Tips to Give the Air in Your Home a Refresh and a Cleanse

5 ways to make your house smell fantastic

Did you know you can use your house as a way to make it smell better? Here are some tips and tricks for using regular kitchen and garden items to get rid of obnoxious odors and smells. In addition, some of these suggestions actually improve the quality of the air in your home. Think of it as an added bonus.

A popular quick fix to get rid of noxious smells at home is to grab a can of air freshener spray or a scented oil wall plug-in. But there are a few different ways to keep your home smelling fresh and clean. Vinegar, baking soda, vanilla extract are a few suggestions that may already be in the kitchen. And certain flowers and plants like Mums and Aloe Vera actually purify the air in your home in addition to the fresh smell.

If you are looking to absorb bad smells in a room and prefer to use natural products, there are a couple of staples that may already be in your kitchen to help with that.

Two of the best products to remove foul smells are white cleaning vinegar and baking soda. While sometimes mixed together, this is NOT the way to use them to get rid of that stench. These are household items that are quite affordable, effective and require very little maintenance once strategically placed around a room or in every room depending upon the severity of the smell.

Pour white cleaning vinegar in bowls or glass jars and place them discreetly around the rooms that smell funky. The vinegar will not give off an odor; just absorb the bad ones. White cleaning vinegar is also a great way to get the stench out of the washing machine and also cleans clothes.

While the ways to distribute baking soda are similar to using the white cleaning vinegar, baking soda has the advantage of being in powder form. This way it can also be sprinkled in places like the bottom of trash cans. You can also just pop open the top of the baking soda box the same way it is used to keep the refrigerator and freezer smelling nice and clean. It works in the same way vinegar does by naturally absorbing the stale smell in the air.

If you are looking to deodorize a room naturally, once again the kitchen is a great place to start. Add vanilla extract or citrus peels to a water pan at a low heat setting. Within a half hour, a constant fresh smell will waft through the room and spread to other rooms. Remember it is never safe to leave the house with the stove on so this is a remedy for when adults are at home.

Another nifty trick is using coffee grounds – used or fresh – will naturally absorb undesirable odors in a house. Like vinegar or baking soda, the grounds can be placed in any room in the house in tiny bowls or cups. It may even brighten your day because you feel like you are drinking it!

Glass containers seem to work best, but if the pets or kids are prone to crashing into things, plastic containers work too. Other spots that can develop a pervasive smell over time are sinks and drains due to residue buildup; another spot is trash cans. They too become smelly over time. For drains, you can pour white cleaning vinegar or baking soda down them every few days or once a week. For trash cans, sprinkle the baking powder in the bottom or get a spray bottle and spray the inside with the vinegar.

Finally a very common, easy, GREEN way to naturally deodorize your home is flowers and/or plants. There is a variety to choose from like Mums or Aloe. Mums eliminate household toxins from the air in addition to smelling good. Mums are best used in the fall and winter months and even help fight cold and flu season.

Aloe Vera plants are extremely useful and commonly thought of for treating burns. It’s a low maintenance succulent that requires little attention, but the benefits are substantial. Aloe Vera absorbs carbon monoxide and air pollutants then releases back completely clean and fresh air.

It’s exciting to know that you barely need to leave the house to make it smell lovely all year round. And all of the tips and tricks mentioned above are very affordable and environmentally friendly and easy to find.