How to Get Rid of Home Odours

Have you reached into the back of your wardrobe for your summer gear to discover a mouldy smell? Did you leave your pet in the house a bit too long and come home to the potent odour of animal urine? Perhaps you had a party over the weekend, and some of your guests forgot the 'smoke or vape outside only' rule. Whatever the odour – nobody wants their home smelling offensive. Before you call the professionals – or before they arrive – here are a few tips and tricks you can keep up your sleeve to start the odour removal process yourself.

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How to remove pet urine odour from carpet

Most of us know that once a pet decides to relieve itself on your lovely carpet, it's not usually just a stand-alone act. 

If you've been lucky enough to catch the first patch of urine while it's reasonably fresh – here's what you can do to start removing that odour;

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1. Locate the urine and act promptly – Your carpet is basically a sponge and will start soaking up that potent smell quickly.
2. Absorption – Grab some paper towels or an older towel, fold it over the urine patch then stand on it for a few minutes to help it absorb the urine more quickly. You want to soak up as much of the urine as possible. Of course, if you have a liquid-extracting vacuum cleaner handy – go for that first!
3. Rinse away the smell – Using cold water, soak up the smell by rinsing and dabbing dry, then rinsing and dabbing dry again. Repeat until the smell is gone. Using a clean 400ml spray bottle mix 1:1 ratio of white vinegar and water with 2 teaspoons of baking soda and spray on the stain. This is suitable for treating carpet odours. We recommend testing this on an inconspicuous area of carpet first to be sure there is no adverse colour loss to the carpet as all carpet and dyes can react different. Alternatively, you can dust baking soda thinly over the area by itself. About a ¼ cup is usually enough for most pet stains. Let it sit overnight then vacuum thoroughly until the area feels clean to the touch.
4. If the water rinsing hasn't worked – Call the professionals as soon as you can!
5. Protecting for the future – Once the patch has dried up it's a good idea to protect against further incidents! JAEGuard® is a high-performance fabric protection treatment exclusive to JAE, so make sure you ask your local JAE branch about their fabric protection service.

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How to remove pet carpet stains

If you weren't so quick to catch your pet in the act, and you've got a more mature smell developing, it's not always easy to locate;

1. Locate the stains – Think like your pet, get on your hands and knees and use your schnoz to smell out the stain.
   If you can't use smell to locate the urine, you can use a blacklight. Turn all of your lights off and hover the blacklight half a meter above the floor. Urine stains will come up yellow/green under the blacklight. You can always outline the stain with masking tape and go through the instructions above to start the odour treatment.
2. Rinse – If the stain is mild, use the rinse approach again, but this time use warm water to loosen up the dried urine. Soak and dab this up with paper towels or an old towel until the urine is gone. And remember never rub or scrub your carpet, it damages the fibres; a wiping or dabbing action is best.
3. If an older stain is persistent – Call in the professionals at JAE. You may end up damaging your carpet, rug, or furnishings if you try a range of home remedies and the smell may even get worse!

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How to get rid of musty smells in the home

1. Location – Kiwi homes can be vulnerable to collecting moisture – notably in idle rooms such as the laundry or bathroom. The build-up of mildew and mould in your home infiltrates surfaces such as your furniture, curtains, and carpet, creating a not so pleasant earthy odour. 
   
   Common causes of exorbitant amounts of moisture in the home are from cooking, showering, bottled gas heaters, drying washing in the lounge on a rack, leaking plumbing-sometimes hidden behind a wall. Even just the build-up of condensation from a cold night can be the culprit. Leaving wet fabric items such as a towel or clothing on the floor can cause the build-up of mildew or mould.
   
   If the mouldy odour is coming from one particular area or item, you may be able to sniff it out and locate the cause easily. Sometimes the odour can be more of an environmental aroma that isn't so easy to pinpoint. So, when you're on your hunt to track down the smell, keep an eye out for any sources of water or wet/damp areas, even pooling of water under the home or broken drainage odours can infiltrate into you home.

