Stop bad smells developing in the home: try some simple tips to deodorize rooms and smelly objects
Nobody likes to walk into a room and be greeted by an unpleasant smell, not to mention something that smells bad. In closets that remain closed, in containers in which we have set aside some food, near the garbage pail and in many other situations, it is inevitable that unpleasant odors will develop, and if the best and unavoidable remedy is always to clean the offending items, the first line of defense (a temporary stop-gap, so to speak) may be to use some form of deodorant.
In fact, between one cleaning session and another, we can keep various bad smells at bay by resorting to using effective tips such as those described below:
Shoes
For shoes, you can use several solutions: among the simplest, is to insert a bar of soap inside them (perhaps even first inside a gauze or a cloth bag), and this should neutralize the smell of sweat or damp.
Alternatively, a little baking soda (to be shaken out by banging the shoes clean before wearing them again), dry coffee grounds, crumpled newspaper sheets and / or a few drops of essential oil are all ideas that can come in handy when dealing with smelly shoes.
Bathrooms
In the bathroom, scented candles can help to remove bad smells. Even if they are not scented, however, the light smoke they give off is already a great ally.
It is also useful to hang up branches of dried aromatic herbs, such as mint or even eucalyptus; or fill a small bowl with a few tablespoons of baking soda and put in 4 or 5 drops of an essential oil of your choice.
Garbage
However careful you are, certain foods prepared in the kitchen and at certain times of the year with high temperatures, makes it impossible to avoid bad smells emanating from the garbage pail. So, on the bottom of the pail, you can sprinkle some baking soda, or even lay down some sheets of newspaper with a few drops of your preferred essential oil, which will help to mask the smell which inevitably radiates from organic waste.
Alternatively, you can also use car air fresheners, and if they have become exhausted of their scent, you can always "recharge" them using a few drops of your preferred essential oil.
The bathroom again...
Another emergency method to use in the bathroom, is to pour a drop of soap or laundry softener into a bottle with water and a spoonful of baking soda, and spray it on the curtains .
Or you can put some cotton in a small bowl and drip a small quantity of laundry detergent / fabric softener into it, so you can smell it all over the room for a long time.
Cupboards and drawers
Soap (soap bars) works well not only in shoes, but also when placed on the inside of furniture units such as cupboards, wardrobes and their drawers - a perfect solution for giving clothes and linens a pleasant, fresh smell.
Ovens
Citrus peels in the microwave oven (but also traditional convection ovens): fill a bowl with the peels of a citrus fruit (oranges, lemons, limes, etc) and then add a little water. Turn on the microwave for 1 minute (in the standard models, it sometimes takes a little longer, but you can put the bowl in as soon as you finish cooking something, so as to use the residual heat): horrible smells will be banished!
Fridges
If there is any stale bread lef over, you can put it on a plate in the fridge, and it will absorb a lot of the bad smells. There are also those who, before putting it in the fridge, toast it to the point of nearly being burnt and reduce the slices to crumbs (in a blender). The crumbs are then stuffed into a cloth bag and placed in the fridge.
Food containers
In addition to washing them with lemon and vinegar, you can make the odors that remain inside food containers (like Tupperware) disappear by putting newspaper inside them.
What are your favorite anti-stink tips?
