How to Get Rid of Odours in the Home

When you come home and open the door, are you greeted with foul smelling odours that are unwelcoming and unwanted? Eliminating smells from your home isn’t always as simple as spraying a bit of air freshener, more often than not there is some cleaning involved.

1. Find where the smell is coming from

Before you can get rid of a smell you need to know where it is coming from, use your nose to sniff out the odour, if it coming from the fridge then check the backs of shelving and the vegetable drawer for rotten food, if it is in the bathroom could it be mould on the grouting? Whatever the offending smell is being caused by, remove it completely.

2. Clean

Firstly you need to clean the area the smell has originated from, wipe over all surfaces and clean thoroughly with bleach or a disinfectant, which is designed to eliminate smells from the source. Next you need to clean the air in both the area and the remainder of your home, most people start with air freshener. There are different types of air freshener you can buy, deodoriser’s eliminate smells by masking them and covering them up, counter-actor’s on the other hand remove odours from the air completely as they change the molecular structure of the smell so that they are untraceable to the human nose.
 Here are some hints on specific smells around the home and how to remove them:

* Carpets: spread baking soda over the carpet and leave it to absorb the odours for at least 24 hours. Vacuum the carpets to remove the baking soda and any bad odours. If the smell of your carpet is particularly bad, you may need to steam clean it first.

* Fridge: empty your fridge of all food and sort through it all. Clean all trays and shelving and the inside of the fridge with a mixture of either bleach and water or baking powder and water. Rinse with warm water and allow to air dry. Put an open box of baking powder in the fridge to absorb smells keeping your fridge smelling fresh.

* Cutting Board: clean it with anti-bacterial soap and use a mixture of baking powder and water to rinse the soap.

* Sinks: Using hot water and either detergent or bleach, clean the sink thoroughly, pouring a mixture of very hot water and bleach/detergent down the sink will remove any smells in the pipework.

* Sponge: replace these often as they can contain more smells that you realise.

* Pet urine, vomit and faeces: Clean the area by removing any lumps and dabbing the area clean with a suitable cleaner, allow to dry. Sprinkle baking powder onto the area and leave it for approximately 24 hours to absorb the smell (less if the smell isn’t as bad), then vacuum the baking powder away. If the smell is particularly strong or has been left for a long time before cleaning, you may require the services of a cleaning professional.

* Tobacco smoke: Put pine products into small bowls and place these around your home, the pine will absorb the tobacco smell. Use anti-tobacco air fresheners and scented candles, or light some incense. Open windows and doors to allow smoke to get out.

3. Keep odours away

The best way to keep your home odour free is to prevent odours from occurring, this means regularly cleaning every room of your home wiping all surfaces, vacuuming the floors and cleaning handles, switches and anything else that you touch regularly. Further to this, you must to a deep clean of your home once or twice a year where you pull out and clean behind all furniture, empty all cupboards and the fridge and freezer and empty the shelving from the oven before giving it all a thorough clean.
Here are some tips:

* Use strong bin liners and avoid overfilling them. Consider buying smaller bin liners so that you are forced to empty it more frequently.

* Clean things like the shower and bath after every use to avoid mildew, use some bleach diluted with water for this, clean the tiles and taps.

* Clean spillages as soon as you notice them.

* When you buy new food and stock up your fridge and cupboard, empty all of the old food out first and sort through it, discarding anything that it out of date or has been opened and not properly covered. Wipe over the shelving and give the inside of the fridge a good clean. Put the new food in first, then put back in the food that you initially took out, so the older food is at the front of the fridge and gets used first, before it goes out of date.