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How to: Make my home smell better, permanently?
Liquid Hellz
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Can't seem to figure this one out by myself. I live in a ~1100 sq. ft. condo no pets of any kind. Hardwood floors/tile throughout except in the bedrooms (carpet). My home does not smell bad at all, but it also doesn't smell good. Some peoples homes when I walk in just smell pleasant and nice throughout and that is what I am looking for.
I have tried the little battery operated aerosol thingy that sprays every 15 min to 1 hour, didn't work. Tried Renuzit (plastic rock looking smelly things), didn't work. Tried lighting a scented candle in the living room almost nightly, only works while lit. Tried scented oil in the little vases with wood sticks in em, didn't work. What works?! Help me H/A
I have tried the little battery operated aerosol thingy that sprays every 15 min to 1 hour, didn't work. Tried Renuzit (plastic rock looking smelly things), didn't work. Tried lighting a scented candle in the living room almost nightly, only works while lit. Tried scented oil in the little vases with wood sticks in em, didn't work. What works?! Help me H/A
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Also, learn to bake cookies and cakes. Scented candles tend to work fine. The ones form wal-mart, in my experience, tend to be the most "smelliful."
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Somebody said it above, but I've also found the cheap ones from Wal Mart have a stronger smell than most. Which is a good thing, because you won't get quite as strong a smell this way.
If your place is carpeted, steam clean the carpets to get any smelly ground in dirt particles. Some people like carpet powders when vacuuming, but others say that they just help to grind in more dirt and smells.
Another smelly place is your trash can. Trash bags can leak and the can itself can be smelly on the inside. Wash your can periodically.
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Adding a low-maintenance potted plant or two can do wonders.
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Regarding the acclimatisation to smells, why not just get a friend who you know to be fairly honest about stuff and just ask them how your place smells.
I recommend Spider Plant anyway, since they're awesome. Maybe Aloe Vera as well, another pretty indestructible plant and handy for healing burns etc (break a leaf in half and squeeze the goo out)
My recommendation would be to take a day and do a spring clean. Wash all your linens, including couch covers, curtains and sheets, Vaccum floors, clean bathrooms down to behind the toilet, wipe down the surfaces in your fridge. Do all that with the windows open so that the cleaning products don't over whelm your house, but really wipe down everything and see if you don't get a fresher smell that sticks around.
Personally I don't really like candles, So My regular routine revolves around keeping extremely fresh linens. Your whole bed room will smell better if the bed stays fresh. I throw a few dryer sheets in my drawers when I do all my laundry, and occasonally place a few in my closet. Taking some pledge to your floors freshens up the house too.
If you dont have any ceiling fans, a few little desk top fans in places can help push air around, you can put your air fresheners in front of them, or throw a drier sheet on the back for a bit.
Also, many people smellify their homes when they know guests are coming. I know my fiancee lights up the scented candles when company comes over, so you might think your friend's house smells like apple pie all the time, and what a delightful existence that would be, but it was probably solely for your benefit that day.
Lastly, regarding the comment on making candles last, if you buy good quality scented candles, they should last a long, long time. I think the ones we usually have last around 80 hours. Cheap ones from Walmart might have a strong smell, but they're done in a couple of hours.
If you want to buy candles, the Slatkin ones at Bath and Body Works are about the most consistent and reliable I have seen. Wait for the 2/$20 sale on the big ones. In a small space you could probably just leave the candle open but otherwise they are only going to work really when lit or warmed, the scent never sticks around.
Don't do this. It can burn out the unit due to airflow restriction or something. At least that's what the HVAC trained guy said roughly.
Ditto on the open windows thing though. If I keep the windows in my apartment closed for more than a week or two at a time, my place starts to smell really bad from all the accumulated dust, food, and body smells.
If your especially serious about smells, You may consider replacing carpeting in some rooms with tile or linoleum. I've found it's much easier to clean, spills aren't as big of an issue, and they don't hold smells like carpeting can. Tiling can be an expensive process though, and it doesn't lend well to heating, and can be cracked by super heavy things, so be wary.
Otherwise, I would suggest exploring incense more if you have only a casual experience with it. Some incense can smell pretty bad or generic, but some incense can smell as good as those plug-ins you buy.
This will help alot ^ covering a smell up with scents is only a temporary solution. When you do your "spring" cleaning. Think of places you neglect normally. Like "under" things. Fridge, stove, couch. Also helps if you wash out your garbage cans from time to time, some people tend to neglect this. Kitchen cans can get nasty over time.
Really, with scents, less is more. I tend to shy away from the plugins and aerosols, and even scented soaps and hygene products, etc. Keep fresh air circulating when possible and keep the place clean, and your place will naturally have a subtle, appealing odor.
I like the candle approach as well, personally. I have hardwood floors though, so vacuum powders obviously wouldn't work in my case.
If you have cats, I've found it's a daily task cleaning up their hair to avoid any scents related to them.
It is kept clean regularly, once a week, that's what I got a wife for
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... but it's getting harder to do...
Heyoo!
Seriously though, sounds like you just need some candles/incense then. Having a neutral scent isn't really a bad thing though.
I also clean my house weekly to keep the house from smelling and I am constantly burning candles and incense or I have the windows open to avoid that "stuffy" smell. I'm one of those people that is just really OCD about the way my house smells. *lol* I can't stand the smell of coffee, so coffee never enters my house. I can't stand the smell of pets, so I make sure my pets get bath's regularly and their cages are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected on a weekly basis.
I also take my trash out on a daily basis. That's why I usually just use grocery bags for my trash bags, so I'm forced to take it out more often. Trash is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to smell.
And open your windows as much as you can. If you're at home and your windows aren't open to let fresh air in, it had better either be snowing outside or you're dead.
I strongly suggest an Ionic Breeze. It neutralizes all smells. Once your house smells like nothing you can decide if you want it to smell like something
Also, try to figure out what smells you are introducing. Cooking a lot with garlic or fish? Those smells stick around and despite commercials I have not had luck removing them with any spray or candle smells. Do you use cleaning products regularly? If so do their smells match or contrast? (I use Method because their line goes together well, all bathroom is mint for example) Sometimes cleaning the house can result in an odd smell because of the mix (Pine-Sol+Mint+Citrus+Windex = funky)
Just some food for thought.
Get a steam cleaner. A shampooer. One of those Rug Doctors that you can use at home. Mine is broken right now and I can't tell you how much I miss it. So easy to just give the carpets a quick clean, and so so good for the sofa. Febreeze is nice, but actually cleaning things is better.
Oh! I also like everything chrishallett83 said. I do not wipe my ceilings as they are textured and a pain, but I do open the windows when I leave for work. It can be a bit chilly when I get home, but the hosue heats up quickly and nothing beats having air circulation.