Important Note:
This may seem obvious, but first of all locate the smelly thing and deal with it it. It could be something particularly smelly in your kitchen garbage, or a pair of particularly sweaty shoes. Or — and we hope it isn't this — a poop that your pet left for you in a secret corner.
Whatever it is, no amount of air freshener will solve the problem until the smelly culprit has been cleaned or removed from your home.
That said, here are a few hints that should help with problem odours:
- Smelly shoes: if they are washable, throw them in the washing machine, along with some non-delicate stuff (like old towels). Otherwise, put a whole bunch of baking soda in each shoe — fill up the shoe, if necessary — and let the shoes sit for a couple of days. Then empty out the baking soda (down the sink or into the toilet — you don't want to re-use this stuff!), and the shoes should smell clean and fresh. If they don't, repeat the process for a few more days.
- Smelly refrigerator: first find the stinky stuff and throw it out. Then take a new package of baking soda, remove the lid entirely, and put the package into your fridge. Replace with a new package of baking soda as often as you can afford it (once a month is best).
This doesn't mean that you can get away with never washing the inside of your fridge! Every six months you should unplug the fridge, take all the food out, and wash every surface in the fridge with warm soapy water. Use your favourite cleaner (Mr. Clean, Lestoil, PineSol, whatever) or just ordinary dish detergent in a pail of warm water. Use a sponge, a rag, or a brush — whichever you prefer. When everything is clean and shiny on the inside, take your vacuum cleaner, go to the back of the fridge and vacuum the dust off the coils at the back of the fridge (this makes it more energy efficien). Then plug the fridge back in, and put your food back. Your fridge will love you!
- Smelly room: if one of your rooms smells bad, and you just can't find the source of the smell, it's probably under the rug. No matter how well you have your carpets cleaned, if something has penetrated through the carpet into the underlay, it's there forever. Obviously, the only real solution is to tear out the carpet and the underlay.
If you don't want to go that far, or if the room isn't carpeted, you can try the vinegar method. This is it: pour some vinegar into a bowl and place it in the smelliest corner of the room. Let the vinegar evaporate over time. This could take a few days, or even a few weeks (depending on how much vinegar you used). When the vinegar is gone, so is a lot of the smell.
Disclaimer: while these hints are the result of years of experience and/or lots of research, in the end they are just my personal opinion. If you try something I suggest and it doesn't work, please don't sue me — I guarantee nothing. Best of luck!
Page created and maintained by A. Steinbergs
Last modified: November 28, 2011