Between cooking, pets, children, and the tasks of everyday life, our homes can start to take on unpleasant odors from time to time. Spraying gallons of air freshener into each room isn’t exactly ideal, but thankfully, there are many small and simple hacks to keep yucky odors at bay. Here they are!
1. Essential Oils On Toilet Paper Roll
To give your bathroom a subtly fresh smell all the time, apply a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the inside of the toilet paper roll.
2. Baking Soda
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it’s seriously effective. To eliminate strong food odors from taking over your fridge, just place an open box of baking soda towards the back of one of the fridge shelves.
3. Eliminate Fabric Odors
Speaking of baking soda, you can sprinkle a generous amount on your couches, chairs, and even mattress to eliminate odors. Just let the baking soda sit for a while, then vacuum it up.
4. Line Your Garbage Can
To eliminate odors from juices and garbage in general, line a clean garbage bag with newspaper before putting it in your garbage. The newspaper will absorb the juices and any other foul odors.
5. Citrus Fruit Rinds
Speaking of eliminating odors from your garbage, you can place some lemon or orange rinds at the bottom of your garbage to keep unpleasant smells at bay. Who knew?!
6. Wash Your Towels Regularly
After time, damp towels can make your bathroom smell stale and musty. Always wash your towels after 3-4 uses to ensure they and your bathroom smell fresh and clean.
7. Toilet Brush Holder
It’s no secret that toilet brushes have a tough job. To keep your toilet brush smelling clean, add some household cleaner to the bottom of the toilet brush holder.
8. Keep Your Dishwasher Fresh
To keep your dishwasher smelling fresh and clean, fill a cup with distilled vinegar, then place the cup in the top rack of your dishwasher. Run the dishwasher on its normal cycle without any other dishes and things will be smelling cleaner in no time. Be sure you’re sticking to this method and not running the vinegar through the rinse aid compartment, as the acid can damage your dishwasher’s lines and gaskets.
9. Eliminate Cooking Smells
You’ve probably noticed how certain food smells can linger in your kitchen for days after cooking. To eliminate them instantly, boil a small pot with distilled vinegar on the stove. The vinegar will neutralize the other smells.
10. DIY Bathroom Spray
Poo-Pourri is quite effective, but also quite expensive. To make your own bathroom spray, just mix together a few drops of your favorite essential oil with water in a spray bottle. Easy and cheap!
11. Deodorize Your Garborator
If your garbage disposal system smells like rotten food, just pour a little baking soda and vinegar down it. Let it sit, then pour some hot water down the drain. Any unpleasant smells will be absorbed and eliminated.
12. Hang Tea Bags
If your closet is smelling musty or just unpleasant, string some tea bags throughout the space. Tea bags are a great, natural way of neutralizing odors.
13. Eliminate Pet Odors
Pet odors (especially accidents) are some of the toughest smells to eliminate. If your pet has an accident on furniture or the carpet, douse the stain in baking soda after you’ve cleaned it, then vacuum it up. Cleaning with a solution of vinegar and water is also great for removing pet odors.
14. Wash Bedding Regularly
We spend a lot of time in our beds, so it’s not surprising that our sheets and other bedding can trap unpleasant odors over time. Ensure that you’re washing all of your bedding regularly to keep your bedroom smelling fresh.
15. Eliminate Basement Smells
Most unfinished basements tend to have a musty, moldy smell. To get rid of these unpleasant odors, you can spray the walls down with some bleach. If you’re not interested in using bleach, you can set a few plates of baking soda around the room to absorb the musty smell.
16. Deodorize Kitchen Cupboards
You’d be surprised at how much grease and other kitchen odors can become trapped in and on the surface of your cupboards. Simply mix together some lemon juice and water in a spray bottle, then spray and wipe down your cupboards.
17. Deodorize Your Hamper
Since dirty clothes are always in our hampers and laundry baskets, these containers tend to trap smells pretty easily. You can use either vinegar and water or lemon juice and water to wipe them down.
18. Freshen Your Linens
To make your linens and your linen closet smell fresh and clean, tuck a dryer sheet beneath them on each shelf. Your towels, bedding, and closet will all smell wonderful!
19. Deodorize Your Gym Bag
Gym bags are constantly home to our sweaty clothes and stinky running shoes. Remove everything from your gym bag, air it out in a bright, sunny place, and sprinkle the inside with baking soda. Let it sit, then vacuum up the baking soda after a couple of hours.
20. Remove Under-The-Bed Odors
You’d be surprised at how many unpleasant odors can become trapped under your bed. Vacuum up all the dust bunnies, then place a plate of baking soda under your bed. After a day or so, remove the baking soda and your room will smell much fresher.
21. Open The Windows!
One of the most effective, tried-and-true ways of removing odors from your home is to open up those windows. You’d be surprised at how much fresher and cleaner everything will smell once you’ve aired out your home for the better part of a day.
