Living in our homes, our noses tend to become blind to everyday odours. But when you walk into your house after a few days’ absence, what scent welcomes you back as you step through the door?
If you are selling your residence, visitors will immediately detect any unpleasant aromas as they cross the threshold. So, what can you do to make sure your property has a pleasant smell?
1. Wash the Textiles
Bedding should be washed no less than once a week. This includes sheets, pillowcases and the comforters that are slept in every night. Get into the habit of frequently laundering decorative fabric items, such as the curtains, rugs, throws and accent pillows. To clean carpets, sprinkle on baking soda and let sit at least one hour. Then vacuum up all the powder … and the odours!
2. Open the Windows
The quickest way to freshen your indoor space is to let the breeze in. Unless you live by a highway or factory, the air quality is generally better outside than inside the home. Make opening the windows in the morning part of your routine. Even a crack only a few centimetres wide, a few minutes in winter will help to ventilate your residence.
3. Brew Some Tea
Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in several tea bags. You can also add citrus peels or cinnamon sticks. Keep this concoction warm over low heat on the stove or transfer it to a slow cooker. This trick will allow you rapidly perfume the entire house with a natural aroma. Later, you can dilute the infusion and drink it. Zero waste!
4. Turn on the Oven
Pour a few teaspoons of vanilla extract into an ovenproof bowl and heat to 300 °F. The entire house will smell wonderful for hours. All the more so as vanilla’s sweet scent will help create a cozy ambiance. A simpler—and clean-up free—alternative to the famous baking an apple pie hack.
5. Eliminate Trashcan Odours
Empty the garbage can at least once a day, especially if you are filling it with stinky waste. You could also keep a container specifically for this type of trash that you will take out and empty into the outdoor bin every evening, thereby reducing your use of plastic bags.
6. Clean the Cleaners
Think your dishwasher and laundry machine can’t get dirty since they are used to clean? Wrong. They can produce odours that will give your dishes and clothing a noxious stench. To deodorize these two appliances, pour in some vinegar: 1 cup into the bottom of the dishwasher and two cups into the laundry machine. Then run a quick wash cycle with hot water, ideally in conjunction with the sanitize setting.
7. Make Use of Candles and Diffusers
Scented soy wax candles are another natural means of perfuming rooms. Essential oil diffusers are also a classic method of quickly sweetening the air inside a home. However, avoid simply trying to mask bad smells: uncover the source and eliminate it! It’s far more effective.
1. Inspect the Bathroom
Bathrooms and washrooms can similarly become stink factories. Stop towels smelling musty by drying them over a bar instead of hooks, or by washing them after each use. Also, disinfect the toilet bowl at least once a week. Bathmats should likewise be laundered every seven days minimum.
With these tips, your home will no doubt be a pleasant place to live … and breathe.