returning home from a long vacation a week ago, I was reminded of something I knew when I first moved into my older though nicely remodeled home: It smells bad. I am currently choking on my plug-in room fragrance. Thanks Costco coupon, I now own 10 refills of the stuff and I can't stand it! I've always had a sensitivity to perfume and could never wear it myself without making myself nauseous. Candles are great, but I'm not likely to burn cadres all day long. I need it to smell better all the time, not just when I light candles. Any ideas?
Update: why does it smell? Maybe because the previous owner had a dog? maybe because the house is old? The smell was strongest in the master closet which leads me to believe it was the smell of the owners shoes and clothes. I don't know! All houses have a smell, you just can't smell it when you've lived there a long time. The carpets have been cleaned, we keep it really clean. But its just a musty smell.
I know exactly what you are talking about and agree about the artificial scents. If you find a solution please PM me because after being away for a little while I am not too pleased with the smell that greets me. Then I start worrying about what guests must think (although EVERY home has its own distinct odor).
I take a tea pot and put in water, then add cinnamon and boil it for a little while. It makes the house smell so much better and it lasts too. I did it a few days ago and it still is good. And you dont have to dump the water each time. Just put it back on boil to refresh the smell.
You can also do vanilla. That is good too. Or any other smell you like, just add it to water and boil.
I also use Glade spray, the one that is just like Febreze but I have found that the Glade brand is cheaper and the smell is fresher and lasts longer.
I know what you are describing. Someone mentioned charcoal. I buy this product at Wal-Mart called Keep it Dry Closet Deodorizer. They are fragrance free and contain charcoal. They really help! I put them in all of the closets and under the bathroom sinks in my bathroom where we have dirty clothes baskets. If you have carpet, sprinkle with baking soda. Sweep it in with a broom. Let it sit as long as possible and vacuum. I have also put bowls of baking soda around the house to soak up smoke odor after the relatives have been here. Works, too.
If guests are coming, throw some cinnamon sticks and whole cloves in a pan with lots if water and simmer. Smells wonderful.
Himalayan salt rock lamps. Our previous home was over 150 years old and no matter what I tried I could NOT get that old house smell out! The purpose of the rocks are to absorb all odors instead of emitting a fragrance like those plug-ins do. After using mine for a week, my house smelled fresh and great and honestly, I couldn't believe it. They are awesome!!
I found the coolest product at The Container Store one day. It is charcoal bamboo sticks. They absorb all sorts of smells. And the best part, is they are eco-friendly, when you notice smells coming back (usually after about 60 days) you put the bamboo sticks out in the sun for a couple of hours and it re-energizes them again. I put them atop cabinets in my kitchen and bathrooms and in incospicuous corners.
The solution would depend quite a bit on what exactly smells bad. Is there a source of odor, a damp or moldy area, an old carpet that holds pet smells, old cigarette smoke in the drywall or a closet?
As Sunny suggests, charcoal can be a good odor-absorber, and a good electric air filter can incorporate charcoal plus other filters and technologies to constantly freshen, not mask, the air. We've used air filters in our house ever since I became sensitive to most modern chemicals 25 years ago, and they work well. I have also used a rented ozone machine to neutralize persistent smells (and have to ask hotels to ozone our rooms to reduce the scent of perfumed cleansers when I travel.)
And on nice days, open windows with cross-ventilation is often helpful. Good luck!
Essential oils, lots of cleaning with natural products, and airing out with the windows open when the weather is nice. Good circulation helps. We added ceiling fans to several rooms and keep them going. Changing the filter in the heat/air unit helps too. I also love the ozone air purifiers and regular hepa filters as well. We live in an OLD house too, very little carpet, only in a couple of rooms.
Why does your house smell bad? If you don't know, i'd start with finding the root of the problem.
bowls of vanilla. smells good and absorbs odors.
If you like coffee, same thing, small bowls. smells good if you like coffee and also absorbs odors.
I am not good with any type of perfume, potpourri and artificial scents.
