Every day a rental sits empty costs you money. And nothing makes a unit sit longer than an applicant walking in and smelling the last tenant’s cigarettes, pets, or cooking. In Florida’s heat and humidity, those odors can be even stronger.
The Most Common Turnover Odors
- Cigarette or other smoke, even in “no smoking” units
- Pet urine and dog smell in carpet, padding and baseboards
- Heavy cooking odors in cabinets and range hoods
- Trash and refrigerator odors from food left behind
- Musty smells from a unit that sat closed up with the AC off
A Turnover Checklist That Actually Works
- Keep the AC running during vacancy, set to a normal temperature, so humidity doesn’t build up.
- Remove the sources: trash, food, and anything the tenant left behind.
- Check for moisture: under sinks, around toilets, the AC closet, and the bottoms of walls.
- Deep clean hard surfaces: walls, cabinets inside and out, appliances and vents.
- Handle the carpet: professional cleaning, or replacement of carpet and pad if there’s heavy pet urine.
- Change the AC filter before showings.
- Treat lingering odor before the first showing.
Why Painting Over It Doesn’t Work
Fresh paint can hide smoke stains, but the smell often comes back through, especially once the unit heats up. Odor-blocking primer helps, but odors also live in cabinets, closets, carpet and the AC system, which paint never touches.
A Whole-Home Odor Treatment for Faster Turnovers
Our whole-home odor removal treatment treats the air throughout the entire unit, including one AC system, to remove odors left behind after cleaning. It takes about 8 hours with no one inside, so it fits easily into a turnover schedule. If a unit smells musty, we’ll recommend checking for moisture or mold first, since the treatment is for odor and doesn’t fix leaks. A mold inspection can rule that out.
Managing short-term rentals too? See our guide to disinfecting rentals and Airbnbs between guests.
Whole-Home Odor Removal in South Florida: $997
Our Whole-Home Odor Removal Treatment is $997 and includes one AC system ($550 for each additional AC unit). Buy and schedule it online, or call 877-224-2532. Property managers with multiple units, call us to plan your turnovers. We answer 24/7, and hablamos español.
About the author: James Rice-Peña is the owner of FL Cleanup and a Florida-licensed Mold Assessor (MRSA4035) and Mold Remediator (MRSR4158). He has worked in property restoration in South Florida since 2012, and FL Cleanup has earned 200+ five-star Google reviews.
