We all love a clean smelling home. However, cleaning is sometimes not enough for this and some houses (especially old ones) have weird odours sometimes. If you want to bring the freshness back to your place or simply give yourself a little aromatic treat, keep reading and find out what our favourite ways of making your house smell good are.
According to cleaning professionals first of all, you have to eliminate the bad smells at home. If there is anything specific that you have been smelling, find out what it is and where it comes from. Get rid of the bag, box or object that is causing it. In case it spread around to other items or floors/walls, give them a good cleaning and air out the room. Once the bad smell is gone, use one of those ways to add beautiful fragrance to your home. All of them are safe, eco-friendly and don’t involve any harmful chemicals.
1. Fresh flowers and plants
A fresh flower bouquet will not only add fragrance but is also a beautiful decorative touch. Look for fragrant flowers or herbs, such as heirloom roses, lilies, fresia, gardenia, lavender and lilac. If you have enough space, you can even start growing those at home. They will produce fragrance with every bloom. Living plants will not provide you with aroma but will clean and freshen the air at home. Make sure you regularly wipe and dust them.
2. Scented carpet deodoriser
When cleaning your carpets, you will rid them of stains and dirt. However, they will not have a specific smell. You can use a homemade carpet deodoriser on them whenever you feel like they need refreshing. You can make a carpet deodorising powder to use before vacuuming. You can do that by combining baking soda with a pet-safe essential oil. Generously sprinkle the powder all over your carpets or upholstery, leave it on for 10 minutes then vacuum the surface thoroughly.
3. Crockpot simmer scents
Simmering fragrant fruits and spices is a great and easy way to both deodorise your whole place, as well as add humidity to the air. You can do it in your crockpot with the lid off or in a simple pot. Make sure you keep it out of the reach of children and pets. Use sliced apples, orange peels, cloves, cinnamon sticks or vanilla beans.
4. Sliced fruits in the oven
Put some apple, orange or lemon wedges on a baking sheet and place them in the oven. Set it to 200°C and when it reaches the temperature, open the door and let the beautiful aroma fill your whole place. If you have a fire stove, you can simply place them on top of it and enjoy their amazing fragrance.
5. Shower herbs
By hanging some herbs from your showerhead, your hot and steamy showers will make your whole house smell amazing. Simply take a little bouquet of herbs of your choice and hang it right at the showerhead. The hot water will activate their fragrance and the steam will spread it around everywhere. Try eucalyptus, sage or lavender.
6. Essential oil diffusers
Cool mist and tea light essential oil diffusers are great ways to add fragrance to your place. Combine lavender and lemon for a clean and fresh smell. For an autumn fragrance, use bergamot, orange and cinnamon. Rose, geranium and lilac will give you a romantic scent.
7. Baking
Baking biscuits or cakes will give your place that warm, cosy and homey smell. Add spices like cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla.
8. Dried herbal sachets
Herbal sachets are a simple way to make any room at home smell amazing. You can also use them for closets, dressers or storage boxes. Cut cheese cloths or thin fabrics into squares and put 2-3 tablespoons of dried herbs in them. Tie them with a string and hang them from the ceiling or store them between clothes. Lavender blossoms, rose petals, eucalyptus leaves, dried lilacs and thyme are some of our favourites for this purpose.
9. Routine cleaning
Cleaning your place regularly will help keep it clean and fresh. Do not let any dirt or stains build up. Avoid commercial products and switch to homemade cleaning products instead. You can make them using any essential oils of your choice. Those DIY cleaning sprays will clean and freshen your whole place in no time.
10. Air your place out
Open your windows every day and let fresh air come in for at least 10 minutes at a time. You can do this at any point during the day or night or when cleaning or dusting to prevent dirt and dust from staying in. Fresh air will replace the stale, musty air. This will also improve your home’s ventilation and reduce the amount of hazardous substances in your air.