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Argh. We state somewhere in our description that we are a fragrance free Airbnb, because some guests are sensitive to smells. Well, last night a woman checked in late and she left fairly early this morning. The guest room and bathroom absolutely reek of patchouli oil. She must have drenched herself in it. We have a guest arriving in two hours, and I have tried everything to get rid of that smell. The windows have been open, fans have been going, I even turned on the air purifier. I looked online and it was suggested that I put a rag with vanilla on it in the room because the vanilla will soak up the odor. I really doubt it but I did it.
I apologize to everyone I knew in the 1960s because I was wearing patchouli oil a lot. Little did I know I would come to despise it.
Just venting here, but if you have any suggestions, Iād be glad to hear them.
How about placing opened baking soda boxes around the room to absorb the smell. If you have rugs, sprinkle baking soda on the rug, let sit for a few hours then vacuum.
I donāt mind patchouli, but it was never my scent, even back in the hippie 60s. I preferred ambergris or sandlewood, which arenāt generally nearly as cloying.
Vinegar set out in bowls is supposed to be good for absorbing odors.
And Iād just casually tell the next guest, āSorry about any detectable patchouli smell- the guest who just checked out obviously completely ignored my āno fragrancesā rule- Iām so annoyed. I worked for hours to air the place out, and wash everything down, but it might still be noticeable. At least itās a natural, not artificial chemical scent.ā
I think that acknowledging a possible issue that you had no control over and worked responsibly to mitigate, and might be more upset about than the guests might be, can ward off guest complaints. Your incoming guests might even like the smell of patchouli.
I donāt have a no-fragrance rule, but donāt use any heavily scented products, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, etc. One guest had a whole raft of essential oils she used, and her room and bathroom smelled quite strongly of them. It was a pleasant smell to me, but might not have been to the next guest, but as I donāt take same day bookings, it wasnāt an issue. Opening all the windows and turning on the fans for a day worked to dispel the odor.
ā You can get rid of the smell from patchouli by soaking a rag in vanilla extract and placing it in the room. [I guess this didnāt work for you.]
ā Buy an empty spray bottle. Fill it up with pure white vinegar. Add up to 10 drops of essential oils such as lemon or eucalyptus. . . .
ā Sprinkle some Borax on your carpet. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
I appreciate the advice I am getting. Tomorrow I will be putting out baking soda and vinegar and keeping the fans going. I also took the advice of the person who suggested I fess up to the current guest. I told him I had been upset to find that she used a ton of patchouli oil and the room smelled of it and then Iāve been trying all day to get rid of the smell. He told me it was no problem and that his grandmotherās house always smelled of patchouli so it brings back. Lovely memories! Lucky me.
Awesome. Best outcome imaginable.
I have a friend who has never smoked cigarettes in her life but doesnāt care if people smoke in her house, which is really unusual. Her parents both smoked and she had a happy childhood- she says she likes the smell of cigarettes because itās associated with positive memories for her.
I wonder if an ozone machine would work? I smuggled one into California through an intermediary in a neighboring state because Amazon would not ship it to me, lol. I have only used it once and it worked well on pet odors.
The problem here, if I recall correctly, is that this is a shared home not a separate space. So unless they can vacate the home to run it and wait for it to clear before returning or letting guests check in, itās not a workable option. And to me it would always be a last resort for getting rid of odors.
I donāt know if any of the alternatives do as good a job as an ozone machine, but there are many other types of air purifiers that arenāt dangerous to use.
Use alcohol in a spray bottle on surfaces. Alcohol breaks oil. Alcohol also breaks tar from smoke. Do research on incense abatement. Incense leaves soot and smoke and scent damage. Curry also damages dwellings, check statutes from court cases in Bellevue WA on curry damage.
āHis Grandmotherās houseā¦ā Iām feeling pretty old right now! Someone told me recently their Grandmother was a hippie, , & I said, āFar out!ā
I had a Dr that ate the meals prepared by his wife in my bed with white sheetsā¦ the yellow turmeric stains from the curries were hell to remove front the white sheets.
I also had a couple from India.
They were booked in for 6 weeks while he did a residency at our hospital. After 6 weeks the house smelt like an Indian restaurant, from the front door.
I had to wash the walls and the ceiling in the kitchen, dry clean all the curtains, get the rugs and carpets cleaned. I considered this to be
āCurry damage ā
How did you remove the stains? We had a couple who did the very same thing and I could never completely get rid of the stains. I boil-washed the sheets multiple times, bleach and other stain removers were useless. The turmeric stains just slowly faded but were still clearly visible and unusable for guests.
Hot water sets a lot of stains in, so they never come out. Hot water works on grease-based stains, but is counter-productive for many other types of stains. Blood stained items, for instance, need to be soaked in cold water and treated with peroxide to remove the stain before normal washing.
