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Experience makes a liar out of all of us

#1

So there were two topics recently I responded to which a guest just the last night made me realise I still have a lot to learn. I encourage people to bring their dogs to my place. i think it gets me a lot of guests and I love dogs. Maybe 100/200 bookings with dogs, all pretty good. I had a guest about a month ago who was a dog trainer and she brought her beautiful old girl who was dying, to to stay for four nights. All very good and she said she would recommend me to her dog trainer circle. Then last week one of them booked with 4 dogs. Again all very good. This week another stayed with 3 dogs.
Most of my experiences with people with dogs have been great but dog trainers I feel very comfortable with. It was a cold wet week (winter here in Oz) so I guessed they didn’t get out much. On Friday I had a weekend booking so went down to clean up and it smelt a bit doggy. Yes I know a recent post on this topic I argued this is a non-issue. I think I was quite emphatic that dogs don’t smell! She turned up 5 hours late with her English mum. All okay but next day texted me to say that they were allergic to cats and there was a strong cat smell and they had to leave. Didn’t ask for a refund though. So (1) apropos a conversation with Dusty I actually rang up AirBnB CS and cancelled the next night so she wasn’t charged. I pointed out in my listing it does mention cats may be present if guests let them in so people with allergies shouldn’t stay. The “strong cat smell” was actually a strong dog smell which even I noticed and had tried to remove by airing the place out and using some air deodorant. Only last week I was claiming this never happens! Tomorrow I am hiring a shampoo cleaner to clean all the carpets, I was going to do this anyway.

So as someone who has huge experience with dogs Karma what is your advice? Do different dogs leave different smells? Is it seasonal? What is the best way to remove them (smells, not dogs)?

#2

We welcome guests with dogs, but don’t slant the listing to attract them otherwise.

I wouldn’t be so comfortable if I didn’t have hardwoods and leather furniture… dogs stink. I love them, I have two… but they stink sometimes. Rules say “no animals on beds or furniture”, but every guest breaks that rule (as evidenced by the dog hair). When ‘dog guests’ come I roll up all my wool rugs and put down the cheap, washable floor coverings. I also offer portable kennels (I have several in different sizes) and require that when guests leave they crate their pet. I have no way of knowing if they do though.

But considering your problem; carpets… If I were in your shoes I’d sprinkle baking soda over the carpets when I began my cleaning process. Last step (cleaning floors), you vacuum it all up and hope it’s had enough time down to absorb odors.

#3

I also have my own Assistance Animal and have yet to have a dog stay who is bigger or hairier than him.

I bought a carpet cleaning machine, one of the big ones. Like the ones you can rent, it was on sale and I had a voucher and has paid for itself several times.

Basically I wash everything if a dog stays that can be washed, would be nice to add a small fee but too painful using ABB.

#4

Some dogs do smell more than others. If the space was closed up and it’s rainy/humid that will aggravate it. The main dog smell is what most people would call “musty.” It’s that wet dog smell. The dirt mixed with the oil in their skin and that will stay on carpets or upholstery. If a dog regularly curls up against a certain wall you will see a dirty spot appear there on the wall. If a dog is old, had an ear infection or smelly breath you might get some additional smells. If the dog had an accident in the house that wasn’t properly cleaned up that would contribute. So not being there I don’t know what the source of the smell is.

I have a very good nose but you might want to invest in a black light to find pee spots. There are many products sold for counteracting these organic odors that contain enzymes. Many also contain perfumes and I don’t care for most of them. I don’t know what’s available in your country.

All the carpets? Like area rugs or you have wall to wall installed carpet? Permanent installed carpet and dogs are a terrible combination. If you have installed carpet you should get rid of it as soon as you can afford to. Any textiles and dogs are a bad combination. Some people think leather and dogs is a good solution but the smell and stain is harder to get out of leather than textiles.

People were just talking about smell removal and lots of people swear by vinegar. Misting the air and textiles with it or leaving dishes of it sitting about. I live in a dry climate and am a big fan of fresh air. Put fans in the windows pointing out to extract air out of the space. Buy a dehumidifier or a HEPA air filter as appropriate.

