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How to Deodorize Your Home
Have you ever noticed a bad smell in your home? Either you come home to it one day, or someone had to point it out to you? No matter how it happened, you now have a problem that needs solving.
Most people will reach for air fresheners and candles, but these methods are not totally effective. The only way to truly deodorize your home is to hit the problem at its source.
In this blog post, we’ll go over some easy methods for getting rid of any nasty smells in your home and keeping them out.
Don’t Use Chemical Air Fresheners
When most people smell something musty or gross, they immediately grab an air freshener. Whether you’re spraying the room with an air freshener bottle, letting a plug-in unit do its job, or lighting a candle, these are only temporary solutions.
These air fresheners only mask the original smell with a stronger scent. Plus, those more pleasant smells only last a short time, they don’t get rid of the bad smell at all. Even worse, both strong scents can mix together to form a worse smell in your home.
These products are good for creating a nice smell in your home or creating a certain atmosphere. They should never be used as a substitute for actually getting rid of the bad smell at its source.
Stick to a Cleaning Routine
One of the most effective ways to keep your home odor free is to regularly clean it. This may sound too simple to be true, but it’s amazing how many odor issues you can solve by just cleaning around your house once a week.
Here are some especially important cleaning routines you should stick to:
Don’t let your laundry pile up: If you leave piles of dirty and sweaty clothes around your home, or even in one spot, you create the perfect odor scenario. Not only are the bad smells on your clothes filling the air, but you’re also creating a dark moist area where mold can easily grow. The best remedy is to clean your laundry once a week and properly put it away.
Regularly vacuum and mop: It’s amazing how much random stuff ends up on our floors. If you spill any foods that are particularly smelly and don’t clean them up, you can bet those scents will linger and only get worse. That’s why it’s important to regularly vacuum/sweep your floors and mop them afterwards with a floor cleaning solution.
Throw out old and expired food: It’s easy to let leftovers and random ingredients pile up in your fridge. While you might be planning to use that food for later, the last thing you want is for a bad smell to stick to your fridge and the food inside it. Try to make a habit of throwing out expired food and old leftovers while also cleaning inside your fridge.
Don’t let piles of dishes gather: Similar to dirty laundry, a dirty sink filled with used dishes can only make your kitchen smellier. With all of the grease and oil used in cooking, they can mix and create terrible scents if left alone long enough. Not to mention, crumbs and misplaced food attract bugs, which can only make matters worse. All in all, it’s best to just clean the dishes every couple of days and properly rinse out your sink and sponge.
Keep smelly shoes and equipment outside: If you come home with sweaty shoes or used equipment, it might be best to keep them outside. That way, those smelly smells can naturally deodorize in the open air, while your home gets a break.
There are many other ways to keep your home smelling fresh through regular cleaning, but the important part is to be consistent about it. Most of these musty or gross smells come from dirty or smelly items that are left alone for too long.
Use Natural Odor Removers
Even after cleaning your house, there might be some lingering scents that don’t sit well with your nose. In these cases, it’s time to break out the natural air fresheners. There are plenty of strong smelling stuff lying around your house that can effectively mask and attack nasty scents.
Use baking soda: Surprisingly, one of the most effective deodorizing methods is to use baking soda. You can put it on almost any surface or leave it in a small space to absorb any nasty odors. A timeless trick is to place an open box in your refrigerator, but you can also spread some on fabric surfaces like couches and carpets and vacuum it to get rid of smells.
Utilize citrus fruits: If you want more natural scents, why not use your favorite citrus fruits? By cutting up lemons and oranges, you can leave pieces in certain spots to try and absorb any nasty smells. You can also mix baking soda, warm water, and citrus fruit juice to create a natural air freshener spray if that’s more convenient for you.
Vinegar mix: Vinegar and water mixed together is not only an effective cleaner, but it can also absorb strong scents around your home. So while you’re cleaning your sink, trash can, or around your bathroom, this could be an effective way to remove stains and keep the space smelling good. That is, as long as you like the smell of vinegar.
Check The Dark, Moist Places
If all else fails, there might be a more serious issue going on in your home. One of the most common contributors to bad smells is mold grown in dark and moist places. These conditions are created by leaving piles of clothes, not properly airing out your bathroom, or a leak somewhere within your home.
Take some time to check all around your home where water could gather and light cannot reach. Not only will this help remove musty smells, but it will also improve your home’s air quality.
If you can’t find any mold around your home but the smell persists, then it’s worthwhile getting the inside of your home checked. Specifically, you should get your home’s air ducts checked out. If mold has grown in your HVAC system, that means harmful bacteria is spreading throughout your house.
Call a Reliable Air Duct Cleaner
When you need professional and reliable air duct cleaning, you need Kohmar. Our team of trained technicians have the tools and experience to thoroughly clean your air duct system. Keeping you, your family, and your home safe from harmful molds and smells. Contact us to discuss your HVAC issues.
Sources: https://www.merrymaids.com/cleaning-tips/tidy-home/how-to-deodorize-your-home/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a22053/deodorize-your-house/
https://www.homelight.com/blog/how-to-deodorize-a-house/
