When we bought our current home a couple of years ago, we overlooked a major warning sign. The former owner had a ton of plugin air fresheners that were choking us during our tour. It was a turn off, but knowing I’d quickly unplug them and air out the house, we were undeterred. The classic Georgian style and great neighborhood had won us over. Not to mention, we were one of the first to view it and after previously getting into some bidding wars, we wanted to pick this one up before other people jumped on it. Flash forward to us moving in and airing the house out only to discover this old house must have been home to a smoker at one time. Yuck.
Also, consider this a PSA if you’re buying a home- overuse of air fresheners tends to mean they’re hiding something, as we found out.
I’ve spent the last 2+ years fighting bad smells from the dog, the house, and more. Most of the advice for odor elimination that I found had suggestions that used some powerful chemicals and more toxic air fresheners. So I struck out on my own to find some nontoxic ways to keep our house smelling fresh. Here’s what worked:
Nontoxic Odor Eliminators
Paint & A Good Scrubbing
This may seem like basic advice, but if you’ve skipped this step you’ll be surprised what an impact it can make on your home’s smell. A fresh coat of no voc paint seals walls and can get rid of lingering smells in the drywall. Please note that using regular paint can drastically effect your indoor air quality and off-gasses for months, so be sure to pick a quality no voc paint. We like Benjamin Moore’s Natura paint.
If you have an older home or one that had a smoker, scrubbing down forgotten places like door hinges and window casings will do wonders. I kept seeing that on forums for homes that had smokers and initially dismissed it, but finally gave it a shot. After using diluted white vinegar on the window casings (the inside part of the window track that holds it in place) we realized they were in fact gray, not a golden brassy color. So gross, I know. After cleaning them, the smell improved a lot!
Dehumidifier
If you live in a damp area, I would definitely suggest trying this. Where we are in NC is humid; couple that with how damp the back of our house stays due to drainage and shade and it quickly becomes a problem for a lot of reasons. Sometimes this can cause a musty smell or mold in houses. For us, when the air was damp it was like it unlocked more of the bad house smell. By running this dehumidifier in the back of the house during damper months, we’ve smelled a big improvement.
Charcoal Bags
These bamboo charcoal bags work great in smaller areas and they get a quick recharge in the sun! We use them in our closet, where Frankie sleeps. Don’t worry- it’s a walk-in with plenty of space and allows him to be close to us without keeping us up all night with his intense snoring. These bags keep our clothes and closet from getting that doggy smell! They also work great in cabinets or other smaller rooms that get musty.
Air Filter
A whole house air filter is on my list, but in the meantime we use these smaller hepa air filters in individual rooms. They take particulates like dust and pollen out of the air, and the carbon layer help get rid of odors.
Fresh Air
New homes have stricter standards for energy efficiency so there are less drafts and everything is sealed up tighter. It’s great for your heating bill, but it also means whatever has been off-gassing in your home or any odor lingering stays there. For air quality and to help with odors, it’s good to open windows and get some fresh air in on a regular basis. And it’s completely free!
Baking Soda
The oldest trick in the book, but it still works. When Frankie’s allergies get bad, so does his smell. Even hours after bathing him it feels like we’re back at square one. I sprinkle baking soda on carpets, bedding, and even furniture he sleeps on and let it sit for a few hours before vacuuming it up. The house smells amazingly fresh afterwards.
Cleaner Than Clean Spray
Most odor eliminating sprays are not good for you or the environment, but this one is the exception. The Cleaner than Clean spray from Back To Basics can be sprayed on anything and gets the odor out. It can even be used as cleaner on hard surfaces or diffused. It has no smell so it just leaves behind fresh smelling air.
Oil Diffuser
Depending on the oils you choose, this not only puts a pleasant scent in the air, but it also can help eliminate bad ones. One of my favorites to diffuse is UMA Pure Bliss Wellness Oil. It’s a blend of florals, sandalwood, ylang ylang and a bit of citrus. It smells like a high end hotel in Charleston that I love. I know that’s a weird comparison, but scents have a way of being specific. This diffuser is super luxe, and here’s a cute one with a cheaper price tag.
These are all my go-to’s depending on the room. Soon we’ll be replacing some upstairs carpeting with hardwood floors and I’m hoping that also freshens things up a bit. What are your tips and tricks? Anything I missed that works for you?
*Post contains affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
