Best way to "de-dog smell" a house? Ozone? (without losing the dogs)

[aristobrat]

I'm on a mission to lower/remove the "dog smell" in my house and would love any advice from anyone who's had any luck doing so.

My roommate and I have a total of four dogs (beagle, lab, and two nuclear-reactors with fuzzy paws, also known as border collies). They all get fairly regular baths, there are pretty much no "accidents" (but if they do happen, they're SpotBot'ed up immediately), we run the vacuum frequently, and the dogs' beds are washed frequently.

My neighbor, who worked many years for a disaster restoration company (using professional ozone machines to get the fire/mold smells out of people's houses), uses a Eqoquest Fresh Air (ozone) machine in her house. She has a ton of pets and zero pet smells. You also can't smell the ozone (which I guess smells like lightening) in her house.

I've done a bit of googling on the matter and am fairly confused by the results. Some people swear that ozone, done properly, can remove funky smells. Others rant and rave about the multi-level marketing method that's used to sell a lot of ozone machines (but don't really comment on the machine's effectiveness). Others make it sound like you'll immediately get lung cancer if you turn the machine on in your house.

Having seen it in action at my neighbors house, I'm inclined to believe that it really works.

Anyone have any experience with these?!

 

[Tomorrow]

Addressing the title of the thread, the "best way" to de-dog smell a house is to de-dog the house. If you're hung up on having a pet but don't want the smell, get a snake or a fish.

This advice comes to you free of charge.

 

[redwarrior]

I had an EcoQuest Fresh Air Purifier in my home for about 8 years. They are expensive but work VERY well. It takes a little adjustment to get the ozone level to where you want it to be. Some people would come to my home and say it smelled a little like bleach, so I would turn it down some.

It really gets rid of the odor (I had ferrets.), and my kids had a lot less colds and signs of allergies. I highly recommend them.

Yes, I used to be a distributor years ago, but there was no money in selling them, so I got out of the business but kept my machines.

 

[mondesi43]

Look into Rabbit Air. We have one upstairs and one downstairs. I mainly got it to take the dust out of the air during basement construction. But they also cut down on my allergy/sinus problems since then.

 

[aristobrat]

This advice comes to you free of charge.

LOL. Thanks, I updated the title a bit, as I do want the dogs to stay.

Yes, I used to be a distributor years ago, but there was no money in selling them, so I got out of the business but kept my machines.

Would you say that they're pretty reliable, overall? Also, I guess that some people getting out of the distribution will occasionally dump their stock on eBay for a lot less than normal. Is there any gotcha for buying one like that? I know if you buy an Oreck from a non-official reseller, Oreck won't honor the warranty. Wasn't sure if Eqoquest was the same.

Look into Rabbit Air.

Will do, thanks!

 

[velocityg4]

One thing I would recommend a good vacuum. My former roommate had dogs and our Dyson vacuum would eliminate any odors. Our former Hoover just added to the problems.

Also keep them off the furniture as the smell will stick to it.

Addressing the title of the thread, the "best way" to de-dog smell a house is to de-dog the house. If you're hung up on having a pet but don't want the smell, get a snake or a fish.

This advice comes to you free of charge.

Fish tanks can smell quite bad I had a 250 gallon model with a Catfish and several Oscars and that thing reeked. It was also a monumental task to clean. I kept the filters clean and maintained properly by testing the water thoroughly and regularly to replace water when necessary.

Snakes enclosures reek as well I have known several people with snakes and the smell is always noticeable.

 

[Tomorrow]

Fish tanks can smell quite bad I had a 250 gallon model with a Catfish and several Oscars and that thing reeked. It was also a monumental task to clean. I kept the filters clean and maintained properly by testing the water thoroughly and regularly to replace water when necessary.

Snakes enclosures reek as well I have known several people with snakes and the smell is always noticeable.

I wonder if it's the size of your tank. We have a 10-gallon tank and I've never smelled fish, not even when I'm feeding them (although the food smells less-than-savory to me).

My wife's snake doesn't smell, as far as I've ever been able to tell - but she keeps the bedding clean and cleans up the "droppings" pretty regularly.

 

[RawBert]

Shave 'em. ...or tie them up in the back.

 

[redwarrior]

Would you say that they're pretty reliable, overall? Also, I guess that some people getting out of the distribution will occasionally dump their stock on eBay for a lot less than normal. Is there any gotcha for buying one like that? I know if you buy an Oreck from a non-official reseller, Oreck won't honor the warranty. Wasn't sure if Eqoquest was the same.

Excellent questions, and I'm glad you asked. Yes, they are very reliable. We have 3 - 1 is mine, 1 for my parents, and 1 for my husband's office. They are all right around 8 years old. The only thing we have had to do is replace the bulbs in them, and we've only done that about 3 times. You can find the replacement bulbs at various places on the Internet for about $3.

However, if you buy on Ebay, they will NOT honor the warranty. I found this out when I tried to sell one on Ebay after discontinuing my contract with them. I don't think you need a warranty, but that is just my opinion based on the few machines I have owned. I guess you need to consider how much money you can save buying it that way.

