17 Ways to Rid Your Home of Bad Odors

It’s no use: just removing the dust and cleaning the floor from time to time is not enough to leave the house cleaner, with a pleasant smell. Some unwanted scents can get trapped in furniture, appliances, electronics, and even mattresses. Fortunately, it’s easy to get rid of all of them, using only common products, the ones that almost everyone has at home!

For us, from awesome.club, cleaning time doesn’t just have to be efficient, it can also be fun! So we can’t wait to share some creative household secrets with you. Take note, and get to work!

The citrus scent can have a mood-enhancing or stress-reducing effect, and it works to keep the air in your room cooler. Leave some orange peel to dry overnight, and then burn it over a stove flame or with a match. Immediately, your kitchen will be filled with a very pleasant and long-lasting smell.

The fridge can end up accumulating the smell of the most diverse foods. Most of the time, cooler sachets just mask bad odors instead of getting rid of them for good. In cases like this, baking soda is much more efficient, as it absorbs and neutralizes the smell that we don’t like to feel. Just leave a container with the product inside the fridge, replacing it once a year.

Lemon is a very important ally when it comes to cleaning! To remove the bad smell from the microwave, put half a cup of water in a container. Cut a lemon in half, squeeze the juice into the container, and leave the fruit half in there as well. Turn on the device at high power for five minutes. After that, don’t open the door right away: leave the lemon-water mixture in the microwave for a few more minutes. Then remove the container and clean the device from the inside.

Take a lemon or an orange and cut it into slices, turn on the shredder and start throwing the citrus pieces one at a time. Citrus fruit slices help clean the grinder parts, leaving a pleasant smell. If you don’t have citrus at home, but you have peaches, you can use them by putting pieces of the fruit in the blender, seeds and all. This is useful for removing any bits of food that might be stuck there.

Air fresheners sold in stores may contain hazardous ingredients that are harmful to people. To make your own room deodorizer at home, you’ll need a spray bottle, distilled water, your favorite essential oil, and witch hazel extract. In a bottle, mix 20 to 25 drops of essential oil with half a bottle of witch hazel extract. Add distilled water, and voila. Witch hazel helps the ingredients combine effectively and also prolongs the scent. Apply in any environment or on bedding.

This “bomb” can be placed in your bathroom, killing bacteria and releasing a fresh scent throughout the room. In a large bowl, mix four tablespoons of citric acid, half a cup of baking soda, half a cup of Epsom salt, one tablespoon of washing powder, one tablespoon of polycarbonate of soda, and 15 drops of oil essential. Using a spray bottle, spray enough witch hazel over the mixture until it is firm enough that you can form small balls. Shape the “bombs” and let them dry for 6 hours.

Remember: baking soda “bombs” only partially clean the toilet bowl. It is possible that the toilet has stains on the inside, and these need to be removed, as they can also release bad odors. For situations like this, a bottle of Coca-Cola can solve everything. Empty the toilet and add the soda. The acid present in it can be helpful in removing stains. Let it act for a whole night, and flush it the next morning.

If you have pets, they can sometimes pee on the carpet, leaving an unpleasant smell. In a spray bottle, mix 150 ml of hydrogen peroxide, one tablespoon of vinegar and one tablespoon of baking soda. Spray the mixture onto the rug and let it dry. When it is dry, you will notice the appearance of a powder in the sprayed area. Remove the excess of it using a vacuum cleaner, and enjoy the freshness in the environment.

To make your mattresses smell good, sprinkle some baking soda on top of them. Let it acts for 30 minutes. Then just run the vacuum cleaner using the upholstery attachment. If you want to add a fragrance to the mattress, before applying the baking soda you can mix it with the essential oil of your choice.

This technique can also be used on the sofa, if it is upholstered. Spread baking soda over and under the pillows, letting it act for about 15 minutes. If you think your sofa smells too strong, leave the baking soda overnight. After that, use the vacuum cleaner to remove all excess product from the fabric.

It’s not always something easy to detect, but the fact is that bathroom brushes can end up leaving the environment impregnated with bad odors. Lucky for us, the problem can be easily solved if you put liquid soap in the holder. The product will kill the bacteria after you use the brush, preventing the bad smell from taking over the bathroom.

Even used scented wipes can be helpful, as they tend to retain their pleasant fragrance. Place them on closet shelves, or else inside the pockets of garments. Another option is to leave the scarves among the clothes that you will only use in the next season (for example, during the summer, do this with the winter clothes). When you take them out of the closet weeks later, the pieces will have that delicious smell.

If you like natural aromas, let your creativity flow and bet on your favorite herbs. For example, fill small fabric bags using herbs such as lavender, rosemary, daffodil, mint, pennyroyal, tansy, and cedar shavings. Place them on the shelves in the closet, replacing them every month.

Essential oils are always useful when we want to leave a room smelling better. Whenever you are going to renew your toilet paper stock, you can add a few drops of any oil inside the rolls, and that’s it! Afterwards, just leave the paper where you usually keep it, and enjoy the delicious aroma flooding the room.

Activated charcoal is great for absorbing bad odors. Wrap some of the product in gauze, leaving it inside or next to the litter box. Another option is to place the charcoal in a container, keeping it close to the box. After some time, you will notice that the unpleasant smell is gone!

Some types of fish have such a strong smell when they are fried that even turning on the hood or opening the window will not solve the problem. In cases like this, you can boil a cup of vinegar with a cup of water, on the same stove, right after frying the fish. The steam from the vinegar will combat the fish smell, to the point where the kitchen is completely free of it.

Sometimes, mold can form on the rubber seal that is attached to the washing machine door. This can make your clean clothes smell bad, and you don’t want that, right? Then mix a cup of bleach with 4 cups of warm water, pour some on a sponge or towel that you no longer use, and use the solution to sanitize that part of the machine. After that, run a wash cycle on the hottest water setting, also adding a mildew remover. When finished, leave the machine door open.

It’s a fun activity to do, and you can even wear any fragrance you like! For example, for lavender candles, you will need wax flakes, a metal-based candle wick, lavender essential oil, and dried lavender buds for decoration. First, prepare the candle container by placing the wick inside it and securing it with a clothespin. In the microwave, melt the wax flakes, add 20 to 30 drops of essential oil and pour the mixture into the container. Add some dried flowers and let it harden.

In addition to serving to make the environment more green and cozy, they also purify the air. St. George’s sword, dracenas, palm trees, Chinese evergreen and banyan tree are some of the best known options.

In your opinion, what are the most pleasant fragrances? Do you have any other tips for making the house smell good? Leave your comment!