As you know I board dogs here. I always have 3 and often up to 10 dogs in the home and EVERYONE says my house doesn’t smell. How do I manage this? I have removed all installed carpet. Furniture is covered with washable covers when the dogs are in that room. Dog beds are frequently vacuumed, covers washed, aired in the sun, etc. I have 3 air filters in my part of the home, one in the Airbnb room. Doors are often open and the type of AC I have (swamp cooler) guarantees lots of moving air through the house. I don’t find that my dogs or most guests are especially smelly. If you get a chance to sniff your dog guests you might get a heads up about who is going to leave you with extra cleaning. You might also block off a day after dog guests if you can to allow extra cleaning and airing.

#5

Thanks Dusty, great advice as always. i have area rugs and vacuum and steam clean the floors after dog guests. Very late here (after midnight) so I will reply again tomorrow. Off to bed. Thanks.

#6

One more thing, in the Airbnb room I’ve started providing an inexpensive fleece throw for the dogs. They are available at Wal Mart for $2.50, IKEA had some I love for $2 two weeks ago. I wish I’d bought dozens of them.
I ask the guest to spread it on the bed to minimize pet hair on the covers and to please take it with them, it’s theirs to keep. I found that trying to get all the hairs off of the old blankets and sheets I was using was too much trouble not to mention using the water to wash them separately from everything else. My pet fee is $12, $10 for extra cleaning, $2 for the “complimentary” throw.

#7

Dogs definitely smell! You would smell if you didn’t wash for a week and so do dogs. Mine rolled in fox poo today and 100% got shampooed. Many dog owners do not wash their dogs and their houses stink too as a result. If I had a dog staying I would want it to have been washed at least within the last week.
As mentioned before definitely get a carpet shampooing machine. Also worth considering is upholstery attachments for the carpet cleaner or a small spot cleaning machine like the Bissell Little Green to clean sofas, mattresses, rugs, car seats etc… Also worth considering is a steam mop with a carpet glider attachment. You can put essential oils such as lemon, grapefruit or lavender on the pad to steam/disinfect and freshen your carpets.
Air sprays do not work, they just sit on top of the smell until you clean it.

#8

I’m paranoid about my house having a doggy smell.
All dogs will have a smell, and I find that the cheaper the food they’re on, the worse the smell. At school, I had a couple of friends who were fed nothing but crisps and cheese sandwiches, and they had a distinct pastry smell to them, so it can be true of humans too

#9

I have the Dyson, the Little Green, a Roomba and a steam mop. I just hired a carpet shampooer from Bunnings for the twice yearly clean. It’s about $45 but the cheap ones Godfrey’s sells for about $150 I don’t know how good they are.

#10

Was one more Cheese&Onion and the other more Salt&Vinegar so you could tell which one was coming by the smell?

#11

I don’t have carpets but do have 4 area rugs on the wooden floors. I also have a Roomba which gets under the furniture and brings out quite a bit of animal (and human) hair. To be honest this was the first time I have noticed a distinct doggy smell and it must have been bad as I can’t smell much (How do I smell? terrible apparently. Boom boom). I had 3 dogs the week before and 4 for 4 nights the week before that and didn’t notice anything. But this time also the next guests 9the one who left after 1 night) came staright after and said she was arriving before 2pm so i didn’t have time to air the place out as I needed to warm it up. Then she didn’t arrive till 6pm anyway.

In the private part of the review I mentioned it to the dog owner guest as she may return and if she does I want her to ensure there is no dog smell when she leaves or leave farty fido at home. Being a dog trainer I don’t think she would be offended, her dogs were incredibly well behaved even all scrunching up on a single dog mat together when told to.

#12

that’s what she said

#13

I should have seen that one coming - title of your sex tape.

#14

Air the room anyway, it’s always 100% essential! Once the guest arrives and the heating is on it will warm up soon enough.

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