Again, I highly recommend these. They really do make a huge difference in the smell, the dust in the home, and the health of the people and animals that live there. My parents swear by theirs (my mom has breathing problems) and I simply love mine.

Also, you can consider a whole-house air filter. I have heard good things about those as well.

 

[StruckANerve]

Tie one of these to each of their collars.

 

[Gav2k]

Over the years I've had dogs and cats and tbh the best results I've always found are hard floors as carpets trap the smells and a dyson Hoover with hepa filters. Weekly mop through with detol. Friends have always asked how my place never has the pet smell.

 

[MultiM]

This might sound crazy, but I used to have spider plants and they supposedly absorb odour. I had friends come in and say "Ithought you had a cat?" and then see him walking by. No animal smell at all. But then, there's the nonsense of trying to keep it (the plant) alive.

 

[Leareth]

Actually I second the spider plant suggestion.

I have a few in my apartment.
and no one can smell that I have two senior cats.

bathing the pets is a short term solution.

but I have noticed smelly dogs , are usually smelly due to the bad quality food they are fed, especially the yellow corn containing ones. a change in diet, and in couple weeks smelled less doggy.

 

[tunerX]

Read this... It appears that ozone might be effective for some smells but reactions to other items can produce aldehydes.

Also for actually deodorizing buildings and such, large devices that produce ozone in amounts that exceed EPA exposure levels are used...

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html#are ozone generators effective in controlling pollution

 

[nmorales]

Pet Friendly Febreze

When My boyfriend and I first moved in together, we each both had large dogs, and we have carpets!!! no a good mix!! But when I was online looking for solutions on how to get rid of the terrible dog smell, and i came across the febreze website and found out they have all these new products to help get rid of the pet smell. Everything from vacuum filters; sprays and other liquid cleaners. They also offered a coupon to help save some money. I printed the the coupon went to my local Wal-Mart and purchased the the filters and the liquid cleaner. I used the products the same day, and weeks later you cant evn tell there is dogs in my house. Febrezecarpetcare.com is the direct link. Good luck!

 

[Don't panic]

This might sound crazy, but I used to have spider plants and they supposedly absorb odour. I had friends come in and say "Ithought you had a cat?" and then see him walking by. No animal smell at all. But then, there's the nonsense of trying to keep it (the plant) alive.

really? not sure about the absorb-the-smell part, but i always found they are really easy to maintain. I have a few between office lab and home and are basically unkillable. Also they are easy to propagate, just pluck a baby plant from a friend's, put it in dirt and you are stuck for life

 

[aimeeinohio]

We have a Blue Heeler and a Dachshund mix. The wiener is all hound (we're thinking dachshund and like red bone hound or something like that), and he gets a little houndy smelling some times. We've ALWAYS had dogs, and I've never had a problem with doggie smells.

1. No carpet, if you can help it. makes a huge difference. If ya gotta have carpet, then get a GOOD vaccum (Dyson is fantastic).

2. Bathing the dogs all the time can make it WORSE...Dogs dont need regular baths, and bathing them too often causes their skin to produce more oils and stuff.

3. GOOD FOOD!! THIS is SO important. Not only for their health, but helps a lot with the smells of doggies. And better food = less poop! yay! Some decent brands: Diamond Lamb & Rice, Nutro, Canidae (but none of my dogs have ever liked Canidae), Call of the Wild, Chicken Soup, Eagle Pack...There are more but this is what I could think of off the top of my head. We feed a mixture of Diamnond Lamb & Rice with Call of the Wild (Venison) with yogurt and sometimes a little chicken thrown in....Yes the food costs more, but they eat less, look and smell better, so it about evens out. Yogurt helps, too...Just plain yogurt, we give them a big spoonfull every night with their dinner.

The yogurt also helps with their ears...Labs are prone to yeasty ears. Keep the ears clean, feed 'em yogurt, and their ears will be mich better, and not smell.,

 

[ipedro]

Googling around, of all places, I never thought I’d find pet smell advice on MacRumors!

I’ve lived with my labradoodle in a new condo for going on 4 years now and only recently have I and guests begun to notice the smell. Either my dog is getting smellier with age or these scents accumulate over time. I believe it’s the latter.

Long term odours live in fabrics. I don’t have carpets so that might’ve helped delay this problem for so long. I do have an upholstered bed that might’ve absorbed doggy scents over the years. My couch is leather but has a fabric inner lining. I also have a couple of rugs.

I second the snake plant. I had one before when I had cats and they do suck up bad smells. I’m going to get one for my current smelly resident.

I’ve begun running my floor cleaning robot every night. My dog doesn’t shed but she does track in dirt. I wake up to a fresh scented home every morning but the dog scent is still lingering underneath.

I had never heard of ozone machines so I’ll look it up. I’ve been shopping for an air purifier.

However, all of these only deal with odours in the air, not the source, which is likely odours living in fabrics in your home. For that, you’ll have to treat those fabrics. I’ve read good things about Febreeze. It’s claimed to chemically trap odours, not just mask them. Another idea is to buy a steamer and steam your upholstery and rugs every now and then. Heat cooks the source of odours, permanently neutralizing them. Vacuuming will pick up the debris.

All that said, this thread is 7 years old. Did you find a solution @aristobrat?