How do I get this horrible scent out?

November 19, 2021 11:52 PM

I'm staying at a rental house and the owners have gone nuts with the scented items. There were 5 scented candles, two glade plug-ins and all the linens and blankets were washed in a scented detergent and dried with scented drier sheets. The house is only about 500 square feet, so this was complete overkill. It is nauseating - it is too strong. How can I make this house livable for 5 days?

All scented candles and glade plug-ins have been removed from the house and we opened all the windows and have the fans running. I tried to wash the sheets in unscented detergent but they still smell strongly of the drier sheet odor. Is there anything else I can do to make this house livable? It's so bad we are considering leaving.

posted by Toddles to Home & Garden (24 answers total)

Open all the windows, turn on all the fans, and smoke one cigarette.
posted by vrakatar at 11:55 PM on November 19, 2021 [15 favorites]

You could wear a mask, maybe.
posted by starfishprime at 11:56 PM on November 19, 2021

Ventilate and put all of the scent making things in sealed plastic bags. If that makes it tolerable you might still need to find your own bedding and towels. You may not be able to get the smells out of the fabrics.
posted by oneear at 12:22 AM on November 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

Be prepared to have to launder everything you've brought with you as soon as you get home, too. If your luggage can't be laundered you may want to put everything in plastic bags before it goes in the luggage. I'm sorry. I've almost had to leave over this too but I managed to stick it out for the one night I was there.
posted by librarina at 1:07 AM on November 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Look for charcoal bags labeled as odor absorbers in hardware stores. They come in a bunch of different sizes and packaging styles. They do work, it’s just a little slow, but can make a big difference in small enclosed spaces like a bathroom or linen closet. Keep your clothes in your suitcase and put some charcoal bags in there, too.

Try washing the linens at a laundromat. Their washer and dryer are probably coated in smelly stuff and you don’t want to mess around with cleaning cycles and whatnot.

If there are easily removable soft things gather them up and stick them all in a cordoned off stink room that you don’t go in. Stuff like throw pillows, little rugs, random decor items… just take them out of the used rooms and wear a mask when you put things back before you leave.

You might want to suggest to the owners that a lack of scent perception is a very common sign of COVID and something that lingers long after infection. Do this when you also complain about the overwhelming stink. I would not blame you whatsoever for leaving early if it’s remotely viable for you.
posted by Mizu at 2:04 AM on November 20, 2021 [15 favorites]

I agree with gathering everything else up and putting it in a bag, ventilating, netc. I am guessing it's the perfumey stuff that sort of makes me sick.
I would try to cover the scent with vanilla -- if you can get your hands on a vanilla candle or maybe just slowly simmer some water with vanilla extract in it I think it might help.

I hate those perfumey scents but like vanilla.
posted by beccaj at 5:06 AM on November 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Get an odor neutralizing spray for the fabric and other things you can’t seal away. Zero odor is excellent but I think any pet-related spray is good as long as it itself is unscented. (Don’t get the ones with Febreze ☠️.) I am scent-sensitive and have tried everything and those odor-neutralizing sprays are the only thing that’s really worked for me in deleting bad smells.
posted by Susan PG at 5:54 AM on November 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Open windows, hang bed linens and any fabrics outside in the sun, if possible.
Buy some paper cups. Buy plain charcoal, put it in the blender to make activated charcoal; activation = making the most surface area possible. Put in cups; leave on tables.
Get coffee beans, put in cups; leave on tables.
Isolate the most perfume-y stuff in bags.
Run fans.

Febreeze works by combining with scent particles; worth a test.

If you can book another place, I would. This is a ton of work and time, some expense if you go to a laundromat. You might be able to reduce it to 50% of what it is now; will that be enough? That tsuff is crappy for your lungs, and they may be masking something quite foul.
posted by theora55 at 5:54 AM on November 20, 2021 [9 favorites]

I assume by “rental house” you mean some unlicensed hotel/airbub thing. I would make it a priority to drop an explicit review mentioning the matter so future renters aren’t taken by surprise like you were. This is assuming that whatever company aggregates the rentals has a non-broken review system. Which is probably not the case.

