Many kinds of odors can hang in the rooms where we live: pet smells, musty scents, perspiration on furniture or bedding, and even cooking stenches from strong foods like garlic or fish.
Eliminating such odors means that your home environment may become fragrant once more. Since scent is the longest-lasting sensory emotion, making your household air clean and fresh will help to create a pleasant and memorable experience for family and guests alike.
Try these tips for cleaning or filtering the odors in your dwelling:
- Open the windows. A simple, inexpensive, yet highly effective technique, merely opening household windows when the weather is nice will invite fresh breezes into your home to help clear out impurities. Doctors advise homes with flu patients to crack the window of the room where they rest to promote an exchange of contaminated for clean air. Naturally, you’ll want to avoid letting in air that is too cold or perhaps contaminated from nearby manufacturing firms.
- Put in a plug-in. Commercial room deodorizers now come in many hand forms, including wall plug-ins that you stick into a socket for instant scent release or a toilet hang-on that rests on the lip of the toilet bowl and releases a gentle scent consistently or when the toilet is flushed. You also can purchase fragrant artificial flower arrangements or wreaths that help to circulate soothing aromas around the area.
- Make your own natural fragrance. Look for home-made deodorizers on the Internet, in craft books, or even in some recipe books. Boiling a teaspoon of vanilla or a sweet-smelling spice like cinnamon in water can make your home seem like a bakery since these spices absorb more than cover other odors.
- Light a candle. Look for scented candles at the dollar or craft store, but avoid metal wicks, which, when burning, may release lead into the air that can be harmful to breathing. Never leave a burning candle unattended. Try several delicious aromas, such as chocolate, lime, or peach, as well as floral scents like roses or lilac.
- Wash fabric furnishings frequently. A weekly wash for furniture doilies can help, along with monthly laundering of sofa pillow covers and slipcovers, as well as animal bedding. Be sure to wash family bedding at least monthly if not more often, especially for those involved in physical activity or sports. Hang heavy coverings like window drapes, quilts, or bedspreads outside on the clothesline to air out if you can’t wash or dry-clean them.
- Clean the house regularly. You will be pleasantly surprised to notice how much better the house smells following a thorough dusting, vacuuming, and mopping of floors. Wipe walls down in spring or fall, or both seasons if you have time. Get rid of unneeded furniture or stored items that take up space and help to accumulate dust. Get the ductwork cleaned professionally every year or two to get rid of accumulated dust, allergens, and other debris for a cleaner, fresher, and healthier air.
A few well-paced steps at minimum cost can keep your home smelling clean and fragrant. Everyone will enjoy the feel of inside fresh air that will follow the performance of tips like those outlined above.
