Scents have substantial impacts on us, often without us even knowing it. Scent can lift our moods and stimulate warm and cozy feelings — just think back to when you walked into someone’s home while they were making cookies or doing laundry. Each of us has different associations with certain smells, but some are proven to bring happy thoughts to mind, calm anxiety, or increase energy.
In this article, we’ll talk about different rooms and surfaces where you can use scents to their fullest to eliminate odors, leaving your home smelling wonderful all the time.
Cleaning tips that make your house smell good
Sometimes, a good-smelling home is more about a lack of scent than something obvious. We live in our homes, and they’re full of life smells like food, sports gear, and pets. Here, we’ll talk about how to keep your home smelling neutral so that you have a clean slate to put all those lovely scents on!
Clean surfaces regularly
This one might sound obvious, but there are some sneaky places in your home that harbor gross smells and aren’t ones you might think of to clean all the time.
Recycling bins and the bottom of garbage cans are frequent culprits for sticky spills to build up a little at a time, causing odors that creep up on you. Of course, if there’s a noticeable spill, you’ll clean those areas, but day-to-day, there are small spills no matter how diligent you are. Regularly cleaning these can help your home to smell better overall.
Even if you have a cleaning schedule, bathrooms can be full of tight corners that aren’t always on your list to clean. One of these spots is the lower part of your toilet. Prone to catching all kinds of drips and splashes (if you know, you know), over time this can become a culprit for bad smells.
Deep-clean your carpets and rugs
Even if you vacuum regularly, dirt and dust get ground into your carpets and rugs. At first, this won’t cause a smell, but over time it will, so you should steam clean your carpets and rugs at least once a year, twice if you can make the time!
Clear out your fridge
Fridges are prime spots for smells to lurk. You’d be shocked at how quickly your shelves fill up with old food, not to mention leaks that go hidden under infrequently-used jars. Making a habit of cleaning food out of your fridge weekly and taking everything out, and cleaning shelves once every two months is a great way to keep your home smelling great.
Use lightly-scented cleaning products
Chances are you don’t want your home to smell like a cleaning product — unless there’s one you really love — using lightly-scented products can help keep your home smelling fresh overall without leaving a heavy cleaning product smell behind.
Let the fresh air in
Fresh air is good for the soul, as they say, but it’s definitely good for your home. One of the best ways to keep your home smelling fresh is to allow fresh air in. No matter how many air fresheners you use or candles you burn, stagnant air will eventually smell stale.
Clean with vinegar
Vinegar is a great cleaning product that obliterates many smells and leaves little to no scent when it evaporates.
If you want to make sure the big tasks, like steam cleaning your carpets, are done regularly but you know you can’t commit the time yourself, then hiring a handyman might be a great option to keep your home smelling good while supporting your local businesses.
Home appliances
- Air purifiers: Air purifiers are designed to remove airborne particles and odors from the air. They contain filters that can capture dust, pollen, pet dander, and other pollutants, helping to improve the overall air quality and eliminate unpleasant smells.
- Dehumidifiers: Excess moisture in the air can lead to musty odors, especially in basements or bathrooms. Dehumidifiers help reduce humidity levels, preventing the growth of mold and mildew and eliminating associated odors.
- Humidifiers: In dry environments, a humidifier can add moisture to the air, which can help reduce odors caused by dryness. It is particularly useful during the winter months when indoor air tends to be drier.
- Air fresheners: While not a traditional appliance, air fresheners can help mask odors and make your home smell more pleasant. There are various types available, including plug-in air fresheners, aerosol sprays, and scented candles.
- Odor eliminators: Some appliances are specifically designed to eliminate odors in the home. For example, there are devices that use activated charcoal or ozone to neutralize and remove unpleasant smells.
- Vacuum cleaners: A good vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter can help remove dust, pet hair, and other particles that can contribute to unpleasant odors. Vacuuming regularly can keep your home smelling fresh.
Keep in mind that standard home warranty plans do not cover appliances like air purifiers, dehumidifiers, vacuum cleaners, or odor eliminators. However, it’s important to note that coverage can vary depending on the specific home warranty provider and plan. Some providers may offer additional coverage options or add-ons that allow you to include certain appliances not covered under the standard plan. It’s worth checking with different home warranty companies to see if they offer specific coverage for these appliances.
