Imagine you have visited someone’s home and you immediately smell something extremely foul, I am sure it will become a complete turn off for you and you will definitely want to run away from that place but still cannot express it for the sake of not hurting someone’s sentiments. Now, I am sure you are wondering what if the same situation occurs when you yourself become the host. Sounds terrible and embarrassing right? Well, foul smells lingering in homes is a common problem and there is nothing to be sad about it. The best remedy is to clean your home time to time but if that is not happening due to your hectic schedule or may be due to laziness, then you can easily try out some easy hacks that immediately act on stinks and remove them. So if you are eager to know, keep reading this post, as today I will discuss about 23 easiest natural ways to remove foul smell from homes.
Unpleasant smells can be frustrating and besides simply offending the guests, it affects the inmates of the house terribly. I myself am a working person and a clean freak who cannot stand stinks even for a second. So, I can thoroughly understand the situation of those who does not get time to clean their homes frequently which leads to fouls smells in their homes. Even the house cleaners are often lethargic to do proper washing and cleaning. However, there are many tricks that can help you get rid of foul smell from homes fast. Well, if you are unaware, let me tell you that there are some readily available natural ingredients, that do work wonders in eliminating stinks and I have personally benefited from them. You just have to use the right technique to get the results.
I am sure by this time, you are determined to know about the easiest hacks and so without wasting much time, let me begin with my list of best 23 natural ways to remove foul smell from homes.
Natural ways to remove foul smell from homes
Lingering foul smell is a very common thing, which we experience, quite often in our daily lifestyle. If it occurs outside, you can easily ignore it once you move to a different place. However, this same problem becomes a serious cause of concern when it occurs inside your home or in a space that is in close proximity to your home. Be it stinky clothes, smelly carpets, a weird mixed smell of various food items from kitchen, odor from dirty clogged drains, stinky washrooms to damp, humid weather etc, there can be innumerable reasons behind the stink lingering all over your home.
To top it up, the busy lifestyle and lack of time makes the things all the more difficult as we are unable to do our daily routine washing and cleaning. This is the actual time when we feel the need of some easiest tricks that can give us effective relief as well as saves our time and that is why I am going to discuss about them today. So let’s begin.
First, I will start with the list of daily used products that you may use as odor absorbents and then talk about some other tips that you may execute to intensify the good effects.
Use lemon to remove foul smell
The smell of lemon is very fresh and has the ability to eliminate foul odors. Therefore, you may cut a lemon into halves and keep in a place where it is not easily visible to others. This method will automatically freshen up and perfume the air at the same time will not distract anyone.
Use baking soda to remove foul smell
Baking soda is a great odor-eliminating agent and can be used in various places. It neutralizes the pH levels and gets rid of the stink. You can simply keep a small container of it inside your refrigerator and enjoy the results.
In case of stinky carpets, all you need to do is to sprinkle a bit of baking soda over it, keep them overnight and vacuum it the next morning. This simple technique will help you get rid of the odor from the carpets.
Shoes also stink a lot specially if you wear them often and not clean them properly. An easy way to get rid of the problem is to take up baking soda, wrap it in a newspaper, and keep it inside your shoes. This will absorb the foul smell and will not let the smell from spreading to the other corners of your home.
Vinegar to remove foul smells
Vinegar is another great option when it comes to getting rid of the foul smell. An open container of vinegar kept anywhere will eliminate bad smells in that particular space. You may thus keep it in any corner of your home where the smell is coming from. This is indeed a good alternate option for baking soda. Vinegar can also be used for cleaning purposes like for cleaning kitchen counters and shower glass. This will clean them as well as remove any smell if there.
Cigarette smoke, which is very injurious, can also be removed with the help of vinegar. If someone is smoking and the smoke is lingering all over, you can simply take a hand towel and pour a bit of white vinegar in it. Move around your home wherever you smell the smoke. In no time, you will find the foul smoke smell gone and you will be able to inhale the fresh air devoid of the cigarette smoke.
However, many do not prefer using vinegar to remove foul smells because of its strong odor but you must remember that the smell of the vinegar dissipates soon after you use it. Therefore, it is definitely one of the best options to eliminate foul smells from your home.
