The Little-Known Listing Prep Secret More Agents Should Be Using: Ozone Treatments

When preparing a home for market, there’s always a punch list—paint touch-ups, flooring updates, staging—but here’s one often-overlooked detail that can make or break a sale: smell.

I always tell my buyers, when we think we’ve found the one: “We just need to go and smell it.” It sounds like a joke, but scent plays a massive role in a buyer’s emotional response. Whether it’s lingering pet odors, mildew, cigarette smoke, or—for the love of real estate—an aggressively perfumed Glade plug-in, unpleasant or suspicious smells can tank interest and ultimately, your seller’s net.

And yes, I stand by this: the Glade plug-in is the worst. Scent diffusers—whether plug-in or an elegant Loewe Tomato candle—instantly raise a red flag. Buyers wonder: What are they hiding?

The challenge? Odors are notoriously hard to eliminate. Deep-cleaning can make things worse by stirring up the scent source. My rule of thumb for sellers is simple: the house shouldn’t smell like anything at all. Not clean. Not lived-in. Just neutral.

Here’s the trick: ozone.

I’ve been using ozone generators for over five years. I own three now. I lend them to clients, colleagues, even use them in my own home annually. Ozone is a naturally occurring, highly reactive gas that oxidizes and destroys odor-causing molecules. It doesn’t mask—it eliminates.

Estheticians use ozone in small doses post-facial to kill bacteria and purify skin. On a larger scale, I first saw it used after a small business fire, when a restoration company brought in industrial ozone generators to scrub smoke from the air. That experience is what led me down the rabbit hole—turns out, personal-use ozone machines are affordable, accessible, and surprisingly effective.

Most common household odors come from completely normal lifestyle habits. The usual culprits before listing include:

  • Pet urine

  • Lingering food smells

  • Cigarette smoke

  • Mildew or “damp” odors

  • Diffuser or candle saturation

  • Animal dander (“dog smell”)

Ozone doesn’t cover these up. It neutralizes them. The gas bonds with the source molecule and oxidizes it into something odorless.

Important note: Ozone isn’t safe to breathe—for humans, pets, or plants. When I run a treatment, I do it for 24 hours. Pets out. Plants out. Windows and doors shut. Afterward, air out the space for at least 45 minutes. The gas is heavy and dissipates quickly, but safety first. In most cases, a single treatment removes about 70% of odors. Repeat as needed.

Bonus: ozone treatments work on cars, upholstery, even clothing.

Case in point: a friend and colleague recently used this method after her dog got sprayed by a skunk and then ran through the house, rubbing his face on every soft surface he could find. One 24-hour ozone treatment—and the smell was completely gone.

The Art & Science of Pricing A Home

Determining what the market will pay for your home

Coming up with the right price to list your home is daunting.

 

  • It’s not a fixed number, or what we might expect to get for it – it’s not the number we need to make to break even on renovations or to what you need to buy our next home.
  • It’s not what a neighbor got for hers last week or last year, it’s not what one of the property listing sites estimates you could fetch.
  • It’s not the appraisal value of your home, either, which is a doozy to digest – and why wouldn’t it be?

 

If our homes are so unique — and we’ve put so much great care, time and investment into improvements, etc. why can’t we ask for the number that represents that?

I mean, you CAN — you can end up pricing your home however you like, at the end of the day. It is the homeowner’s choice —  but, if the end goal is to sell your home, with the expectation that someone will pay X amount for it, and in a reasonable amount of time — this often falls into the strategy philosophy camp I like to refer to art and science.

The science is data – what’s for sale right now that compares to your property? What similar homes have sold in the last 3, 6, 12 months in your area? What is that average price per square foot? And then comes the delicate science — and math of finessing the numbers to reflect the more unique or bespoke characteristics of the home. Sauna? Tennis court? Flag lot? Oh, the considerations and calculations!

The art bit is understanding people – the buyer — where the market is at, and what is the tolerance for price range where you are, at this exact moment? Where are the interest rates? What are people buying? Is it a condo? How many days on the market in that zip code have similar properties taken to sell? Is your style of home super popular right now? That neighborhood is so hot homes sell in less than a week? That’s data, too, of course, but it’s truly understanding that mindset, that appetite that is the real finish work when it comes to determining the price at which to sell your home. The additional artistry is understanding your priorities when selling? Have to have it sold quickly? Don’t care how long it takes you want the right buyer who’s willing to pay your price?

Of course all of these things factor in. It’s touches on the emotional, the financial, the very core of our fears and that which is most important to us. That’s why it’s so incredibly nerve-racking thinking you’ve either left money on the table or you’ve aimed too high and over-reached, possibly having to consider a price adjustment or pulling it from the market until a different time or after having done some value-add improvements.

 

It’s a tough conversation at times. Often, I’ve found, through the art & science method, you can determine a range: factoring all of these elements in, that provides something that everyone can tolerate — and possibly, very possibly, find very satisfying on closing day.