sale once that had potpourri everywhere and it really bugged me. I didn't like the scent, so it turned me off, plus I wondered if there was some problem, like mold, that they were trying to cover up.
But I think, even with the South Beach diet and all, that everyone loves the smell of fresh-baked bread. You can cheat and buy frozen loaves ready to bake (hide the wrapper in the bottom of the garbage can).
Maybe Realtors here have better suggestions...

[babymama]

When we were trying to sell our condo, I put water, cloves, and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan every morning bfore leaving for work - just in case we had visitors. Smelled great!

Also vaccumed every single morning and kept everything spotless and tidy every day (even inside the closets, cabinets)- a very hard way to live.

Mama to Santiago, born 11/16/03

[jenmcadams]

Thanks to all for your suggestions...my DH and I are definitely in the less fragrance is more camp, so I may just do a nice, mellow candle or two in the rooms with less air circulation and then consider the baking thing.

Thanks Again!

[Tondi G]

I'd buy some Vanilla candles and maybe bake some of the ready to bake cookies in the cold section of the supermarket! We have some vanilla candles from IKEA (they come in a frosted striped glass) and they really make the house smell so nice.... we also got Watermelon scented ones and it smelled so good my SIL commented on how good our house smelled! We have dogs so someone commenting on our house smelling good really is a compliment!

Good Luck

~Tondi and Mason 7/8/01