How do you ' de - smelly ' your home without smellies?

[Candini]

I have the absolute WORST lungs. I 'stockpiled' cheap candles and kept them in a drawer. Was cleaning my house the other day and to open the drawer the SCENT of all the candles almost collapsed my lungs.
I could not breathe and they felt like they were on fire. That being said my 'stockpile' is now in a reusable shopping bag out on my balcony.


Without using Febreeze, scented candles/oils etc .... how do you keep your house smelling clean without the chemicals?

[i_forget]

When I have citrus fruits, I take the peels and toss them in the freezer. When the bag is full, I take them out, toss them in my crock pot with some cinnamon sticks and water and plug the crock pot in.
This simmers the peels and the scent is infused into the water, which fills the air with a nice citrus scent as it evaporates.

in the bathroom I use drops of scented oils in the inside of my toilet paper rolls and droplets in plants on the back of the throne to keep it smelling really nice.

[anisa]

i have been using unscented soaps, lotion etc for so many yrs now, i start sneezing if i get a sudden whif of some of the perfumes used in laundry detergents.

i have read online that active (?) carbon and vinegar are good for de-stinking a space.

google, and you should get more info. if i remember right, you can get the carbon in pet shops, but i might be totally wrong, pls don't quote me!

[walkonby]

I have always wondered why people are that concerned about having a smell present in their homes. DH and I never used
actual " smellies " just because growing up they did not exist, plus they are chemicals and he wants no part of that. OP, I cook non stop pretty much, so my house always has a food aroma present.
I think basic cleaning keeps most odours under wraps, do you have pet smell ( litter boxes etc.) because I use plenty of baking soda in with the litter and change often.
I am glad you put those candles outside, better for your lungs.

[BC Gal]

Though I love essential oils, to me the smell of clean is the smell of nothing, just clean air. I agree with walkonby that it`s a matter of keeping on top of things that cause odors. I use a small garbage can in the kitchen and take the compost outside daily.

[Candini]

Cat litter and garbage is taken out even before it gets smelly. You know when you walk into a house though and it has like a welcoming smell? That is all I want lol
I really like Glade Apple cinnamon scent but again - chemicals.

[alicia]

i have read online that active (?) carbon and vinegar are good for de-stinking a space.

active carbon (aka activated carbon) is formed from carbon precursors (wood, coconut shells, rice hulls, pretty much anything that can be heated and turned to carbon) that is heat treated to have very high surface areas (certain activated carbons have areas the size of a football field in just 5 - 10 grams of the powder - it's really hard to imagine!). The surface area is from teeny tiny pores, which makes it perfect for sucking up everything... your Brita filter is carbon-based, and while it doesn't get everything, it most definitely adsorbs lots of different contaminants like VOCs.

I've seen activated carbon at the dollar store in the pet section with baking soda to remove pet odors. As Anisa said, most pet stores will have it that have fish supplies. Also I think you can get it in Home Depot type stores, or duct stores (a place that sells furnace filters etc). Beware on how you buy it though - if it's in a large container which you would then package into smaller containers (old margarine containers with holes in the top) it can also be hard on the lungs when transferring - spoken from years and years of dealing with carbon on a daily basis.

We are trying to move away from smellies as well because they kills my allergies. What we've done so far is just make sure we clean very thoroughly and don't let te garbage sit too long. If the house still ends up smelling I do what i_forget mentioned and do the pot of water with citrus and cinnamon on the stove.

[SassyAshley]

Depending on how big of an area is affected baking soda will remove smells, we have used it in cupboards and the fridge.

[Andit]

Shallow bowls of vinegar placed in various places will pick up certain scents (ie smoke and cooking odors - says the gal who's been known to burn water ).

In terms of making a room smell of a certain scent, if you have a favourite perfume, you can place a drop of it on a lightbulb - every time the light is turned on you get a whiff of it (more effective with the older bulbs that heat up quickly). I've been known to half fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and a few drops of peppermint extract, shake it thoroughly, and spritz my vents with the concoction for a fresh minty smell.

As for litterbox odours, I use pine shavings for my boy, so the bathroom always smells like a lumberyard.

[DiamondLil]

My favorite way to make my house smell wonderful without febreze or any other artificial smellies.... Bake bread or cookies. You might gain a few pounds, but your house will smell wonderful.

[hollyquaiscer]

If your looking to make the entire house smell nice, a trick I used when we were fostering and had 7 teens in the house was to put a few drops of a natural vanilla (it has to be natural though) down the heat vents. This only works in the winter of coarse when the furnace is coming on regularly. It puts a slight scent of vanilla through the entire house. Just a drop or two does the trick. Since I bake tons of bread, and did then to, my house usually smelled like baking bread...which I love. Now a days, I use baking soda in the fridge and food cupboards, and I have a small pot that I simmer on a back burner anytime I'm cooking. It has a cinnamon stick and 3 drops of vanilla in it. We're in our rv for the winter so it's important to me not to have cooking odors in our trailer. It takes away any cooking smells. Also, if you use vinegar when you clean, to do the windows and mirrors and such, it absorbs any odors too. Oh...just one last thing, we also have an air purifier. You can get them in all different sizes, and they are fabulous for taking out most odors from rooms, along with pollen, dust and so on.

[thriftygranny]

I'm with Holly , i almost always have a small simmering pot on my back burner with a cinnamon stick in it,

[grumpy]

what great tips... love the oranges and vanilla and cinnamon / baking tips.

Opening a window of a room even in the cold winter helps too.

[Lynn49]

In the "olden" days, as a kid/teen, everyone's house smelled different. All nice, but...different. Now we all have to smell of all sorts of things, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how that happened..Oh. LET me guess!! Manufacturers tell us that our houses stink?!!! GOT to be it!!!

My house smells like my house. Sometimes of cooking or baking, other times of my perfume I use....but it always smells just like a house. Clean, no odours.

I won't go to any great lengths to change that. Esp I will NOT use chemicals or cheap candles with lead in their wicks!!

Good for you, for tossing them!! And don't worry about smelling up your house.
Clean and natural are just fine.

Walks....you and I both came from a time when all houses smelled different, hm? Kinda nice.......

[walkonby]

In the "olden" days, as a kid/teen, everyone's house smelled different. All nice, but...different. Now we all have to smell of all sorts of things, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how that happened..Oh. LET me guess!! Manufacturers tell us that our houses stink?!!! GOT to be it!!!

My house smells like my house. Sometimes of cooking or baking, other times of my perfume I use....but it always smells just like a house. Clean, no odours.

I won't go to any great lengths to change that. Esp I will NOT use chemicals or cheap candles with lead in their wicks!!

Good for you, for tossing them!! And don't worry about smelling up your house.
Clean and natural are just fine.

Walks....you and I both came from a time when all houses smelled different, hm? Kinda nice.......

THANK YOU Lynn!!

I mean c'mon.....these products are made to make money, better to attach some housewife guilt to it to sell it faster!!
So relax a bit everyone, all you busier than busy Mom's/Dad's, overworked pet lovers, senior shut-ins, financially strapped individuals.....take a deep breath and say " yup! that is the smell of my house.....for now"