Who this is for: Hosts and Cleaning Companies cleaning a Landing home.
Step 1: Find the source
An odour is almost always attached to something physical. It is rarely just in the air, so spraying the air without finding the source only masks it for an hour.
Work out:
Is the smell in one room, or all through the home?
Is it coming from an item, or has it soaked into the surfaces?
Can you remove the source, or does it have to be treated where it is?
Step 2: Treat it by type
Most odours can be handled with products from your cleaning kit. See Building Your Host Cleaning Kit for the full list. Anything beyond the kit depends on how bad the odour is.
Smoke
Smoke clings to fabric, carpet, and walls, so it takes the most work of any odour.
From your kit: launder everything washable, vacuum the upholstery thoroughly, and wipe down hard surfaces with Lysol All Purpose disinfectant spray or Clorox Clean-Up.
For heavy smoke: a degreaser such as Simple Green or Lestoil cuts through smoke residue on walls and hard surfaces better than an all purpose cleaner.
If the walls still smell after cleaning, the smoke is in the paint. That needs sealing primer and repainting, which Landing arranges. Report it rather than trying to clean it further.
If you smell smoke or see signs someone has been smoking in the home, tell Landing straight away.
Pet urine
Pet urine soaks through carpet into the padding underneath, which is why it comes back after the surface has dried.
From your kit: Biokleen Bac-Out. It is enzymatic, so it breaks the odour down rather than masking it. Let it soak rather than wiping it straight off.
For anything deeper: an enzyme cleaner such as Rocco & Roxie or Nature's Miracle.
For deep or repeated staining, the carpet needs a full clean, which is a separate job.
Fabric and upholstery
From your kit: Febreze Fabric Refresher for light odour, OxiClean stain remover for spots.
Beyond the kit: Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover or Resolve Upholstery Cleaner.
If it is genuinely bad, spot treatment will not fix it and it needs a full upholstery clean. Report it.
Mold and mildew
What to use depends on the surface.
Tile, grout, and other washable hard surfaces, from your kit: Lysol Mold & Mildew Remover with bleach.
Porous surfaces such as drywall, wood, or unsealed grout: Concrobium Mold Control. Bleach does not penetrate porous material, so it treats the surface and leaves what is underneath.
Mold on walls, vents, carpet, furniture, or inside cabinets is not a cleaning job. Report it. It qualifies for excessive work pay. See Excessive Cleaning Issues.
Mold always has a moisture source. Once you have treated it, submit a maintenance request so the cause gets fixed, or it will come back.
Food, trash, and drains
Dish soap and hot water for the sink.
Drano for a slow or smelly drain.
Baking soda in the garbage disposal.
Check the fridge, the freezer, and the trash can itself, not just the bag.
Stale or musty air in a vacant home
Air the home out and run the extractor fans while you work. Finish with an air treatment.
Step 3: Work the treatment into the job
Vacuuming, laundry, and surface treatment all go into your normal job tasks. Treat the odour as you clean rather than leaving it to the end.
If the odour needs more than your kit, tell Landing at the start of the job and send photos of the source. That covers items that need removing, a full upholstery or carpet clean, and anything needing repair. Flagging it at the start means it can be sorted while you are still there.
Step 4: Finish with the air
Once the source is dealt with, treat what is left hanging in the air.
From your kit: Pure Citrus Orange odour eliminating spray.
For a stronger treatment: Ozium spray. It is not part of your kit and you are not expected to bring it, but it is more effective on lingering smells.
Ozone machine treatment
For the worst odours, a home may need ozone machine treatment. It is the strongest option available and it destroys smells rather than masking them, which is why it works on things nothing else shifts.
Only run one if Landing has asked you to
Ozone treatment is scheduled by Landing. You cannot arrange it yourself.
If you think a home needs it:
Say so in the chat, with photos of the source and a note of what you have already tried.
Landing reviews the request.
If it is approved, Landing creates a job for the treatment.
Do not run an ozone machine in a Landing home unless Landing has approved it and created the job.
Where to get a machine
Many Cleaning Companies already own one. If you do not have one:
Sunbelt Rentals carries small and large ozone machines for daily rental
Home Depot Rental stocks them at some locations
Local equipment hire or restoration suppliers usually have them
Pay for the rental with your PEX Card. See What is a PEX Card?, and remember you need to upload the receipt to the job.
How to run it safely
Ozone is harmful to breathe. It is not an air freshener and it must never run with anyone in the home.
Before you switch it on:
Make sure the home is completely empty. No people, no pets, no plants.
Close all the windows and exterior doors, and open the interior doors so the ozone reaches every room.
Set the machine in a central spot, usually the living room, raised off the floor.
Set the run time on the machine's timer, following the manufacturer's instructions for the size of the home and how bad the odour is.
Switch it on and leave the home immediately.
While it runs: stay out. Do not go back in to check on it or to carry on cleaning.
After it finishes:
Do not go straight in. Wait for the time the machine's instructions specify.
Open the windows and air the home out thoroughly before anyone spends time in it.
The home must be fully aired before a member arrives.
Do not run ozone treatment in an occupied home, run it for longer than the instructions allow, or use it in place of cleaning. It treats what is left after the source has been dealt with.
Send photos when you are done
Take photos of the treated areas and send them to Landing in the chat once the job is complete.