There’s nothing better than the feeling of walking into a “fresh” home
Have you experienced coming home from work and after opening your door, you smelled something awful. But after searching the entire house, you still can’t find where it’s coming from. You call it a day and decide to search for it on the next day. Having a foul smell inside the house can have many causes like poor ventilation, stale food, bacteria, mold and mildew, smoke puffs and even bodily odors. A house can be full of all sorts of conditions that can make it smell nasty. Now that can be humiliating, especially if you have guests coming to visit. In order to avoid this kind of situation, here are some natural remedies that can help you get rid of foul odors inside your home.
A breath of fresh air – Before you begin confronting the issue, there has to be enough airflow or ventilation in your house. If not, then you are basically inviting odor inside. So you need to open up the doors and windows to let air flow freely from end to end and help the smell disintegrate. If it’s not possible to open the windows or doors, you may turn on the electric fan over the stove to help get rid of nasty odors and to prevent them from spreading even more.
Use baking soda – Considered a miracle worker, baking soda can be used as a very effective natural remedy by way of neutralizing foul odors. It can practically get rid of any kind of smell inside the house. Simply put a bowl of baking soda in affected areas inside your home so it can absorb the smell. For smelly carpets and rugs, you can sprinkle it with baking soda by using a sifter, let the baking soda sit awhile, and then vacuum.
Take it out in the sun – if what smells can be moved outside, then place it out in direct sunlight. The UV rays from the sun, with the help of the wind, can eliminate bacteria and molds and can dry out any moisture.
The wonder of white vinegar (distilled) – Another miracle worker and natural remedy, white vinegar, is an effective deodorizer. It can successfully kill germs, bacteria, mold, and mildew because of its acidic feature. Even if your garbage disposal smells a lot, just pour a dose of frozen white vinegar with cold water into the disposal and turn it on for a few seconds.
Essential Oils – research shows that there are forms of fungus, bacteria and viruses that cannot stand the smell of essential oils. Also a natural home remedy, essential oils mixed with water can dispose of smells by spraying the mixture in the air. If the smell comes back repeat the process every 3 or 4 hours. You can use lavender, citrus, or lemon oil.
It is no joke coming home to a house with stale or foul smelling air and all the hassle and stress that go along with tracking down the root cause of the bad smell. Keeping your home clean and aired out with the occasional use of air fresheners and disinfectant spray will usually take care of most odors. Hopefully the tips offered here will help when an odor is difficult to find and get rid of.