Vodka to remove foul smell
You must be wondering how but yes vodka is one secret ingredient that works great to remove foul odors from your home. To get the results, you may take a small spray bottle, fill it with the mixture of little water, vodka and any essential oil (like lavender, citrus etc) and then place the bottle anywhere you find the stink. This method is really good and you can easily use this to cut foul odor especially from your bedroom as it will soak the stink and evaporate fast. Moreover, it leaves a fresh aroma behind.
Mixture of vinegar and baking soda to remove foul smell
Vinegar and baking soda individually are efficient in getting rid of stinks but for some spaces like bathrooms that are often prone to strong smells, you can use the mixture of vinegar and baking soda.
Everyone hates a smelly bathroom as not only does it look dirty but can also spread lot of germs if not cleaned properly. Thus, for eliminating foul smells in bathroom, you can make a mixture with a bit of white vinegar, baking soda, your favorite essential oil and adequate water. Fill the mixture in a spray bottle and keep it in your bathroom. This will act as a natural bathroom freshener and eliminate the stink quickly.
Essential oils to remove foul smell
While the essential oils can be used to eliminate stink along with other ingredients, you may simply use them along with water as well to get rid of the stink. While cleaning floors, you may add a few drops of essential oil in the bucket of water used for cleaning. This will clean the area as well remove any foul odor. However, do not add in excess as then it will make the floor slippery.
Coffee to remove foul smell
Well yes, you heard it right, coffee grounds are great in eliminating foul smells. Whenever, you smell something foul, you just can take some coffee grounds in a small bowl and place them in that position. Slowly you will find that the coffee grounds have soaked the odor and leave the space with a soothing coffee scent. So, try to store the used coffee grounds each morning after drinking your cappuccino and put them into good use.
Charcoal to remove foul smell
Charcoal is another strong odor absorbent, which you can easily use to get rid of the stinks from your home. You may place charcoal pieces all over your home and keep the foul odor away. However, make sure you are using the pure charcoal and not those that contain light fluid.
Newspapers to remove foul smell
The newspapers that you read daily can actually help you in getting rid of stinks. For example, plastic containers seem to absorb the smell of whatever you keep inside them. Therefore, if you do not want the plastic containers to start stinking and irritate you, you can crumble up the pages of newspapers and put them inside the container. This way you will be able to get rid of the odor.
In fact, not just plastic containers, this trick works well to deodorize other containers as well.
Dryer sheets to remove foul smell
Dryer sheets can come to your rescue any time if you want to get rid of smoke smells from your clothes or any other items. All you need to do is to keep the item in a Ziploc bag and place 2-3 dryer sheets inside it. You will slowly see that the smoke smell is absorbed.
Oats to remove foul smell
The healthy and tasty oats that you eat are excellent for eliminating foul odor. You can take a bowl of oats and keep it in the stinky place. After sometimes, you will notice that the foul smell is no more and instead the air becomes fresh. So next time you plan to eat oats, store a bit of it and use it to eliminate any foul smell lingering around your home.
Use salt to sanitize and remove foul smell
Salt is a good disinfectant as well as can eliminate foul stinks. Sometimes the sponges that you use to clean utensils get itself dirty and start stinking. This is mainly due to the bacteria that grow on it. In such a situation, you need to soak the sponge in dense salted water for 2-3 hours and then wash it. This will sanitize the sponge as well as remove the stinky smell.
Chalk to remove foul smell
Yes, you can use the chalk to eliminate excess damp and moisture stink. Like, for example, sometimes the excess moisture inside the closet makes the clothes stinky but if you keep some chalks, they will absorb the moisture and keep the place odor free.
Rubbing your hands in stainless steel to remove foul smell
It is a common thing that your hand starts stinking while cooking especially if you were using garlic or onion. If you do not get rid of it fast, it will not just irritate you but will also get spread in whichever corner of your home you go. Therefore, for removing such pungent smells, the easiest way is to rub your hands in any kind of stainless steel under cold water. This easy quick method will eliminate the strong smell immediately.
Other essential tricks that’ll help remove foul smell from homes
Besides using the above ingredients, you must keep in mind some other natural ways to remove foul smell from homes. These tips are very handy and any one can do these little things to keep their homes fresh and clean.
