Icky, Icky Smells, and How to Get Rid of Them

Smells are a fact of life.  They happen when gaseous particles are available for your nose to sniff out.  Simple as that.
Just because an odor smells "good" doesn't mean it is good for you.  Gasoline is great in small amounts, but the chemicals you breathe in a very harmful to your body... on the other hand, most bathroom smells aren't that lovely, but completely harmless.  What does this have to do with you?  Most air fresheners are very very very full of chemicals that can harm your body pretty quickly.  They can make you feel ill at the very least if you use such air fresheners often enough.

So how DO you get rid of smells, besides using spray fresheners?  Oust and similar brands say that they can "eliminate odors in the air, rather than covering them up".  There's a much more simple, and cheaper way to get rid of these smelly smells than by buying products though... want to know the secret?  Here it is:

VENTILATE YOUR ROOMS!

Open a window!  It may not be as simple as that though... Here are some specific ways to ventilate, most effective in getting the smell OUT.

If you have a double hung window, like these:

 

You can open both portions of the window halfway.  Warm air escapes out the top, and cooler air comes in the bottom portion.  

If you have windows on opposite sides of a room, open both of them all the way... The air will flow from one side of the room and out the other, much more strongly than if you had just opened one of the windows.  

Invest in a air conditioner with a HEPA filter, which removes 99.97% of airborne particles. They're fantastic air cleaners, and if you run your air conditioner on low, changing the filter regularly, you can keep your house smelling great.  You can use fans to push air towards an air conditioner, or towards an open door or window.

IF YOUR GARBAGE DISPOSAL STINKS:

You're not alone.  Here's what you do.  Pour a cup of boiling water down the disposal (to clean the blades), then grind up a citrus peal (lemon or oranges should do the trick), and you'll have a great smelling sink.

Refrigerator Blues?  One remedy is to soak a cotton ball in some vanilla extract, put it in a bowl on the lowest shelf.  Take it out two days later.  If you like the coffee smell more, use used coffee grounds in a bowl instead.

Make sure your fridge is clean, and you throw out any gross food from over 2 weeks that could be stinking up the fridge. 
 

One of the coolest things I've come across for this blog so far are actually pretty small... Charcoal Filters.  Use them on your trash can lid (inside) to eliminate odor, and recharge them by placing them in the sunlight.  Here's where to get them:  http://www.simplehuman.com/products/accessories/odorsorb-filter-kit.html  ($5.99 for two)  The site advises to clean the lid of your trash can before you attach them, or they may fall off.  

Dishwasher issues?  Check the filters, and be sure to rinse food off of dishes before you put them in there.... Yes, your dishwasher can handle clearing food, but this is an article about smell, and left on food can really stink up your house if left to ruminate in a closed up box for a day (or half-day).

Finally, the stove.  Turn the range on before you heat up the burners.  Every single time.  There are some gasses that come off of the burners that can cause respiratory problems in everyone, but especially children.  Clean your filter on the range hood regularly. 

Here are some "good" chemicals you can use today to clear up that smell.  

Baking soda:  if you mix it with water, you can wash walls and smelly surfaces, or you can leave an open box in the bottom of smelly places... (like a garbage can or laundry bin or fridge or cabinets)

Borax:  works much like baking soda, but it's more concentrated.  Put 2 teaspoons in the garbage disposal, and wipe down surfaces with a mix of 1/2 teaspoon to 1 cup of warm water.  Finally, you can spray that mixture on plants to kill bugs and mold.  

Vinegar: You can sanitize stuff by using a 1:1 ratio of white vinegar and water.  The smell vinegar gives off disappears as soon as it dries.  If you still smell it, something's still wet.  Keep the air moving throughout the room to disparate the smell.  You can try using this mix in coffeemakers, or anything around the house that ISN'T made of stone.

Vacuum.... a vacuum isn't a chemical, but it cleans well enough to be considered one... :")  If it has a HEPA filter, all the better, but a little vacuuming without a filter is better than no vacuuming.  It removes smells and particulates. 

If your house smells like the following, here's what to do:

Unbathed pets:  It's most likely coming from the padding under carpets, and it'd probably pet urine.  Steam clean it.  It's the only way to get through to the padding.  If you really don't have time to rent a steam cleaner right now, you can check that the room is all dry carpeting, then sprinkle baking soda over the carpet.  Let it sit for half an hour, then vacuum it all up.   If that doesn't work, you will have to pull up the carpeting and replace the padding underneath with new padding.

Death:  If you have a mouse trap set up somewhere, prepare yourself for grossness, and check it out.  If you find it empty, begin checking behind appliances and in your chimney.  If you do find it, put it, with a shovel,  into a double layer of plastic garbage bags and throw it away.  Disinfect the shovel with bleach or vinegar and water mixture.  If you can't find the animal, or the smell is still there after a few days, call an exterminator... They'll locate and remove the animal, even if it's behind walls and under your home.  It's what they do.

Chemicals: move all the chemicals in your house to a cool place (away from the furnace) like the garage, a shed, or a furnace-free basement.  If that doesn't work, use whatever you can, and recycle the rest of it.

Bathroom rot:  If kids miss, the bathroom can really begin to stink up around the base of the toilet.  You've got to confirm it first.  If the area around the bottom of your toilet smells the strongest, that's what you've got.  Sanitize that!  :)  If that doesn't work, you've got to call a plumber.  They'll pull up the toilet (actually pretty easy), they'll disconnect it, clean it out, put in a new wax seal and caulk it up.

Smoke:  It's incredibly hard to get rid up, whether it's due to tobacco or a failed cooking adventure...You need to wash the surfaces in your house in this order:  Curtains and shades, shelves and books, walls, carpets, clothing.  Clean top-to-bottom so the dust fall the floor.  Vacuum that up.  On the non-stone surfaces and walls, use a mix of 1 part vinegar to 5 parts warm water.  If that doesn't work, realize that mattresses and upholstery and plants harbor smoke residue.  Clean them with a vacuum nozzle, then open the windows to air them out, for at least 48 hours.  If that doesn't work, you've got to get them professionally cleaned.

If you've got to have your pets on the furniture, designate one couch for them to use, one with a slipcover.  These can be washed very quickly and easily.  It's not just urine you have to watch out for, there's also the hair, skin cells, and body oil they drop without having any control over it.  So, if your dog or cat must sit on one couch, make it one with a slipcover.  Vacuum frequently, and wash your slipcovers in hot water.  Check out surefit.net for slipcovers of all kinds.



Here's the final word on the subject:  Bathroom odors.  They're embarrassing, but unavoidable, and they happen to everyone.  Turn on the exhaust fan in your bathroom to whisk odors away.  You can also light a match.  If you are hosting a party, be smart and light a candle or two.  The fire "burns away" the gasses and compounds that make up bathroom odors.  Easy enough!


See you later!