I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings. I am not critiquing your beautiful home, I just feel it can be tweaked for very little money and effort to appeal to a vastly larger number of buyers. Just my opinion, but I still think it needs more modern/contemporary touches. I see by your screen name that you like antiques. Many of your pieces have profiles that are old-fashioned, and not modern. This can make a home seem -emotionally- too "used" and "old lady". I think it is important emotionally for a home to SEEM new and unused and up to date by buyers. I know, buyers are not buying your things, But they need to be able to imagine the house with their fantasy new furnishings in it. Take a look at Crate and Barrel, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Design Within Reach and blogs like Apartment Therapy and Sunset Magazine website. Try to add some Mid Century Modern to the mix, and unfussy and chunkier pieces. In particular I would replace all of the vases, and probably the larger lamp with more simple and chunkier pieces. And remove both the blue chair and the tapestry chair by the piano. Any upholstery that doesn't look brand new can be a turnoff. I hope you understand that I am not AT ALL implying your space isn't lovely. It is lovely. But it is just too taste-specific and that can carry over to the impressions potential buyers form of the house.

I was at the mall today and something happened that made me think of this thread and the commercial but there was no poo involved. There were a bunch of men and women dressed in period costume to promote an upcoming Christmas play and they were wandering around the mall in character. The women wore bonnets, shawls, big ol' hoop skirts and petticoats. I visited the restroom and three of the ladies were in there; one using a stall and the other two waiting for her. As her companions kept asking if she needed any help, her hoop skirt spread out so that it was billowing under the partitions of the stalls to the left and right of her and it was also coming out from under the door to her stall. It almost seemed to have a life of it's own! We could all hear her explanations of frustration as she tried to keep hoop skirt, petticoats and shawl under control while using the facility. She finally came out holding up her skirts and shaking her head. As she washed her hands, I said "that can't have been easy trying to fit in that stall wearing those clothes" and she agreed that it wasn't. We then wondered how the ladies managed in the old days of having to use an outhouse. Maybe they removed skirts and petticoats first???

Yes, what you eat will definitely affect stool odor. Awhile back there was a british program on tv, "You Are What You Eat" where she'd do a diet makeover on people who were overweight with lousy diets. As part of her thing, she'd do a stool sample analysis. She would say that while it will have some smell, it shouldn't send anyone running and screaming from the bathroom if the person is eating a healthy diet. Diet will also affect the amount of flatulence. I remember awhile back that the mythbusters did a test on that by changing Jamie's diet and they collected all the gas and measured it. Things like high fiber foods and esp bean and cabbages made a lot more gas. When his diet was low in fiber and high in protein, much less so. I've always been suspicious of the things you put on the water though, as once the stool is below the water line, there should be no more odor. After all that's why they have traps in drains. The trap stays full of water and blocks sewer gases from getting back into the room. So if they work, it must be that they generate a pleasant odor from the water surface that helps mask other smells.

Poopouri actually makes the most sense to me. My only hesitation is how easily DH (or me for that matter) would take to the new routine. Poopourri Amazon reviews are pretty funny, too! "Let me start by saying that this product has literally saved my relationship with my family and friends. I know this may be hard to believe so I will tell you a little story. From 2006 - 2009 I lived in Balad, Iraq @ Camp Anaconda as a military contractor. In that timeframe, I managed to go from living in a tent, to being put in a Containerized Housing Unit (CHU) (basically a 10x12 metal room with a bathroom between my room and another room like mine). Over the course of the first 2 years I had 8-10 different roommates. All requested to live in tents due to the foul odor coming from the bathroom and lingering in their room for days. Keep in mind that I am one to courteous flush two, even three times. I used spray as well. So, the Government tried to use the room sharing my bathroom as a "transient" room for general officers/VIP's because they only come in for a night or two. Well... That worked for about a day. An AMC commander came in (4-Star) and was placed in my adjoining room... I waited until he was sleeping before I utilized my latrine. About 30 minutes later, I hear cussing, gagging, and a command to don gas masks. The man had been woken up by the wretched stench that only my bowels are able to produce. It's like being forced to inhale the remains of a rotting corpse... That stench you find while slowly driving down a country road with the windows down and you know precisely when you pass by road kill. There is no adequate description of the smells my body is capable of releasing and this man has just met the true power. This General has seen war ranging from Vietnam to Afghanistan and yet he couldn't endure a single "number 2" of mine behind a closed door. The next day I was told that I was going to be put back into a tent where I could use a portapotty- obviously, I was devastated! My only option was to find someone willing to room with me- so I did, and he regretted it every day thereafter. Once I moved back home, I invested in industrial filth fans in the bathrooms. I could use the bathroom upstairs and hear my kids moaning and groaning downstairs about how bad the house stinks. So in my quest to calm the smell, I researched and found this amazing product. I can now spray the toilet water with four squirts, release the madness, and not a soul knows other than when I make the walls rattle. Thanks Poo-pourri for saving me."