Oftentimes, people don’t smell the bad odors in their own home. But you don’t want people to walk in and cringe because of a hidden smell — how embarrassing! That’s why we’ve come up with this list of five easy things you can do to keep your house smelling fresh and clean even when you don’t have a lot of time to clean up.
Do Some Baking or Cooking
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The smell of freshly baked bread or cookies easily distracts from bad odors that pop up in your home. Besides, your family has to eat, so baking or cooking takes care of two problems — hunger and bad smells — unless of course you burn something in the process. If you know you have guests coming over, bake a few cookies to serve, or simmer some spices on the stove, and your home will smell great.
Make Essential Oil Room Spray
Essential oils smell great and can cover up odors in a pinch. You can create your own fresh room spray with some water and a few drops of essential oils to have on hand whenever you know guests are coming over. You can quickly spray it around your home before you answer the door so that your home smells great. Alternatively, you could simply light a candle or spray store-bought air freshener to hide odors quickly. There are all sorts of premade products available for purchase.
Turn on a Fan or Open a Window
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Sometimes homes smell bad when they have poor circulation, because the air gets stale. You can easily remedy this by turning on a fan or opening a window. This happens most frequently in rooms that don’t get used much.
Clean Out Your Air Ducts
Embarrassing odors can show up in your home even if you’re careful about preventing the obvious ones, like pet urine on the carpets, mildew in the bathroom, and expired food in the refrigerator. For instance, your air ducts might be circulating dusts and odors around your home. You certainly should have your air ducts cleaned once or twice a year, but you should also consider installing an air purifier to help remove unwanted smells and make the air in your home healthier to breathe.
Get Your Carpets Professionally Cleaned
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Most people vacuum their carpet every few days, but this doesn’t always get rid of odors. Your carpets need to be shampooed, especially if you have young children or pets. High-traffic areas like entries need extra attention because they absorb more dirt and odor. Also, be sure to clean up liquid spills as quickly as possible to avoid odors. Milk is notorious for showing up with a foul smell later.
It’s nice to have some quick ways in mind to get rid of odors in your home, but make sure that you also find the source of odors to prevent them in the first place. If you can stay on top of common odors, you can avoid some embarrassment later.