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What’s that smell? There are many ways to mask bad odors in your home, but how do you truly eliminate them? Here’s how to get rid of bad household smells once and for all!
Why Can We Smell?
Neuroscientists say humans can distinguish 10,000 scents, though we don’t have names for many of them.
Our sense of smell—the olfactory sense—brings depth and emotional richness to daily life. Think about the feelings and memories that flow when you catch a whiff of fresh-cut grass or lilacs in bloom, bury your face in a sun-dried bed sheet just off the line, or enter the kitchen just as a cinnamon-rich apple pie emerges from the oven.
Our olfactory system also alerts us to potential dangers: spoiled food, rot and decay, and harmful molds. Most American homes contain a variety of sprays, plug-ins, stick-ons, scented candles, and other products designed to mask or remove foul odors. However, many people suffer allergic reactions to the fragrances in some of these products, and some air fresheners even contain toxins.
Yet a few inexpensive household essentials you probably have on hand already—vinegar, salt, coffee, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide—will neutralize most noxious odors around your home and in your vehicles.
How to Get Rid of Bad Smells in the Home
Freshen Stale, Smelly Air:
- To perfume the air indoors naturally, cut a lemon in half and set the cut halves in an inconspicuous place.
- Rub a bit of vanilla on a light bulb, and the bulb’s warmth will scent the air.
- During periods of nice weather, just open the windows! Let fresh air blow through and push out bad smells.
Neutralize Odors in the Kitchen and Bathroom:
- Most folks know that keeping an open box of plain baking soda in the refrigerator will neutralize bad odors. Sprinkle some into the bottom of the trash can and into the trash bag itself for similar results.
- Half a cup of baking soda in two quarts of water and a soft cloth or brush also work well for cleaning the fridge, as well as scrubbing down and freshening the tub, tiles, sinks, drains, trash cans, and toilet bowls. For stronger disinfecting properties, scrub with a strong vinegar solution.
- Fresh or leftover coffee grounds will also absorb unpleasant odors in a fridge, microwave, or cupboard.
- Boil two parts water with one part vinegar in a microwave-safe container to remove bad smells from your microwave. The vinegar smell itself dissipates quickly.
- Add half a cup of vinegar to a quart of water and allow to simmer on the stove for a few minutes. This will remove the smell of burnt food and many other odors from your kitchen (and burned-on food from your stainless steel pots).
- Soak a piece of stale bread in vinegar and set it overnight in a lunchbox or wastebasket to remove built-up food odors.
- Grind leftover citrus rinds in your garbage disposal to sweeten it. Or dump half a cup of salt down the drain and turn on the disposal. This loosens caked-on food and helps neutralize odor.
Get Rid of Smells in Fabrics and Carpets:
- You can get most smells out of carpets, rugs, and upholstery (including vehicle interiors) by sprinkling liberally with baking soda. Leave the baking soda in place for several hours, then vacuum or shake it out.
- Urine or vomit on carpets and upholstery can be trickier to remove. If you can get at it immediately, blot first with a towel, then spray the area with a 3-part cold water/1-part vinegar solution and blot (but don’t rub). Repeat several times, if needed, until the smell disappears. The vinegar odor will dissipate in a few hours.
- Coffee grounds will sweeten the air inside your car or its trunk. For use in the car, place the grounds in a covered plastic container with holes punched in the lid.
- Old-timers swear by this method for removing set-in odors and stains from carpets and upholstery. It works especially well on pet urine and skunk smells. You might want to test for color-fastness by soaking a small, inconspicuous area with the solution and leaving it for 24 hours before you treat the area with the stain.
- Put on a pair of rubber or latex gloves.
- Gently mix a quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, a quarter-cup of baking soda, and a teaspoon of liquid dish soap in a plastic container. Don’t mix far in advance or store in a closed container.
- Pour or spray the solution directly onto affected areas and allow to sit for 24 hours before blotting excess liquid. Allow to air dry.