If I find good candles. U usually do not even light them. Or if I do I only keep them lit for a few minutes and for days they are fragrant.
I have a scentsy (sp?) that my sister gave me it melts little squares of was like candles only with a light bulb so it isn't hot- there are a ton of smells and it isn't over powering I have seen stuff like it at Target I think or may Walmart. I turn it on in the morning and turn it off at night- they are great because I am always paranoid that my house smells like "dog"
I can't even imagine. If I can't clean the smell out of the air I am doomed. I am like you, I can't stand fake smelling, perfume stuff.
Oh I know what smells great and doesn't hurt my nose. Apple peelings, with a bit of cinnamon and water in a small pot. Well obviously over low heat. I suppose if you could find one of the electric burners that you are suppose to use with potpouri, you could do the same in some other rooms as well.
At least for me it is the harshness of that which isn't natural that just kills my nose.
The only way IMO to get rid of that musty smell is to get rid of carpet.
But if you have carpet, the baking soda is the route i'd go - sprinkling that into the carpets and waiting a bit, then vacuuming it up.
i have been sneaking vinegar and washing the tile floors when hubby is out. he has extreme breathing difficulties. as long as it dries, the smell is gone. i also empty closetes totally twice a year and wash down with water/vinegar solution.
I hear you Jane, those plug in fragance things make me sick and give me a headache...
I recently tried a combo pack of odor absorbers called Air Sponge Odour Absorber Organic. My kids have chinchillas, and the smell was really getting to me. I used 2 round blocks in that one room and it's amazing. I also put one by the trash can. Honestly, no smell.
If you have a specific area to de-smell, trying sprinkling baking soda over a carpeted area, let sit over night then vacuum up.
Ditto the coffee and vanilla...You can place cinnamon sticks, oranges, cloves in a crockpot and let that simmer all day instead of a pan on the stove.
GL
Open the windows to air it out. Use cleaners with Lavendar oils on the floors, counters, walls. Spray bedding with naturally scented linen sprays that have oil essences in them like orange, lavendar, euchalyptus etc. If you have carpeting, shampoo (with a shampooer) it throughout and the furniture and drapes too. Smells get trapped in the fibers, and candles and freshners merely mask it. You can blame bacteria and food smells. If they're gone no problem.
have you tried returning the plugins to costco just saying they smell aweful?
My house smells great over the holidays when I get my crock pot going on simmer with some cider, cinnamon, sliced oranges and lemons and cloves.
It's a lovely warm drink when the weather gets cold and it smells wonderful the whole time.
To smell better all the time, you're going to have to find the source and eliminate it.
Musty smells usually mean moldy to me, so if it's a closet, why not try one of those closet moisture absorbers out there - Damp Rid I think it's called.
Even if you clean the carpets, if the smell is in the carpet pad, it's not going to go away unless you replace the pad. We rented a house for a while that had a really stinky bedroom. The landlord paid to have the carpet cleaned, but the smell persisted. We convinced her to pay for new carpet/padding. After the old carpet and pad were ripped out, the smell went away.
I also agree that you should check for mold.
I also say Scentsy. I love it so much that I started selling it - I'm sure you can find someone in your area that sells it. I leave mine on 24/7 and it does an amazing job. I have a little guy who thinks it's a great idea to play chase when it's time to change a stinky diaper, and with Scentsy that is no longer what you smell when you walk into my house. My mom and best friend both love it, and they're both very sensitive to scents - my mom gets asthma attacks and my best friend gets migraines.
You state that the previous owner had a dog, all the carpet cleaning in the world will not get rid of a pet smell if the dog urinated on the carpet and it was left untreated for any amount of time. It soaks thru to the pad and the only fix is replacing the carpet/pad.
Filter deodorizers. You can get them at any Walgreens. You put them in with your filters that go in the air vents of your home. It's a very light scent and not strong and offensive.
Scentsy :) Silhouette is the best!!
Houseplants!
They naturally clean the air. Just make sure they're non-toxic to pets (if you have any).
Definitely check for mold - we had it in our master closet. Once fixed and removed - no smell.
