Smell is quite powerful. It can trigger memories and emotions, complement the ambience, and can even affect one's mood.
Out of all of our five senses, it's not one that most of us pay much attention to until our nose detects an aroma. And although we all want our homes to smell good, we have to admit sometimes they just don't.
The goal isn't to mask bad odours, but rather to get rid of the root cause.
The first thing you need to do is give your space a deep clean and discover the source of the bad odour. Clean obvious offenders like litter boxes, diaper pails, dirty laundry, and rotten food. You might also need to do some sleuthing to locate origins that are a little less conspicuous.
Once you've identified and taken care of the problem, it's time to improve the overall smell in your room with some of the following tips:
1. Exhaust, Ceiling, or Window Fans
Fans are an easy and affordable way to get air moving, and they come in particularly handy if the fresh air isn't very fresh — for example, if you live near a freeway, in an industrial area, or in a city where the air quality index is high. Just make sure your fan is clean before turning it on.
2. Open Windows
No surprise here, but introducing fresh air into your home by opening doors and windows can go a long way with circulating airflow, making your space feel and smell better.
3. Clean Carpets and Rugs
Carpets introduce hard-to-resist color and texture to interior spaces, absorb noise, and feel great underfoot, but they also trap germs, dirt, and environmental pollutants like pollen and mold. To keep your carpet and room smelling fresh, make sure you clean spills when they happen to minimize stains and odor — and for stubborn stains, call in the professionals.
4. Wash Sheets
A well-made bed with freshly washed (and ironed) sheets is one of life's little luxuries. Ideally, your linens should be cleaned once a week, especially considering the number of bodily odors, oils, fluids, and skin cells that your sheets are subject to on a nightly basis.
5. Oil Diffusers
Diffusers add particles of essential oils to the air, imparting a variety of scents from lavender to grapefruit to cinnamon. Nature-inspired smells like eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon, and mint add freshness to rooms without overwhelming them. They can be a bit pricey, but if you're up for a DIY project, reed diffusers can be easily made at home. Just be sure to double-check that the scents you are using aren't harmful to your pets.
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6. Humidifiers
Humidifiers add needed moisture to rooms in dry climates, making it easier to breathe, as well as making skin and hair softer. You can add lemon juice and essential oils to humidifiers to introduce a pleasant scent to your room and remember that humidifiers also need to be cleaned. Not surprisingly, dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air. Using a dehumidifier can help decrease the humidity in an overly humid home and can also reduce mold and dust mite build-up. If you have pets or children, you might want to consider using cool mist humidifiers instead of hot mist, to avoid any injuries.
7. Dispose of Garbage
No surprise here; Garbage can be the source of foul odors and should be taken out regularly. Before you dispose of used bags, tie them in a knot at the top (don't just cinch the bags) to prevent flies from infiltrating the bags and mating. Be sure to clean the actual garbage can periodically with bleach wipes or baking soda.
8. Air Purifiers
Air filters remove particles, but air purifiers actually sanitize the air. If you live in a cold climate, air purifiers are often used as a replacement for ventilation in the cold season when it might be too chilly to open a window.
9. Odor Absorbers
If you prefer a home with a neutral smell, odor absorbers are great to have on hand. Baking soda (yup, the kind that you bake with) does wonders at absorbing unpleasant odors. Keep an open box in the refrigerator and place several small bowls throughout the house. Just be sure they're out of reach if you have pets or small children.
Baking soda can also be used as a deodorizing agent on the carpet — just sprinkle it and let it sit for several hours before vacuuming. Activated charcoal filters and dried tea leaves placed in perforated bags are hardworking natural odor absorbers. Hang them in a closet or toss them in gym bags. Even white vinegar placed in a bowl on the counter overnight can clear up any unsavory odors.
10. Room Sprays
Room sprays are great to have on hand to quickly mask unpleasant odors, anywhere from the kitchen to the bathroom. They're available in a range of scents from floral to spicy to musky and you can easily make them yourself.
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Hunker