Maintaining a house is a difficult task, and no matter how clean you keep it – there are some smells that just creep in and refuse to go away.
Lucky for all of us those who take care of our own homes, there are few simple tricks that you can do to remove these stubborn smells. What’s more, these tricks require simple kitchen items like salt, lemon, baking soda etc.
We have made a list of what items are needed for any particular type of smell:
#1. Musty smell of clothes
Quite often clothes start oozing this musty smell that is quite unpleasant. It happens to the clothes that have been left damp for too long, or even when you take them out of storage.
To refresh the smell of musty clothes, fill a spray bottle with unflavored vodka and then spray it all over the clothes. Alcohol kills the smell-causing bacteria, and removes the smell.
#2. Car still smells even after cleaning it?
If the weird smell in your car doesn’t go away even after you have cleaned it, you can make it go away by keeping a bowl of white vinegar inside the car for a night.
You can remove the smell from vinyl seats by rubbing them all over with baking soda, and then leave the car sealed and shut overnight. Next morning, clean the baking soda with vacuum cleaner, it will take away all the smell.
#3. Pet droppings
You can get ride of the pet’s urine smell by pouring a mix of water and white vinegar on the spot. Wash the smelly spot after half an hour, pat dry and then place a dry rag over it to absorb the moisture.
Another way is to work a quarter cup of baking soda into the smelly spot, let it rest for 15 minutes, and vacuum it up.
#4. Smelly feet
If your feet smell after you take them out of your shoes, that could be because of excessive sweating and residual dirt on your skin. Cure the smell by soaking your feet in a tea bath for 20 minutes everyday.
You can also try sprinkling a mixture of baking soda and cornstarch in your shoes before you wear them. Baking soda removes the smell and cornstarch absorbs sweat.
#5. Stinking shoes
Have you ever took off your shoes and realized that you have stunk up the whole place? To avoid that, put a couple dried sage leaves in your shoes before your wear them. Sage leaves release a mild fragrance and kill the odor-causing bacteria. Replace the leaves next day.
#6. Smell coming from the drainage?
In a house, the most obnoxious smells come from the drainage and garbage disposal since all the wet trash goes there and moisture with heat is just fertilizing ground for every kind of germs.
Pour a cup of salt and baking soda in your drainage, and then a jug of boiling water to get rid of the smell from your drainage. Best cure, however, is to put orange peels in your drainage which remove the smell right away.
Learn more about 11 wonderful uses of orange peels that hardly no one knows.
#7. Dank and smelly dishwasher
Dishwashers often acquire a weird, unpleasant smell and rinsing them with water is just not enough. To get rid of that dank smell, pour a cup of baking soda at the bottom of the dishwasher and start the rinse cycle.
However, best way to stop the smell is to add a small cup of lemon juice along with the detergent when you start washing your dishes.
#8. That sharp smell of new paint
While some people love the smell of new paint, it is not a pleasant experience for most people. To prevent the paint from oozing that sharp smell, pour a spoonful of vanilla extract into a gallon of paint when you are painting your house. The vanilla extract will add a sweet fragrance to the paint.
#9. Garbage can smell
Even if you take your trash everyday, replacing the garbage bag is not enough since the can itself starts smelling after a while. Sprinkle baking soda at the bottom of the trash every time you place a new bag inside. Baking soda is a powerful agent to absorb all sorts of unpleasant smells.
#10. Fried fish
Smell of fresh fish being fried can be pleasant and appetizing when you are going to eat it, but it is far from fun when the smell lingers for three days straight in your kitchen, and soon everything starts smelling like fish. Nobody wants that, right?
Add a dollop of peanut butter to the oil before you start frying the fish, this will stop the smell from spreading – and not to mention that peanut butter actually adds a nice flavour to the fish.
#11. Fishy hands
Handling fish while cooking can leave your hands smelling like fish, and washing them with soap or handwash doesn’t help.
Before you start handling fish, douse your hands with lemon juice. After you are done cooking, rub baking soda on your hands and wash with warm water.
#12. Smelly fridge
There are so many ways to remove the stinking smell from your fridge: place a small saucer full of coffee grounds inside and leave it overnight, you can also use teabags or orange peels.
If your fridge needs a deep cleanse, then empty the shelves and wash them undiluted tomato juice, rinse with hot water.
Also read: 11 food items that you should NEVER keep in a fridge.
Featured Image Courtesy: Bobvila
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