‘From A Pet And Smoke Free Home’.

I have bought a couple items in charity shops that I've had to bin. One, a white shirt with sweat stains under the arms that not even all the Google tips could get rid of - another a cotton top that still stank strongly of BO after washing machine & blowing on the line. But on the other hand Ive bought prized clothes second - hand, a clothkits waistcoat I bought in 1980 & still wear, springs to mind. (waistcoats coming back too - newsreaders wearing them!) I've never had a problem with nicotine stains or animal hairs that a decent wash /clean didn't cope with. I am a smoke & animal free home now as my dear spaniel was put to sleep 3 days ago - maybe a window to go on Ebay & sell stuff?

I also choose accommodation with a ‘no pets’ stipulation. A friend of DIL had two dogs, went on holiday where the cottage said that one dog was allowed. They were quite boastful how they had ‘got away’ with taking the two.

“Just give it a good vacuum before we leave”.

And the dogs sat on the sofas and probably the beds as well.

No thank you.

I accompanied my brother to a few house viewings when he was downsizing. He had put an offer on one house and when he asked what I thought of it I commented that it would be okay once the smell of dog had gone. To me it was overpowering, he hadn’t noticed it. Each to their own. He didn’t buy it in the end.
When I was first married I couldn’t understand why my legs were itchy all the time. One day I found a creature stuck in my tights….it was a cat flea yuck. We had to fumigate the house and got rid of the carpet as soon as we could afford it.

When I'm considering buying from eBay I always message the seller to ask if the item has been used by or around smokers. I have returned items that smell of cigarette smoke, I'm not prepared to wash their disgusting stink off something I've bought, Only one of the three sellers I've returned things to has refused to refund and in that case, it was an inexpensive pair of toddler dungarees so I accepted the small financial loss and the seller could do as she pleased with them. Hence now I always ask before bidding, if the lisitng doesn't specify it's a non-smoking home.

Its the smell.

Dog owners owners seem to be oblivious and thats fine and good, but not for me.

When we were house hunting we found that as soon as the potential vender opened the front door we could tell if they had a dog or a baby by the smell.

I have 2 dogs and buy and sell on ebay. All clothes I sell are kept upstairs where my dogs are not allowed ever. They are even bathed in the garden shed which has plumbing shower hairdryer and towels in. They never go in our bathroom.
Animal hair and dander takes 6 months to get rid of from the house. Unless you redecorate and replace carpets it can still cause an allergic reaction.
No need for any dog or cat to have fleas these days as vet can provide very effective monthly treatment. But fleas eggs can lie dormant for years after the animals have left and hatch when people move into empty houses.
I always wash everything I buy second hand just incase as you can catch lots of things from fabric

I find if I put a sprinkle of laundry beads (unstoppables or similar) on the air filter the whole house smells fresh, so it would probably mask the wet dog smell too. The effect lasts through quite a few uses.

I guess that pet-free would be more acceptable to some people and also in the instance of allergies. However to me, there are some really horrible smelling items I have had from eBay, makes you wonder what on earth their homes must be like!

Another popular phrase on for sale sites is : “Need gone as soon as possible” - Well of course you do if you’re trying to sell something right? Drives me to distraction!! ??

We have dogs in our house and tbh dogs can smell and if on furniture the furniture will not only possibly be a bit “dirty” certain dogs shin is “oily” Our dogs have material bed, whic the covers come off to wash 1) they smell 2) although they look fairly hair/fluff free you can see from the water how much hair clings to material

I am another one who won't stay in holiday accommodation which allows pets. We had to stop going to a favourite place when the owners got a dog as they said it loved to greet visitors and would be around at breakfast time.

just reading some of these is making me feel uneasy.
i wouldn't dream of buying clothes or anything really secondhand from a stranger.
maybe from a friend or relative. but i'd rather save up and buy my own.
i suffered from fleas in a house-sitting experience when i was young. it. was. hell. i had an estimated 300 bites, some of which were still visible in the bath a year later.
the eggs can stay in furnishings/carpets for years literally, and then emerge one summer, when the owners are on holiday.

I usually find that the pics on eBay give clues as to the cleanliness of a seller’s house. If I’m selling myself I always make a point of mentioning that the clothing has been freshly laundered. If I buy from a charity shop I give the item a thorough inspection first and give it a wash anyway, with laundry cleanser!

I have dogs and cats but make sure anything I sell is freshly laundered, in good repair and free from hair. I have a sticky roller and remove anything that might be there. I wouldn’t dream of sending anything that was not clean enough.

I find that if you buy a small bottle of essential oil - Sandalwood I like and then sprinkle some onto the Hoover bag. My vacuum cleaner has paper bags but I guess it would work with a cloth bag just as well.

Yes to allergies, hair and smells, but dogs and cats can damage things - scratch or chew furniture edges. I once bought a house and all downstairs doors had claw marks dragged down them where I assume the dog had been trapped behind. I've just seen a sofa for sale on line and it had a dog spread across it. They obviously thought it would help to sell it. I'd not touch it.

Of course you've no idea they are telling the truth, that's were you have to see and smell for yourself.

Another phrase I see on certain items for sale is ‘Needs a clean’.

I find that odd, I would be ashamed to advertise something for sale that needed cleaning. If I couldn’t be bothered to clean it, I wouldn’t put it up for sale.

I regularly sell various items on eBay and have done for well over a decade.
I don't smoke but do have a dog.
On EVERY listing I state....

All my items come from a smoke free home. I do have a dog but they do not come into contact with my items, although it is possible that the odd hair or two may be transferred from my clothing during packing of items - I don't/cannot be expected to, package items whilst naked!

Then I leave it up to the buyer to decide whether they still want to buy from me and it also covers me with eBay if someone receives an item with one or two hairs on it and complains, eBay will support me because I've pre-warned all potential customers.

@TiggyW

If I buy from a charity shop I give the item a thorough inspection first and give it a wash anyway, with laundry cleanser!

Even when I'm buying brand new clothes I'll try them on to be sure they're the right fit but I wash EVERYTHING before I wear it. You have no way of knowing how clean other people are who've handled or tried on items of clothing, so I don't trust anything.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention in my post above that all items of clothing are washed and tumble dried 'where possible' but not ironed as they are likely to get wrinkled in transit.

I state 'where possible' because if something is brand new with tags I'm not going to remove the tags and decrease their value in order to wash them.

I used to put some lavender oil on a piece of kitchen towel in my Henry. On top of the bag. Not a large piece but it made the whole house smell nice

The only problem I find with buying clothes from eBay or charity shops is the fact that sellers seem to not only wash them but dowse them with fabric conditioner which stinks. Usually takes several washes to get rid of the claggy flowery smell. The majority of my wardrobe has come from these sources for the last 20 years and I've never caught anything from any of it.

I can sympathise with people who are allergic to animal hair, but stubborn intolerance of animals is just sad. Chidren should be brought up to love animals and treat them well. Is your carpet or upholstery more important to you than the affection of a warm, breathing, fellow creature. I have to add in the expense of dry cleaning black clothing as I removing cat hairs without professional help is hopeless. I think people who dislike animals have something missing in their personalities.

i do not dislike most humans; but neither do i want their hair or other detritus on my clothes, furniture, or in a cup of tea.
neither do i want humans or animals to jump up on me and invade my space, esp when i am minding my own business out and about.
it's nothing to do with disliking animals.
it's about personal boundaries.
different people are comfortable with different things.
you cannot generalise anything from that, about their moral or psychological shortcomings.