Selling? How To Combat Those Pesky Kitchen Scents!

If you consider yourself quite the gourmet chef, chances are your house is probably pretty popular with your group of friends and family. Everybody enjoys laughter, good food and a cozy atmosphere. What is better than entertaining and feeding your crew straight from your own kitchen? Not a whole lot, unless of course you are trying to sell your Lynden, WA real estate. If this sounds like you, you may want to be more conscious of what you are cooking up in the kitchen! Baked muffins and cookies are a welcomed treat for potential buyers but herbs, garlic and spices generally are not unless said buyer shares the same palette as you. Have no fear though, my team searched for a few different ways to combat this problem without using over powering air fresheners!

-Clean the fridge. This seems obvious but some people have an "out of sight, out of mind" thought process. Just because you shut that fridge door, doesn't mean you shut the door on the smell. If you are about to list, try cleaning the fridge at least once a week. 

-Keep cutting boards clean by soaking them overnight and then let them dry completely. Wood ones specifically soak up some of the most over powering scents like garlic and onion. 

-Oil and grease is another smell that lingers and can be the hardest to get rid of. If you cook with a lot of oil, clean daily using fresh scented cleaners. If you only deep clean once a month, you may want to consider doing it more frequently if you are selling your Lynden, WA real estate. Grease and oil can evaporate and condense on cool surfaces such as windows, counters, fans, etc. That is quite a bit of build up to deal with each month…and smell. 

-AC, an electric chimney or a quality exhaust fan are great options for helping strong scents dissipate. They can also be pretty expensive. If these options are out of your budget, do not worry. An air purifier is fabulous for so many reasons but they are magic when it comes to making strong odors disappear. 

-Some folks can go overboard with the scented sprays. If you find yourself coughing and opening up a window after spraying these, consider some lightly scented candles. While some of the new scents seem fun, they can be just as over the top as that 40 garlic chicken you cooked last night. Try something a little more subtle like cotton, ocean breeze, dewy meadow or clean laundry. 

Speaking of covering smells, try a few of these great tricks:

Before showing your home for sale in Lynden, situate bowls of baking soda or white vinegar around your kitchen and the whole house. Remove once it is show time.

Boil citrus peels in a sauce pan on low heat for about 45 minutes or so.

For a sweeter, “freshly baked” scent, mix up a small batch of butter, brown sugar or cinnamon and sugar and bake for a little bit. Cooking vanilla or lemon oil soaked cotton balls hidden around the kitchen can also do the trick.

If you are looking to sell your Lynden, WA real estate and need tips and general information on the process, call me at 360-410-0848.