The sense of smell has powerful effects on our psyches. The right scent can conjure up comforting childhood memories, warm feelings, and a sense of security—or fear, doubt, and a sense of dread. Whether a potential buyer believes your home is clean or dirty, old or new, welcoming and safe or dangerous and decaying has a lot to do with how your home smells. To sell your home fast and well, pay attention to how it smells. Here are the best non-cliche, common-sense real-estate staging tips that focus on your buyers’ sense of smell:

Get a second opinion. It’s not a myth: Scientists have shown that our brains stop noticing smells that we’re around often. Even if your home smells fine to you, smoke, pet odors, musty smells, and other off-putting scents may scare potential buyers away. Ask your real-estate agent how your home smells. Ask friends to come over and have a sniff. You and your backup smellers should especially sniff for common house-staging problems, including stale smoke, pet odors, unpleasant cooking aromas, and musty, rotten, or dirty smells.

Don’t be artificial—your buyers will notice. Be careful of obvious cover-up smells. Artificial air fresheners—including sprays, gels, and strongly scented candles—make potential buyers wonder what nasty odors you’re trying to hide. Also steer clear of overwhelming cleaning chemicals, including bleaches, ammonia, and anything that reminds you of a hospital corridor. You want potential buyers to perceive your home as clean, but super-powered cleaners will make them imagine you’ve been battling industrial-strength grime in your home.

Use the smells of clean. On the other hand, neutralizing strong smells and introducing gentle scents that suggest cleanliness will help sell your home. If your sniffers tell you you’ve got a problem, do all you can to actually get rid of it, rather than covering it up. This article gives tips on eliminating some of the most common culprits in smelly homes, including foul cooking smells, pet odors, cigarette smoke, musty basements, and nasty garbage. Gentle cleaning scents can also help. Home blogger Stephanie O’Dea swears by the smell of Windex to make your house feel clean. Other people suggest a slight whiff of Fabreeze or a simple soap.

Use the smells of comfort. So many realtors and home stagers suggest baking chocolate-chip cookies that the aroma become a house-staging cliché, which may make your potential buyers suspicious. Still, it is a great idea to infuse your home with baking smells to remind visitors of happy childhoods and relaxing times with loved ones. Just make sure the scents are genuine and not obviously stagey. This blog post gives a few simple suggestions, including simmering spices on your stove, making raisin toast, and making popcorn, which you can offer to your guests. Baking bread, pies, and less-common types of cookies will also make your home feel genuinely inviting.