How to Make Your House Smell Amazing
Trust us, you may think your house smells fine, but it probably doesn’t.
In my next life, I want to live somewhere that has a constant perfect temperature for keeping my windows open—never too hot, never too cold, somewhere right around 65 degrees would be ideal. Maybe then my house would always smell clean and fresh. But alas, in this life my windows are closed the majority of the year, and I am more often than not engulfed in the scents of my family, namely “Eau de Poochy” (the name I’ve given to the not-horrible-but-not-pleasant scent of our dog) and the much more offensive odor of chlorine that seems to follow my two watersports-playing daughters like the cloud of dirt that follows Charlie Brown’s friend Pig Pen. Oh and let’s not forget the various food scents that waft from my kitchen at dinner time.
And here’s the thing: I’ve spent so many years living in this less-than-fresh smelling environment that I had gotten used to it. That is until I figured out how to get rid of those unwanted aromas. We’re not talking about just masking the air with a scented candle (although I do love a great candle). I mean truly destroying the musty, stinky, yuckiness. We’ve rounded up 10 products that do the heavy lifting…they actually eliminate odors. Now my house—even my girls’ bedrooms—smell like, well, nothing. Nirvana! A word of warning: Don’t be surprised if suddenly friends and family designate your house as the go-to gathering spot.
Moso Natural Air Purifying Bags
Place a few of these charcoal-filled linen bags around your house and poof—odors gone! Best of all, each bag lasts for up to two years, just put them outside in the sun for an hour once a month to rejuvenate the charcoal. Large bags are suited for bedrooms, kitchens, and living areas; whereas smaller versions are great for bathrooms, your car, or even your fridge.
Hamilton Beach TrueAir Plug-Mount Odor Eliminator
Why just use a night-light when you can use a night-light that also makes the room smell great? Plug this into an outlet and a tiny fan inside pulls air through a carbon filter and sends it back out as fresh, odor-free air. An optional “green meadow” scent cartridge can be installed to add a light scent to the room.
Bad Air Sponge
This may look like a container of blue Play-Doh, but don’t be fooled! It’s a super absorbent, non-toxic gel that will soak up even the most intense smells around your house by both neutralizing odors in the air and by drawing out smells from furniture, carpets, upholstery, and more. One jar covers about 400 feet.
Rowenta Intense Pure Air Purifier
Chemicals, smoke, food odors—they’re all destroyed thanks to the four-filter system in this air purifier. A built-in sensor adjusts the filtration speed based on what it detects in the air, and a light comes on when it’s time to change the filters.
Fresh Wave Odor Removing Packs
Toss one of these gel-filled sachets into the bottom of the diaper pail, in your trash cans, or in your shoe closet and you will get up to two months of odor removal. Best of all… they’re made with natural ingredients like extracts from lime, pine needle, aniseed, clove, and cedarwood. Amen to that!
Zero Odor
Keep a bottle of this within reach so you can eliminate bad scents the minute they hit your nose. The product is non-toxic so go ahead and spray it everywhere—around the kitchen, in the playroom and on toys, clothes, and furniture. It’s fragrance-free so all you are left with is fresh, clean air.
Arm & Hammer Fridge Fresh Refrigerator Air Filter, Pack of 4
I used to put an open box of baking soda in the back of my fridge to soak up food odors. But after the third time I knocked it over (what a mess!), I discovered these handy suction-backed filters. Just stick them to the walls of your fridge and freezer and remember to change them once a month.
Zziggysgal Dried French Lavender with Drawstring Sachets
Here’s one for all your DIY-ers. Open this half-pound bag of French lavender and use it to fill the included drawstring sachets. Then toss them in drawers, closets, your car, or wherever you want to be surrounded by the scent of Provence.
DampRid Hanging Moisture Absorber
Use these hanging bags to get rid of musty odors in your closets and protect your clothes from excess moisture. As the crystals inside absorb moisture, they harden and then dissolve into liquid (that’s your signal to replace it with a new bag).
Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray
Why not make it easy for your family to leave your bathrooms smelling fabulous?! Original Citrus is a blend of lemon, bergamot, and lemongrass essential oils, and when sprayed in the toilet bowl before you go, those oils create a film on the water that traps odor underneath. Best of all, each two-ounce bottle has as many as 100 sprays.
