How to Keep Home Sweet Home Smelling the Same—Tips for Eliminating Household Odors

Odors in the home are a lot like…bills…everyone has them, and they all stink!

All jokes aside, household odors can leave your home feeling dirty and unpleasant, and can be a real problem for you and your family—not to mention your friends and neighbors if they have the misfortune of stopping by in between cleanings. The fouls smells often found in the usual places—like the kitchen, the bathroom and the basement—are made much worse when you factor in your pets’ favorite spot on the rug, your grandfather’s old recliner and the bedroom of your teenage son…

Though the prospect of an odor free home smells so sweet—we all know it’s not quite the reality. But there are many ways that you can not only cover unpleasant odors, but also remove them. Here are some tips to cut some of the toughest and common household smells.

Kitchen and Food Odors.

In the fridge, the trash can, the garbage disposal, the drains, and sometime lingering in the air from what was cooked, as delicious as food can be when freshly prepared, it can downright putrid when left around too long. Combat food odors by:

* Empty and clean your refrigerator often to prevent odors and place an open box of baking soda in the refrigerator and freezers to catch them as they arise.
* To remove odorous food smells from counter tops, clean with equal parts of vinegar and water.
* Flush your garbage disposal and drains with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to cleanse, and follow with citrus juice to freshen.
* Clean garbage cans with a bleach and water solution once a week.


Fabric and Carpet Odors.

Whether from your pet or years of wear and tear, upholstery and carpets are hot beds for bad home odors. With lots of products on the market to mask the smell and freshen the room, try these tricks to remove the odor:

* Sprinkle baking soda on a smelly carpet or upholstery, wait an hour (or more), then vacuum the powder and the odor away. Baking soda absorbs moisture that can cause odor build-up.
* Steam clean the fabrics and carpets, adding ¼ of a cup of lemon juice or one cup of vinegar to the water.
* Set small decorative bowls full of vinegar around the house. Not only will the vinegar absorb the odor in the room, it will also add a fresh smell. (this tip is also great for removing cigarette smells)

Clothes and Bedroom Odors

At the end of a long day, your bedroom should be the place to which you retreat. Unfortunately, stale odors can leave bedrooms room smelling more like a gym locker than a relaxing oasis. Bring peace back in to your room by:

* Your browser may not support display of this image. Deodorizing your closet and dresser drawers by tucking a few unused fabric softener or dryer sheets into the corners
* Hammer pieces of cedar wood onto the back wall of your closets to prevent musty odor from building up in your closet. Your browser may not support display of this image.
* Sprinkle the insoles of stinky shoes with baking soda and leave sit overnight. Also throw dirty sneakers in a the washing machine then wash with laundry detergent and bleach (if color free)
* Be sure you’re washing you bed linens—including duvet coves, pillow shams, dust ruffles and bed spreads—regularly.



As a rule-- baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and vinegar are great odor eliminators.

Sources:

www.allergyconsumerreview.com
www.biotrauma.com