Keep your doors and windows open
The first thing that you need to do in case you smell something foul is to open the doors and windows immediately. This is essential because often closing doors and windows for a long period makes the rooms stuffy. It increases humidity and damp that further leads to a weird foul smell.
So let the outside sunlight and air come in as not only will it keep the inside air fresh but also enable the foul smell to go out. The more airy your rooms, the more fresh will be your home.
Usage of exhaust fans
You may turn on the fans in your rooms to let the foul odor go away. And, in some cases like in the bathrooms and kitchen, which are more prone to foul odor, you may fix an exhaust fan. This will drive out the stink and freshen up the inside air.
Proper usage of dustbins
In order to keep you home clean, you yourself have to be clean. So make sure you are throwing the entire disposal in your dustbin. You may place lemon pieces, orange slices or any other citrus fruits near the bin to not let the area stink.
However, throwing the garbage in the dustbin and then keeping it for many days inside your home will ultimately stink your home. Therefore, you must empty the bin and throw the garbage timely into the disposal tanks or the municipal corporation car that visit your locality.
After that, clean the empty dustbin using a mixture of vinegar and water. This will act as a good disinfectant as well as remove any remaining odor.
Light a scented candle
If you smell foul in your homes, you may light a scented candle. These candles may not totally get rid of the pungent odor but can surely infuse the air with its sweet aroma. Slowly, you will see that the soothing fragrance covers up the foul stink.
Clean your rooms at least one weekly
This goes for the super busy individuals who does not get time to do much clean up. While others may do a bit of daily clean up, I understand that it is difficult for working individuals to take out time for daily cleaning and washing. For the weekdays, you may hire a good house cleaner who can clean and wash your home the other days. But, since they may not clean your home that well, you can take out a bit of time in the weekends and do a little cleaning and washing. This will help you keep your homes clean and odor free.
In order to do the cleaning and dusting fast, you may take the help of a vacuum cleaner and keep your rooms dust free.
Change the bed sheets weekly
If you are able to do cleaning and washing often, then using the same bed sheets or pillow cover for a little more time is ok but in case if that is not possible, you must change them weekly or at least every 2 weeks. This will not make them too much untidy and will thus prevent them from stinking.
Give your pet a good bath
Foul smell lingering in your home may not result from untidy home always but also if your pet is untidy and does not get a proper bath. It is very possible that your pet is bringing some filth or dirt from outside and spreading the dirt and the smell in every corner of your home. So make sure your pet is having a bath frequently if not daily with a good pet shampoo.
Place flower vases
You can place sweet smelling flower in vases and keep them all over your home. This will not just make your home aromatic but will also serve decorative purposes.
Plant trees in the garden
Having a garden in front of your home is a good way to clean up the polluted air. It will also supply lots of oxygen to you and keep the whole area airy and aromatic. You may plant flower trees as well to enrich the air with sweet fragrances.
Conclusion
Stinky homes are very uninviting and hence efforts must be taken to keep it neat, clean and odor free. Frequent cleaning and washing is the best way with which you can eliminate foul smells from homes. But in today’s hectic lifestyle, we rarely get time to do so much of cleaning. This led to the rise in demand of the easy and natural odor eliminating tips that can give you quick results, most of which are discussed above in this post.
The common kitchen ingredients like lemon, salt, vinegar, baking soda, etc as well as other readily available ingredients like chalks, newspapers, dryer sheets etc are great odor absorbents and you can easily use these items to keep your home stink free. All the products that I have mentioned are not just easily available but are very cost effective and hardly take any effort on your part to use them.
However, besides using the listed items, you need to do a bit of lifestyle changes. Try to keep your rooms airy. Open the windows and let the fresh air and sunshine come in. This will remove the dampness from the rooms. You can do bit of cleaning in the weekends and take the use the exhaust fans as well to eliminate the stink. Decorating of homes with flower or a good garden in your home can also help you combat foul smells.
Does your home stink? Have you checked out my 23 natural ways to remove foul smell from homes? Do share me your feedback in the comments section below and also mention any other natural way which you think is great to eliminate foul odor.
Until then, stay clean and keep your homes odor free.