It won’t help now, but every little bit helps in the future. If people would write honest reviews, “hosts” (bah: landlords) would have an incentive to behave better. Good luck abating the smell.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 6:04 AM on November 20, 2021 [14 favorites]

If you can move on, do that. You have done all the low effort things you can do. Some of it is a question of time. But also, there is a chance that all the scented stuff started out in an attempt to mask other smells that will now become more noticeable again.
posted by koahiatamadl at 6:34 AM on November 20, 2021 [17 favorites]

I would just move. The effort in trying to combat the smells is just too tiring and takes up ALOT of time. Since you've removed and laundered the worst offenders, the walls/carpet/floor may contain the scents and thats too big of thing to deal with. I would move.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 6:50 AM on November 20, 2021 [10 favorites]

I find vinegar useful for removing smells, and it’s supposed to be helpful in stripping perfumey stuff from sheets as well.

But I’d second the idea of saying something/complaining to the owners. That level of scented stuff is unusual and if they care at all about guests having a good experience/are going for something boutique-y at all (which many airbnb places are), they should fix it/make it right in some way.
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:10 AM on November 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

Do you have access to Target/Walmart, etc? If so, I would buy some free & clear laundry detergent and dryer sheets, and some boxes of odor absorbing baking soda. The baking soda boxes are usually "fridge and freezer" and have a mesh side. Put those around the house. I also like Fresh Wave brand of odor removing gel, found at Target.

Wash everything again, but only use a cup of vinegar in the wash, no detergent.

Actually after typing this all up, trying to get the smell out is probably more $$ and time than it's worth. I would just leave and ask for a refund.
posted by pumpkinlatte at 7:33 AM on November 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

In a very similar situation we washed all the sheets in vinegar, but were only able to knock the scent back slightly because the entire washer and dryer were permeated with years of fragrance.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:39 AM on November 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

If it’s an Airbnb you only have 24 hours to request a full refund.

Unscented Febreeze is pretty awesome.
posted by wnissen at 7:50 AM on November 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Whenever I buy secondhand clothes, it takes me several soaks and washes with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (alternating) to remove detergent smell, and with synthetic fabrics it sometimes never happens. I don’t think you’re going to succeed quickly enough to be worth trying.
posted by Comet Bug at 8:39 AM on November 20, 2021 [8 favorites]

That's insane. I'm super-sensitive to fragrances and would be miserable in minutes. Definitely just get out and leave a negative review, if that's the situation.
posted by stormyteal at 8:47 AM on November 20, 2021 [4 favorites]

I have noticed that an N95 mask makes a tremendous difference in how well I perceive the applied fragrances of others. When I pull off the mask to eat or drink in public, there is often a flood of fragrance from outside that hits me in the nose.
posted by the Real Dan at 10:03 AM on November 20, 2021

I'm guessing it's not lack of scent perception, it's someone/something smoking/peeing in the house and the owners not having time to clean. Time to leave if you can. (Also, wait, the candles were all going when you got in? That's not good...)
posted by kingdead at 11:02 AM on November 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

Just leave. There is nothing you can do about this level of contamination in the time available. Believe me, I have tried.
posted by HotToddy at 12:26 PM on November 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Leave, if you can. My husband occasionally uses scented detergent and, not only do I have to wash clothes multiple times (3+) to get the smell out, but I need to wash the actual washing machine to stop having it infuse everything with stink.

These detergents and perfumers are unfortunately designed to permeate fabric and LAST, it’s horrid to get out.
posted by lydhre at 2:28 PM on November 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

The successful methods it took to remove rank perfume smells from clothing and sheets took more effort than I would be willing to expend for a rental. Think buying detergent parts on Amazon and making custom mixes and doing multiple overnight soaks. I never had luck with vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, or Febreze for the serious perfume poison. I hope you have the ability to go somewhere else.
posted by Anonymous at 3:42 PM on November 20, 2021

Response by poster: Update: to those who suggested that this was an indication of more trouble ahead. Congrats, you were right. We had it just over 24 hours before we left. Let's just say, poison rat bait laying around for kids to find, broken drier, house not as described and then the water turned off..... And we were out.

Future ask metafilter question will be on how I can get a refund...
posted by Toddles at 10:57 PM on November 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

This is very common in Irish rentals, I’ve noticed, and so I’ve started bringing my own bedding. Some rentals we’ve had to leave! The washing machines are always permeated with fabric softener and it’s not nice, for me it triggers migraine… if it’s just the bedding and towels I can handle but if it’s the sofa too then that’s too much and I’d need to vacate probably…
posted by pairofshades at 11:11 PM on November 20, 2021 [1 favorite]