Smell Well

As humans we base our sense of smell on our experiences to date, then throw in the mix of our physical attributes and abilities to smell and taste.

Cultural norms vary depending upon location and people.  As individuals we perceive the sense of smell based on so many more factors than what we think of in a normal real estate transaction or consideration.  But really what is “normal?”

It is your own understanding of what is considered “normal” that makes your smell index count for more or less when you personally rate a place.  Here are some considerations that help open ones nose to the importance of this sense of smell.

Scents Channeling #1: What is your personal definition of clean? When you see a place versus smell a place where does that first impression leave you? What you define as clean may not represent the current occupant of the person there right now.  Is this going to influence how you think of a place? Is that thought process justified?  

Do you feel dirty when you enter a space?  In some establishments one may feel dirty just looking around where someone else is living, but what about if you are in an empty room?  

Go beyond your first impression smells and senses. Take a step back for a second and consider what the smells may or may not mean.  Smell beyond the air freshener conveniently placed or a dog that just left the building.

Scents Channeling #2

Here is what to consider:

- What do you first smell before you nose adjusts when you enter a room?

- Does a living space like a living room smell musty, dusty or just old?  Is it in the curtains or the carpet where this smell comes from? 

- Is there a moldy, mildew smell? Do you sneeze when you walk in the room? If there is a mildewy smell,  look immediately at the ceilings and around any openings to the outside, around doors and windows.  Look at the bottom of window sills inside and outside. Look for signs of water infiltration or mold of any kind.  Look for bug infestations, from ants to termites, bulges in and around the windows.  Look at the floors for sagging, squeaky or otherwise not solid floors.  Smelling one thing will lead to others.

Bathrooms: Do they smell musty, funky, wet towelly, wet doggy to you? If they do, then there are probably ventilation issues, or leaky plumbing under the sink, at the tub, or more.  Maybe the vents don’t work correctly.

Kitchens: Go beyond the grease, especially on rentals.  If the smells are similar to bathrooms right after someone has a shower, generally this means there are leaks under sinks.  

You want to be sure that someone who cooks had somewhere to vent. This venting is less about people about complaining to the cook, but venting air out so grease and other foods don’t get stuck everywhere.

Waste not / want not: if one smells a lot of waste, there maybe a backed up sewer line somewhere and probably a leak.  Upon first visit it maybe hard to see but keep it on the radar, it is less about the immediate smell and more about why or what caused that smell.

Take time to step back and look at “how does air flow in the space” and how do you flow in the space.  What is acceptable and tolerable to ones sense of smells?  Rate the smells together with what you saw and how you felt.  

At the end of the day, you will remember what the place smelled like more than the details about the building itself.  

Our sense of smell reaches back in to the core of who we are millions of years ago.  It is that sense of our being that helped us survive through the ages.  Value that instinctive feeling and make it a part of your decision making process.