Homeowner Forum / Cleaning / April 2006

cats don't generally smell, so i'm not sure what the problem is in the first
place (?) perhaps there isn't one. their litter boxes get smelly & so must
be cleaned regularly but 5 cats who are outside a lot should not make any
personal smells in the house...? are they toms or something? (in which case
they need a spot of surgery, not air freshener, and not only for their
smells! ;-).

open a window, that's free!

horrible plastic "air fresheners" just make foul fake smells & give people
rhinitis, but as i say, cats really should not create a problem in the first
place in smallish quantities, provided they are healthy & their litter box
is clean & their food bowls are kept clean (cat food smells awful when left
uneaten) & they're not toms spraying all over the shop. if it's that you're
worried you're being seen as "that weird man with all the cats" just have a
friend round & give you an honest summation. sometimes after a wife goes,
the housework suffers, iyswim, so if you are concerned there might be
smells, have a sympathetic friend help either to put your mind at ease, or
identify if there is a problem & what it is. but you can't go wrong with
more fresh air, anyway. we all need to be aware that indoor pollutants can
be a real problem (that has nothing to do with smells).

enjoy your cats!! i like cats but my dog disagrees, so no more cats for me
for at least 10 years.... (and if you want to ask: does my dog make my room
smell? well at the moment, YES!! he needs a bath something chronic. so you
see - if he was a cat, he'd smell perfectly nice!! cats are too smart to go
rolling in mud and animal poo & such.)
kylie

Those type of air fresheners do not impress me at all.
Spring is here in England and my doors can be left open on a decent day. I
have some delightful flowers in the garden and their perfume wafts in on the
breeze. I can't wait for my honeysuckle to blossom, it smells delightful.
Any bad smells are soon dispersed with fresh air in the place.  Colder days
when I may even need my heating on I rely on the smell of fruit in a bowl,
pot pourri on my landing, a dab of my favourite perfume on a handkerchief
placed near a warm place so it diffuses but not so much so that it would
cause a headache. A decent distinctive smelling bar of soap at the sink.
On a rainy day a small window left open where the rain doesn't come in but
the freshness and ozone smell does.
I like to keep a floral "air freshener" spray by the toilet for
inconsiderate guests thereby saving them embarrasment.
Strong smells should be avoided in the bedroom.