Friend's house stinks:

[HOGFAN]

How/should I tell her..She has several animals in her house that have peed, pooped, vomited on her carpet EVERYWHERE. The smell is almost unbearable.Im sure she doesnt notice it because she is used to it..Any suggestions?

 

[Pigeon]

You don't, unless she asks you.

She knows. She may not be aware of how bad the smell is to the unitiated, but she knows it smells.

 

[Judy Judy Judy]

My suggestion is to meet at your house.

 

[Liberty Belle]

You don't, unless she asks you.

She knows. She may not be aware of how bad the smell is to the unitiated, but she knows it smells.

She's probably hoping it's not as bad as she thinks and hopes people don't notice.

Do not say anything.

 

[Carly_Roach]

In general, say nothing.

If she's a very good friend and seems to be embarrassed about it, bring up the subject about how you've recently tried a great trick for your own house to make it smell good and wonder what she thinks of it. If she's worried about the smell of her house she'll thank you for it. If she's not worried about it, then no amount of cajoling or insulting her is going to make her change and it's just your way of making conversation about your own house.

Here's a great trick I use to get the smell of smoke out of our house: a small bowl of vinegar left in the room (overnight or during the day when you're not there) removes odors. Put it up high on a shelf if she has children or animals.

Works like a charm and is a heck of a lot cheaper than Glade, Airwick, Febreeze or Renuzit!

 

[Carnie]

Tell her to host a candle party!

 

[npmommie]

suggest this to her for cleaning the carpet
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3946918&findingMethod=rr

problem is the smell is thru the carpet to the underlying fabric and subfloor, so it will take a good soaking of the areas to get the smell out.

this stuff does work. we used it when our dogs were puppies and had accidents. we had carpet in the living room back then, so would just soak the area and it never smelled. they were small accidents though. Now we have hardwood and no pee poop accidents either

but if she can't get rid of the carpet, she can get the smell out but it will take some work.

 

[LuvOrlando]

What kind of 'friend' old friend/ new friend?

This is what popped into my mind: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6yWpB2m7Cc 1:38 is the funny part

In all seriousness, there is no way to tactfully bring this up. If the person means enough to ignore it, then let it go, but if you can't stand it then meet somewhere else. You can probably skirt the issue by telling her you must have some kind of allergy-like issue with all the pets because you are having trouble breathing when there. I have friends who are allergic to cats and as soon as they walk in the door they start sniffling while their eyes get red. Just a thought.

 

[HOGFAN]

suggest this to her for cleaning the carpet
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3946918&findingMethod=rr

problem is the smell is thru the carpet to the underlying fabric and subfloor, so it will take a good soaking of the areas to get the smell out.

this stuff does work. we used it when our dogs were puppies and had accidents. we had carpet in the living room back then, so would just soak the area and it never smelled. they were small accidents though. Now we have hardwood and no pee poop accidents either

but if she can't get rid of the carpet, she can get the smell out but it will take some work.

Can u use this stuff in a carpet cleaner?

 

[Pigeon]

Tell her to host a candle party!

Blech! Then you get the candle stench competing with the pet stench.

 

[arminnie]

She has to know. I bought a condo with old carpet. Didn't smell bad until I cleaned the carpet. OMG - smelled like 4-5 gallons of urine was poured on the carpet. I was planning a major remodel anyway - but all of the subflooring (which was particle board) was soaked in dog urine.

I have two dogs and have cleaned up many an accident. This smell was overwhelming and I did NOT get used to it ever.

 

[Disney Ella]

My cat was sick with chronic renal failure during the last six months of his life and frequently vomited or couldn't make it to the litter box in time. We cleaned everything up right away, but there was still an unpleasant odor in the carpet that was impossible to get used to. Unless she has difficulty smelling, I would think that bad smell has to hit her every time she walks into the house. Is the house pristine otherwise and that is why you think she might not know and would like to know?

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

That is hard one...
But please if you feel the animals are in danger call someone to help them.I hope she is cleaning up after them.

 

[TaraPA]

You can probably skirt the issue by telling her you must have some kind of allergy-like issue with all the pets because you are having trouble breathing when there. I have friends who are allergic to cats and as soon as they walk in the door they start sniffling while their eyes get red. Just a thought.

That's exactly what I was going to say. If it's going to hurt her feelings or she'll get defensive if you bring it up, do something more subtle to let her know it really is offensive. Say your allergies act up too bad to come over, or cough & clear your throat a lot while there. I'd even go as far to say, innocently of course, "did you cook something new, or burn something, there's a funky smell in here..."

 

[LuvLDM]

I just don't think there is a tactful way to say it.

 

[ccgirl]

You don't, unless she asks you.

She knows. She may not be aware of how bad the smell is to the unitiated, but she knows it smells.

This. It's not your house; it's hers.

 

[ckay87]

Given your screen name, I'm kind of surprised it bothers you.

Kidding, kidding. I couldn't resist.

 

[ChiCat]

We have friends that have 7 cats, and I don't know 15 birds? There house is beyond disgusting smelling. They asked me and I told them in a nice way that yes it smells bad, what are they going to do about it? Nothing. What can they do besides move and get rid of the some of the pets?

I mean one of their cats refuses to use the litter box, they are good pet owners and have taken him to the vet mutliple times and tried many things and still he refuses to use the litter box, they don't want to put him down because he is a happy cat leading a good life besides that. We are going to see them this summer again but I'm hoping it will be better this time, maybe they'll have the windows open to air it out?

 

[disneyred]

if she is a good friend tell her.. she will understand.

 

[Agri]

So as a friend you just want a polite way to tell her that her house stinks?!

When my mom was in the hospital, of course the cats and the dog went all over the house. I didn't bother cleaning it up until the day she was released. The house still gets away from me sometimes as other things are more important than cleaning up the cats' room. (Gross, but the truth.) My mom's dog also has never been housebroken - we've tried everything and its just the way he is (much like a cat who refuses to use the litterbox).

I would be beyond hurt and upset if a friend just said to me "By the way, do you know your house smells bad?" Yes, duh, I know that - its very likely your friend is aware of it as well. Most likely, for whatever reason, the mess got ahead of her and its probably just overwhelming at this point.

Unless you're going to offer to help her clean up, keep your thoughts to yourself and meet with her someplace other than her house.