In this article, it seemed appropriate to discuss a problem many real estate investors face with rental income property: obnoxious smells. For our purposes, we will touch on two the more common smells found in rental income apartments, especially old apartments.
Animal Smells
Many tenants have an old cat or dog, which unfortunately for us, have grown so accustomed to the smell that no longer seem to notice the smell at all. This is not good when you’re trying to rent or sell your apartment complex because animal smells will turn off a buyer or prospective tenant quickly. In this case, a halfway solution isn’t enough; you must take immediate and drastic steps to fix the problem with 100 percent positive results.
The first step usually is to get rid of whatever contains the smell. This can be the carpets and carpet padding, drapes that have soaked up the animal smell over a long time, or if you’re lucky, just an old sofa that was the dog’s bed (if you provide furnished apartments).
Once the fabric that contained the smell is removed, then the whole unit needs to be cleaned with a strong cleaning solution (be careful not to clean with solutions that generate equally strong and difficult to remove smells).
Trisodium phosphate (TSP) is one of the strongest cleaning agents available that does not have a lasting smell. A five-pound box should last you a long time because it is very concentrated and a little TSP dissolved in warm water goes a long way.
Afterward, you might consider introducing your smells into the unit. Perhaps some fresh paint (again, be careful not to use noxious paints; if in doubt ask your local paint expert). One new piece of leather furniture (if you rent furnished apartments) can also introduce a great smell.
Mildew Smell
Removing mildew smells is not as difficult as it once was due to several cleaning materials that kill mildew. But ridding your building of mildew is really the lesser of two evils. The real problem with mildew (and thus the obnoxious smell) is to keep it from returning.
Bear in mind that mildew is a plantlike material that grows best in a dark, warm, and moist environment where there is poor air circulation. The best way to defeat mildew then is with circulating air, sunlight, and a dry environment. In some cases, the mildew grows inside of the walls as the result of plumbing leaks, and though not seen for a long while, the smell can be very evident to any newcomer to the apartment.
Foremost, stop the leak. Then use fans to circulate air in the area along with some of the anti-mildew sprays available in any good hardware store. In hot humid areas, it’s a good idea to keep air circulating in a closed-up unit. Mildew can be beaten.
