How to Use Scent to Sell Your Home Faster

It may sound unbelievable, but you can use the power of scent to sell your home faster.

Imagine walking into a home for sale. It has charm, large rooms, and is nicely updated. But wait – what’s that smell? As you walk from room to room, you can’t ignore it. It’s unpleasant, to put it lightly. It makes you wonder if something is wrong with the house that you can’t see.

As you can tell, something as seemingly insignificant as the smell can be one of the biggest buyer turn-offs. Even if everything else is great, a weird, odd, or plain nasty smell can cancel that out.

Don’t fall prey to this mistake. Sell your home faster. Make sure your home smells clean, fresh and pleasant to help do it.

Home Selling Secrets: Use the Power of Smell

There are dos and don’ts when it comes to improving your home’s scent, or using smell to make it seem more enticing. These are great home selling secrets.

Start with a Clean House

Cleaning your house from top to bottom is the first step to getting the smell you want. This doesn’t mean surface cleaning, either – you need to deep clean to get the job done.

Scrub and wipe down all the hard surfaces. Vacuum and wash all the fabric and soft surfaces. This includes curtains, bedding, upholstery, and carpets. Try steam cleaning for stuff you can’t toss in the washer.

While cleaning, avoid cleaners with harsh chemical smells. Go for natural cleaners or unscented ones. If you must use bleach-based or other strong cleaning agents, use ones that are lemon-scented. Air out the house after you use them.

Get Rid of Pet Smells and Food Odors

Cooking can often leave behind odors that linger for days. Garlic, fish, and fried foods all tend to stick around. If you often cook with pungent ingredients, try to hold off for a few days before a showing. If you can’t avoid it, open the windows during and after cooking to air things out, and don’t forget to turn on the stove exhaust.

For pet smells, make sure to remove litter boxes and dog bedding on the day of your showing. Get your carpet professionally cleaned at least a week in advance to remove deep-down smells.

Choose a Simple, Fresh Scent, and Use It Sparingly

Once your home is clean and aired out, you shouldn’t go overboard with scented candles, air fresheners, or potpourri. Heavy smells that are too strong will give buyers a headache, and will make them lose focus.

Instead, keep the smell fresh and light, and choose one scent for the whole house. Some great options include lemon, orange, pine, cedar, vanilla, cinnamon, and basil. You can burn a scented candle, use reed diffusers, try essential oils, or even leave out fresh ingredients on the kitchen counter, like a bowl of lemons.

Sell Your Home with Smell

A fresh, clean-smelling house is just one reason why buyers may pull the trigger. It’s a subconscious feeling that a house that smells good must be a nice place to live. Tap into this mentality and use it to sell your home faster.