Imagine walking into your kitchen on a crisp fall morning, windows open, breeze blowing in and the smell of a fresh pot of coffee brewing. Sounds magical, right? Now picture this, walking into your kitchen and taking a big deep breath to find yourself in disgust. Yesterday’s garbage is today’s new scent. Not so pleasant anymore, huh?
There’s a million and one products out there today to spray, plug-in and light to help keep your home smelling great. But if you are using these products to mask a gross smell you are doing wrong! Find the odor source first and eliminate it! Use these products to give your home a pleasant aroma, but don’t use them to mask unpleasantness.
Let’s take a deep breath and talk about common household odors.
The Kitchen: A place of many smells. Often delicious, though sometimes revolting. The most common places of odors are: garbage disposal, sink, garbage can, fridge, or anywhere you keep food. If you find your kitchen with a bad odor check these places first.
Kitchen Tips
Keep your disposal clean by running it with hot water and bleach.
Make sure your sink isn’t leaking anywhere-leaks lead to mold which leads to unpleasant musty odors.
Take out your garbage regularly but also make sure to check the can itself. A leaky garbage bag can mean a stinky garbage can. Easiest way to clean a can? Use some bleach and hot water, try doing it in the shower or bathtub so you don’t get water everywhere! Just make sure to disinfect the shower or tub afterwards!
Check anywhere you keep food: cupboards, fridge, pantry, etc. Who knows what’s hiding in the back of the pantry, right? We find a weekly clean out to be very helpful! Each week while making our grocery list we clean out the fridge, freezer, and pantry and dispose of any foods gone bad.
The Living Room: A place of many types of furniture where smelly things can hide. Common culprits here include: anywhere!
Living Room Tips
Check the furniture fabric. Has something been spilled on it? Has it absorbed some stinky air? If it’s the fabric itself you could get it steamed, cleaned, or sprayed with a fabric refresher.
Check under furniture and cushions. Are there stinky socks hiding? A runaway meatball? We don’t know what exactly goes on in your living room, but really the possibilities are endless! Get your detective goggles on and go looking!
Check your windows, air vents, and anywhere else where air and moisture could be.
Check your plants if you have them. Dying plants can give off gross odors.
The Laundry Room: A place where many dirty things enter and lots of water is used. Common culprits here: the washer and the laundry.
Laundry Room Tips
Keep on top of laundry. Piles of dirty clothes are definitely not going to help keep odors away.
Don’t leave washed clothes in the washing machine too long. We’ve all done it, and we all know that smell.
Make sure your washing machine is draining properly. Standing water in the washer leads to stinky smells. And who wants to wash laundry in something that stinks!
Again make sure nothing is leaking. Water and moisture are a home’s worst enemy!
The Bathroom: Let’s be honest, sometimes things in the bathroom just stink.
Bathroom Tips
Use the fan, especially when you shower. The bathroom is a moist place, so any efforts towards reducing moisture are great. We know by now what happens when there’s moisture involved.
Again, check for leaks.
Provide some sort of air freshener for when things get stinky.
Make sure you don’t leave piles of damp towels.
These might all seem like common sense, but it’s a good reminder of the things we need to be looking out for to keep our homes smelling fresh. And remember, find the source of odor and eliminate it.