Essential oils! especially if you are sensitive to perfume because the oils are all natural and not aggressive like synthetics.
there are different oils you can use but there is one blend called purify that won't only cover up the smell but eliminate it. and then you can always diffuse the one oil you like the best.
There can be mold or mildew inside the walls. Rotting planks of wood you can't see. It could be some nasty stuff in the air ducts. This is one reason our old 45 year old house smells is from rotting wood that our landlord won't fix. Also, the padding underneath your carpet may be old and gross from old stains, pet urine..., regular carpet cleaning won't touch that.
Heating homemade potpourri on the stove makes a wonderful smell. You can also buy tart warmers or candle warmers, that way it smells great, but without the worry of candle flames.
Airing the house out with open windows, baking soda and such will help, but getting to the root of the problem is the best thing.
Why does it smell? Was the AC shot off? Have your place check out, the smell might be something dangerous.
If there is moisture in the closet you could have a very small leak somewhere. I would try putting a box of baking soda in the closet, the kind you get for the fridge. If it is from moisture there is a product that they sell in home improvement stores that absorbs the moisture from the air. It comes in a bucket and has no odor, but will need to be changed. It is called Damprid and works well.
http://www.damprid.com/
You can buy Arm and Hammer little deodorizer packets that go into the bag of your vacuum cleaner, or you can sprinkle some sort of scented baking soda carpet powder to help. I am a little strange because I LOVE the smell of cleaning products such as the old school Pine Sol. I mop my floors with this. Sometimes I just fill the bathtubs half full with water and add pinesol and let this sit all day to enhance the "clean" smell. I love burning homemade potpourri on the stove. Water, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.... If you have a 2 story house the smell will rise and you won't get as concentrated of a smell downstairs.
Great suggestions from everyone. I would just add that you might want to get the house checked for mold. Our house smelled a little funky when we moved in. Turned out the master bedroom wall was loaded with mold from an old roof leak. We got rid of the mold and the smell was gone.
Good luck!
Herbs in a vase, smells great.
Basil, rosemary, mint, any herb.
It makes a nice bouquet in a vase, too.
Hidden bowls of baking soda will help to absorb odors.
Also, tuck fabric softener sheets around the house in hidden spots to freshen a room without being overwhelming - especially in closets.
Go back to Costco and buy a mega box of baking soda. Liberally sprinkle it on all carpeted areas, especially closets and corners. Let it sit for about 15 min before you vacuum it up. If the carpets have been cleaned but still smell, it could be coming from underneath - in the padding. Sometimes, especially with dog pee or beverages, the pads get soaked too, but the cleaning solution can't reach it.
If you do find mold, use bleach water to clean it. That is what the mold removal services use. JUST MAKE SURE YOU USE A BREATHING FILTER whenever you are working around mold. Inhalation of it is really bad for you.
There is a company called Fresh Wave. You can buy their stuff online at fresh-wave.com/, at bed bath and beyond, amazon.com or Williams Sonoma Outlet. It's all natural and it is the only thing that I have found that really works. I have 3 cats and 2 dogs in my house so trust me, this stuff is amazing. They make several different products. One of them is a gel-like substance and you just put it in any room that's smelling and it will absorb the scent very quickly. They also have candles that work super fast and an additive that you can add to your laundry or floor cleaner. Oh and carpet shake that is a powder you vacuum up. I have and use all of their stuff. It's my absolute favorite!
Have you ever tried Scentsy "wickless" candles? They actually warm wax with a small light bulb. If you're interested in learning more about them, send me a message and I'll send you my web link.
I recommend Scentsy! I LOVE it 'cause it's a lightbulb that warms the wax so you don't have a fire hazard! YOu can even leave it on when you are gone or overnight! And they have a gazillion scents to choose from! Plus, they're just awesome! ;o)
(And I don't sell them)
Go to bath and body works and try out the plugin wallflowers. :-)
Odor absorbers work well in my domain. Also, a good mop job with a floral scent solution works as well.
Have you tried fabreeze? J.