How to Clean Up a Skunked Pet
- Veterinarians also recommend the above recipe for bathing a pet that’s been skunked. After making the solution, massage it into the animal’s fur, then let it sit for 5–10 minutes. Rinse with warm water.
- See more home remedies for pets!
Dealing With Mold and Mildew
- If you suspect a mold problem in your home, don’t rely on simply scrubbing down the area with bleach or masking the odor with air fresheners. Some mold damage may require professional removal services. Beyond their unpleasant odors, molds and mildews can present special indoor health hazards beyond the scope of this post to describe. Some people are sensitive to certain kinds of indoor molds.
Need more advice? Here’s how to get rid of body odor and home remedies for pets.
Did we miss any of your favorite tried-and-true solutions? Let us know in the comments!
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This is the worst. My husband went crabbing and cleaned the crabs and left the shells and insides in my trash can in the garage. Now I have put it outside but it is stinking the whole neighborhood and my trash pickup is not until 5 days away. HELP...….
I know it's been a year or so, but for what it's worth:
There's not really much you can do, (I know if I put one little lobster tail shell in the trash, you can smell it down the street!).... Double or triple bag the plastic bag of trash and just wait - if it's outside and smells, well, it IS out in the great outdoors where bad smells are all over, just live with it till trash day......Or if really desperate (and you didn't hear this from me) - sneak it into an apartment house dumpster, usually there's one for the residents to toss their bags trash..... If I have a small amount of something awful (garlic, onions, seafood shells, an old piece of chicken) I will store it in a bag in the refrigerator or freezer till trash pickup. (this requires pre-planning) . and if worst comes to worst, I will smuggle a bag (if not too big, I'm talking a grocery store size plastic bag) and stick it in the big trash cans you can find in some big box parking lots/front of a grocery store/gas station near the pumps. Yes, there are video cameras and signs and it's not legal and if you're caught, there is heck to pay, but I would think a little bag of something, if you are desperate, might be worth the risk. (Though I bought the stuff at the grocery store, I'm just returning some of my purchase, lol.)
I freeze ALL of my garbage. Instead of tossing used gallon size zipper bags, I write "garbage" on them and fold and store them in the freezer. When they're full, or it's time to go to the dump, they go in the trash bag. I started doing this years ago because I was tired of flies in the outside trash can during the summer.
I hope to get around to composting one on these years!
How do you get rid of mildewy, moldy, smell in air conditioner.
This may seem self-evident to many, however, it didn't to me. With a walkout basement, plenty of sand fill outside, and a generally high/dry building site, I didn't think a damp basement would be a problem. No mold showing, no damp floors. I mentioned the typical "basement smell" to a friend, and he suggested a dehumidifier. WOW, what a difference! After a little research and poking around, I determined a small (30 pt) would be sufficient. It only took two days, and I had a new basement! Don't overlook the obvious solutions!
it got watered with a glass that had tea or something in it maybe sugar anyway, it got a rancid smell, how do you neutralize the smell, no dirt, just roots, shallow pot. drying it out now
Perhaps put a box of baking soda nearby to soak up the odor. The smell should dissipate after repeated waterings, but if that doesn't work, consider replacing the media. In fact, you may want to do that anyway in order to discourage rot and bacteria from spreading to the roots.
Thank you for the info, however, I have an issue that I did not see mentioned. A gallon of milk had a hole in it and spilled in my truck. It didn’t get on the carpet, thanks to my great mat that covers the rear, but it did get under the plastic where you step in. We pulled it up and cleaned really well and also used several boxes of baking soda but it still smells like a toddler left a cup of milk in my truck. Any other suggestions?
I cleaned the mat but still being bothered by the smell. I found a kind of air freshener bag on Amazon that does a lot of help to absorb the odors. It is a brown linen bag containing black activated charcoal balls, and the package came with a small pink heart shape card, which is very cute. Hope this tip can be helpful for you too.
I'd try leaving an open container or two of coffee grounds in the cab for a few days, along with spraying the area with one of those enzyme sprays you can find in pet stores to deodorize smelly dogs. Try to get the spray up under the plastic. Good luck!
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