Candles to remove dog odors - do they work?

[Anonymous]

My kids tell me the house smells like dog

We wash his bedding, open windows when we can and take him for grooming. Do these candles really work without making the house smell artifical? I wouldn't mind a clean linen scent if it worked.

[Anonymous]

Smells begone spray.

[Anonymous]

No, because candles generate particulates that pollute your lungs. Don't pollute your indoor air.

You need to scrub your floors, and clean any surface that your dog likes to brush against. In my case, it was a couple of walls: the natural oil on his fur had accumulated on two different walls. I cleaned them with elbow grease and baby wipes to his maximum height and it made a difference. If your dog likes to drool on a favorite window sill like my friend's dog, you clean that. Maybe also open the vent grates, if they're on the floor, to see if there's stuff you need to clean out. Etc, etc.

You can also aerate the house regularly by opening windows, but that just solves the problem temporarily. A targeted deep clean is what's needed.

[Anonymous]

Candles only mask smells with other smells, plus they pollute the indoor air.

In addition to the cleaning -- get high-quality HEPA air filters and change your whole-house HVAC filter for a HEPA one as well. And get Roombas or similar to run everyday and keep the hair under control, in addition to regular weekly or biweekly vacuuming.

[Anonymous]

Check your home humidity levels, I notice our house will get more of a dog smell if the AC or Heat hasn't run for a while and the humidity levels are getting high. If I keep the humidity levels below around 65% we don't really notice any odor. If you have a smart thermostat you should be able to see what the humidity level is.

[Anonymous]

How often do you vacuum?

[Anonymous]

Yes, what are your floor coverings?

[Anonymous]

OP here - vacuum weekly and also run a roomba. The main level flooring where the dog spends most of his time is hardwood. Basement and upstairs are carpet.

Sounds like more deep cleaning is needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - vacuum weekly and also run a roomba. The main level flooring where the dog spends most of his time is hardwood. Basement and upstairs are carpet.

Sounds like more deep cleaning is needed.

Vacuum does nothing, OP. You need to wet your floors with some kind of floor-appropriate detergent (Bona for me) and apply pressure when you wash. You need to wipe your baseboards. Everywhere your dog likes to brush against or drool on, you need to wash that. If he likes to lie on or brush against upholstered fabrics, you need to take them off and launder those.

[Anonymous]

vacuum DAILY, mop the floors, towels on the dog beds washed 2x a week, wipe the dog's feet anytime they come in, hose the feet if they've been wet or muddy, bathe the dog weekly or more. That's what it takes for our house to not smell like a kennel.