Smell is one of the most powerful senses, with a strong influence on mood and perception. Pleasant smells make your home feel fresher and more inviting, but other scents can have the opposite effect. Choosing the right fragrances for your home requires thoughtful planning, as does avoiding certain smells. This is especially crucial when hosting guests at your home, but it is also key for making your family feel at ease in their surroundings. Understanding what causes unpleasant odors and how to eliminate them will enable you to create a more pleasant environment for all.
Unpleasant-smelling homes do not necessarily indicate that your home is not clean; it could simply be that you overlooked or left something unattended that caused the bad odor. Here are some of the most common causes of unpleasant odors in homes.
Not Addressing Pet Odors
Pets are one of the biggest challenges in maintaining a fresh-smelling home. Pet hair, litter boxes, accidents, and bedding are the most common causes of bad odors, and the more pets you have, the more difficult the challenge becomes.
To eliminate or at least mitigate the odors associated with pets, practice frequent grooming, such as washing and trimming or brushing, to reduce hair shedding. Clean and wash their bedding frequently, vacuum carpets, and mop hard floors to keep the odors from settling. Use specialty enzymatic cleaners for accidents to break down the compounds that cause bad smells. Use an air purifier, HEPA air filters, and ensure good ventilation to ensure air circulation.
Letting Cooking Odors Linger
Your cooking may smell delicious in the moment, but many cooking odors that linger become unpleasant. The biggest food offenders include garlic, onions, fish, and oils.
To minimize these smells, it is vital that you use a range hood or open a window while you are cooking to allow these smells to escape rather than become embedded in the walls and fabric of your home. Clean up right after cooking so these elements do not sit around. Take the garbage out immediately after you put in food waste from meal prep. For stubborn cooking smells, consider investing in an air purifier to freshen the smell of the kitchen.
Using Overpowering Scents
It can be tempting to fill your home with pleasant scents to ensure that it smells good, but this is actually counterproductive. Strong fragrances from candles, diffusers, and sprays can cause headaches, trigger allergies, and overwhelm those in the room. Overpowering scents can also mask unpleasant odors and make you neglect the root cause of bad smells in your home.
A better strategy is to use lighter-smelling fragrances and have adequate ventilation so that your home feels fresh and welcoming rather than stuffy and overwhelming.
Neglecting Ventilation
Poor airflow is one of the most likely causes of unpleasant odors in your home. Inadequate ventilation allows odors from pets, cooking, mold, and damp areas to accumulate without a way out. Even pleasant smells can become cloying when they are too confined.
To maintain a fresh home environment, you should have multiple sources of ventilation. These can include fresh air from open windows and doors, exhaust fans, an HVAC system, ceiling fans, floor fans, and air purifiers. It will be easier to get rid of unpleasant odors by using a variety of ventilation techniques at the same time.
Relying Too Heavily on Artificial Scents
Carefully chosen artificial scents can be a vital part of creating a fresh-smelling home, but a too heavy reliance on these scents can mask unpleasant odors and also make a home feel inauthentic.
Rather than relying on artificial smells to make your home smell good, address fundamental issues such as adequate ventilation to draw out bad odors. You can also think about using natural scents to create a pleasing scent in your house, like essential oil-infused air diffusers, simmering pots, and fresh flowers and plants.
Using Fragrances to Hide an Unclean Space
Fragrances are used by some people to make a room smell cleaner than it actually is (example: think college dorms). This is certainly a quicker option, but it is not a good long-term strategy. For one thing, it doesn’t work. The fragrance may mask the worst manifestations of the bad smell, but it will still be there, contributing to the overwhelming odor of the space.
A better goal than making your space smell good is to clean it and address the root causes that are creating the negative odor. Rid the space of anything causing the room to smell bad, such as spoiled or smelly food, old laundry, and garbage. Add ventilation, such as a fan, or open a window to remove smelly air. Use fresh and light fragrances, such as those from essential oils, to make the room smell better.
Neglecting Wet Laundry
When wet clothes are left piled up in a laundry basket or in the washer, they quickly develop a sour odor due to mold and mildew growth. Rather than allowing wet laundry to accumulate, wash and dry it as soon as possible, even if you can not fold and store it right away. If you leave wet laundry until it starts to mold, you will need to rewash it with a cup of vinegar or baking soda to get rid of the musty odor. Check that the clothes are dry before you leave them, as any dampness will make the laundry sour.
Mismatching Scents for the Room
When considering which scents to use in your home, one factor to consider is the purpose of the room. Using the wrong scent for the space can clash with the vibe you want to create. Sweet dessert-like scents are out of place in a bathroom, just like heavy floral smells clash with the earthy aromas of the kitchen. Instead, choose a smell that complements the function of the room, such as citrus in the kitchen or lavender for the bedroom.
Not Addressing Damp and Moldy Spaces
Moisture retention in areas like basements, bathrooms, and unventilated areas are ideal environments for mold and mildew growth. This causes an odor that can seep into furniture upholstery, carpets, and walls and hang heavily over your home. Prolonged exposure to mold spores and mildew can also cause respiratory problems and allergies.
It is vital to address any moisture problems you have in your home, such as those caused by leaking pipes, roof problems, and poor ventilation. Even if you don’t have an overt problem, you may need to use a dehumidifier to absorb moisture in areas prone to dampness, like basements.
Not Taking the Garbage Out Frequently
As food waste, old packaging, and other discarded items sit in the trash, they begin to decompose and release foul smells. Full trash cans not only smell bad, but they also attract pests like rodents and bugs.
It is recommended to empty your indoor garbage cans on a regular basis and transfer them to an outdoor bin. Even if you do not want to empty it every day, you should empty it within a few days to avoid unpleasant odors in your home. Make sure to empty it before hosting an event to ensure that your home smells its best. It is also helpful to periodically wash out your trash can to make sure the bottom is not harboring bad smells.