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2. Eliminate the mouldy odour in your home – Given that the foundation of mould and mildew growth is a dark and damp area. It is important to try and manage your home’s airflow and moisture levels. Here are a few methods to achieve this;

• Open up the windows to rejuvenate the air in your home.
• If you have a dehumidifier, you can have this going to remove humidity in the air of any particular room.
• Ceiling or box fans are a great tool to keep the air circulating.
• You can place indoor plants around the home which will clean the air organically.
• Frequently remove dust off surfaces.
• Clean and vacuum your floors to further remove any odour. And remember to change your vacuum cleaner bag so you don’t recirculate any bad odours as you vacuum.
• Give the drains in your bath and shower a thorough scrub down using a tile and tub cleaning agent.
• Don't forget to give the inside of the washing machine a clean and sanitise your dishwasher, vinegar is good for this task.
• Use white vinegar to cleanse hard surfaces.

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Key tip: Ensure to protect your hands and face with a cleaning mask and gloves to prevent any health implications.

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3. Eliminate the mouldy odour from your clothes – If you've accidentally stored a piece of clothing in a damp and still area, or you've left a damp piece of clothing lying around too long, mould and mildew might set up camp. Here are some tips to prevent this from happening;

• Double-check that your clothes have absolutely dried before you tuck them away in your drawers or wardrobe.
• Be efficient with the switch of your clothes from the washer to the dryer – try not to leave them soaked overnight.
• If there are clothes that smell musty (especially gym or sports clothing), wash them again with laundry detergent – preferably a hot water wash to kill any bacteria.
• Make a habit of clearing out clothes you no longer wear to keep plenty of room for airflow.
• If you have a smelly wardrobe or shoe cupboard use a commercial shoe deodoriser in your shoes or try baking soda.

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4. Eliminate mouldy odour from upholstery – The fine fibres of your sofa, cushions, blankets, and curtains can hold in moisture and mouldy odours, especially if you allow your pet to sleep on the couch. Here are some ideas on how you can get rid of these smells;

• Set up a dehumidifier in the room to reduce moisture levels in the air.
• Ensure to store your furniture in dry areas.
• Rejuvenate your furniture with a linen spray.

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Of course, if this doesn't do the trick, or it all sounds too much – give JAE a bell and let us tackle it for you.

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Get rid of smoke odours from your home

We all know the way odours can linger long after a piece of toast was left in the toaster too long or a lit cigarette made its way inside – leaving a not so pleasant smell. Particles of tobacco, ash, or cooking oils can make themselves at home amongst your household surfaces. Airing and deep cleaning is usually required here to get to the root of the smell. If you have suffered a large house fire – contact the professionals directly – we can assess all of that for you. For the smaller sections of smoky smells, we've got some handy tips for you to DIY the job.

1. Ventilate your home – Open up all doors and windows of your home is key to begin rejuvenating the air immediately after noticing the odour. If you have any fans in the house, turn these on to assist the air circulation.
2. Get rid of the burned source – if you've got any ash or remains of burnedmaterials, remove these as quickly and responsibly as soon as possible out ofthe home.
3. Bring in the dehumidifier – these machines are designed to suck the moisture out of the air, and this can often mean the smells go with it. Try running a dehumidifier overnight to see if that helps to absorb the smoky smell.
4. Wash small items – anything that appropriately goes in the washing machine like linen and cushions.

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If the smoky odour particles seem to have attached themselves to the walls – here's what you can do;

1. Dust the walls using a microfiber cloth or feather duster to remove any excess dust from the walls before cleaning. Sometimes carefully vacuuming the walls or ceiling is a big help for heavier deposits of dust or soot.
2. Fill a bucket with warm water and some dishwashing liquid.
3. Dunk your cleaning cloth in your warm water and squeeze out the excess liquid. Begin cleaning at the top of the wall and work your way down, lightly wipe the odour away. Frequently rinse your cloth throughout the process.
4. Give the wall a rinse – grab a clean cloth and use your bucket of clean, cold water to wipe away any sudsy residue. Squeeze out excess liquid from your cloth to avoid water drips.

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If your home is susceptible to smoke odours – maybe you live in an area prone to bushfires, or you live with a smoker or keen BBQ cook – you might want to consider an air purifier. This investment can help boost the quality of air in your home, which will also have a positive effect on your health. If you have one of these, make a habit of frequently replacing the air filters. If your home has an air conditioning or ventilation unit, ensure to check and replace these filters, and clean the unit often.

If your home's smoky odours are too tough to tackle, reach out to us at JAE and we'll bring out the advanced equipment.

As always, your team from JAE are qualified professionals and are highly trained in odour treatment. If in doubt – call in the experts! Call JAE – we'll take care of it!

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