11 Ways To Make Your House Smell Good

When life gives you lemons, use them to make your home smell good.

You may not notice that your home has a smell, but trust us, it does. For better or for worse, it may even be the first thing guests realize when they enter your home. If your home smells nice, it’s a welcome sensation, but if your home’s signature scent is causing newcomers’ noses to wrinkle in disgust, then you may want to consider taking action.

According to chemist and blogger Alexis Rochester, a positively smelling home is best achieved by taking a multistep approach to target problem areas. Some places in your home, like the trash or litter box, may disproportionately contribute to negative odors, so paying special attention to those spots is key. In other cases, the path to a sweet-smelling home is a simple addition here and there to your normal cleaning routine.

Meet The Expert

Alexis Rochester is a professional chemist and the writer of the Chemistry Cachet blog focused on shedding light on the daily functions of chemistry around the house.

As important as it is for your home to smell fresh, take care not to go over the deep end with aromatics. Your home may accidentally end up smelling more like artificial air fresheners than a clean oasis. Instead, try one or all of these tricks to tackle smelly odors in your home and promote a pleasant scent.

Deodorize The Trash

Smelly trash may be behind lingering odors that waft throughout the house. Cut off the culprit at its roots: Make the trash smell good. Or, as good as you can. To do this, simply add a few drops of scented essential oil to the bottom of your trash bin before lining it with a bag. For example, Rochester’s favorite scent to optimize the garbage can is pine.

For even more odor-fighting power, Rochester recommends combining 2 teaspoons of citric acid, a half cup of water, 10 drops of tea tree oil, and 20 drops of pine essential oil in a spray bottle. From there, spritz some of the solution at the bottom of the bin and repeat every time you take out the garbage before replacing the trash bag.

Incorporate Citric Acid

Instead of baking soda or vinegar, whip up household cleaning solutions with citric acid in addition to soap and water to clean and de-stink your home. This can prove especially effective for cleaning smelly spots like the toilet bowl or trash can.

Freshen Up Laundry

Enhance the effect of laundry detergent by adding a drop of lemon oil. A single drop is all you need to make your clothes smell wonderful and blanket your laundry room with a refreshing bouquet.

Add Lemon To The Dishwasher

Fragrant and strong, lemon is a go-to household staple that doubles as an odor-fighter. One way to make the most of its smell-busting capabilities is to throw a few slices in the dishwasher before running a cycle. The hot water will amplify the scent of oils in the lemon peel and before you know it, your whole kitchen will smell like a citrus paradise.

Clean The Microwave With Lemon

Next time you wipe down the microwave, use this trick to erase leftover odors and leave a fresh, citrus scent in your wake. What you’ll need is a small, microwavable bowl, a  cup of water, a cup of vinegar, a lemon, and a microfiber cloth.

First, Rochester says, combine the water and vinegar in the bowl. Then, halve the lemon and squeeze out the juice into a different cup or container to save for later. The remaining lemon peel is what you're really after. You can throw that in the bowl with your vinegar solution. Put your bowl in the microwave and let it run for 10 minutes. As the water boils and the microwave interior gets steamy, your kitchen will fill with the soothing smell. Plus, after those ten minutes, you can remove the bowl and easily wipe down the walls of your microwave with the cloth.

Simmer Citrus

One final noteworthy lemon trick from Rochester is to use the citrus for a DIY, all-natural air freshener. It’s a similar method to an aromatic wintertime stovetop potpourri but with an evergreen scent that works year-round. Start by collecting the peel from citrus fruits like lemon, orange, and grapefruit that your family consumes through the week. Then, simply add the peels to a pot of water and bring them to a simmer on the stove. And voila! You’ll have a sweet-smelling kitchen.

Store Linens With Dryer Sheets

Going to gather fresh linens only to be met with a dusty, musty stench when you open the linen closet is an all-time disappointment. Save yourself the trouble by taking a simple step to keep your closet fresh. Just add a few dryer sheets between the folds of your linens so that your sheets, towel, and closet will be noticeably better smelling. The same trick works in drawers with clothes.

Put Tea Bags In Closets And Drawers

Another way to tack closets and drawers involves an alternate addition. This time,Rochester recommends trying teabags. These small infusers of aromatic herbs and leaves will soak up musty odors and disperse a fresh scent to your sock drawer, storage closet, or wherever you choose to put them.

Try A One-Ingredient Solution For Pet Odor

As much as we love them, furry friends can leave behind an unpleasant trace that’s especially hard to diffuse. Stop pet-induced smells in their tracks with just one natural ingredient: zeolite rocks. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty, zeolites are hydrated aluminum silicates with a knack for absorbing odor.

Before using the zeolites, clean your surfaces, carpets, and other places where pet smells may be lingering. Then, put the special rocks in a bowl and let them sit on the counter for a few days to wash away the stench. Not only will this target pet odors, but other Rochester says that it's her favorite method for eliminating annoying smells like food rot and smoke, too.

Light Scented Candles

A subtle candle can work wonders to improve your home’s smell. Stick to candles with a mild fragrance as to not overcompensate with a too-strong, overwhelming perfume.

Add Rose Or Lavender Oil To Your Vacuum

Vacuuming can be an irksome chore, but with this one-step trick, you can coat your carpets in an agreeable scent while you clean them. “People always say my house smells so good, especially after I vacuum,” says Rochester. This is because she adds scented oil into the vacuum’s washable filters.

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