Natural ways to make your home smell wonderful
Homemade air freshener
One of the best-kept secrets of natural, DIY air fresheners to make your home smell amazing naturally, without any harmful or dangerous chemicals, is baking soda! You’ve probably used this unsung hero in your fridge (maybe just because your mom did…), but you might not know that it works elsewhere in your home, too. Baking soda absorbs scents from the air around it, keeping your home fresh. You can add essential oil for extra fragrance, or leave it “Eau natural.”
Homemade deodorizing tablets
These are nearly the exact same as the air freshener above but in a different format. The tablets are great for spots where you don’t have room or it doesn’t make sense to have loose baking soda sprinkled around your home. With a little bit of water added slowly to your baking soda and essential oil (or not) mixture, you’ll make a paste that you can put into silicone forms or use an ice cube tray to keep things easy.
Smudge stick
Normally, a smudge stick is a tightly bundled stick made of any magical herbs like sage or sweetgrass. There are other varieties available but these are the two you’ll find the most often. It’s important to smell a smudge stick burn before doing it in your home — it’s a distinct smell and if you don’t like it, you’ll definitely know it.
DIY reed diffuser
All kinds of expensive reed diffusers will absolutely keep your home smelling good all the time, but often these are full of chemical perfumes that you might not want to be breathing in all the time. Essentially, a reed diffuser is a carrier oil with a scent in it that holds the reed and sucks up the oil and fragrance like the wick of a candle, minus the flame.
Carpet deodorizer
Baking soda really is the MVP of the deodorizing game! Once again, if you’re looking for a natural way to deodorize your rugs and carpets, sprinkle baking soda on them, rub it in, let it sit for a few minutes, and then vacuum it right up! Along with it, you’ll vacuum up all those smells that get stuck in carpet fibers. It’s a great way to keep things fresh between steam cleanings.
Simmer pot
If you’re having guests over, or just feeling like some aromatherapy self-care, throw on a simmer pot. Essentially, a simmer pot is just a big pot, like a dutch oven or stockpot, filled with water and various aromatic fruit, herbs, and spices. You let it simmer away, hence the name, and it fills your home with delicious scents.
A great spring and summer version is basically all kinds of citrus with herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage. When cooler weather hits, swap out the herbs and add some spice to that citrus base with spices like cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and nutmeg.
Everyone who walks through your door will look around to find the source of the glorious scent gently drifting through your home, we promise!
Odor guide for each room
Each room in your home has its own purpose, and along with that comes unique smells that occur. Here’s a room-by-room breakdown of what to use to keep each one its freshest:
Bedroom
You want your bedroom to be a retreat — relaxing and calming. We suggest using a diffuser to periodically scent your bedroom with essential oils that promote relaxation and sleep, like lavender, bergamot, eucalyptus, and tea tree. Bonus points if you get one that has a built-in motion sensor — no point having your bedroom smell incredible when you’re not there to enjoy it!
Living room
Your living room is the heart of your home and should smell inviting and warm. Depending on the time of year, you’ll want to rotate what type of scent you use.
A reed diffuser is always a great choice, with citrus and floral scents in the summer and warm, spicy fragrances in the winter months.
Often, living rooms are fully carpeted or have area rugs, so using our baking powder trick to keep your rugs and carpet fresh is key. You’ll want to do this at least once a month, especially if you have pets or kids.
Entryway
Your entryway is the perfect place for a reed diffuser. Guests to your home will be greeted with a pleasant smell, putting them in a good mood (and making you ‘the house that smells good’ in their mind).
Kitchen
The kitchen is a multi-step scent journey. Starting with deodorizing by following our tips above — clean out your fridge frequently, wash your garbage and recycling bins every few weeks, and use baking soda deodorizers anywhere that might get stinky.
After you’ve deodorized and have a neutral-smelling kitchen, you can start creating a kitchen that doesn’t just smell like nothing but even smells nice! The bonus of using simmer pots with citrus fruits like orange and lemon is that they are known to purify the air and smell good on their own.
Bathroom
Like the kitchen, you need to make sure odors caused by surface drips and splashes are cleaned frequently. Once that’s taken care of, a candle is a great way to cover up any completely normal and potentially unpleasant smells that are unavoidable in the bathroom. This is also the perfect place to deploy your deodorizing tablets and DIY air freshener. Use them in garbage cans and under sinks to keep things fresh there.
Once you get into the routine of the various cleaning, deodorizing, and lovely smell-creation methods we’ve outlined above, you’ll be blown away by how fresh and clean your home smells. New routines are always a bit of work to incorporate into your life at first but believe us, the payoff for this one is a treat for the senses that you’ll love.
