How to Remove Cooking Odors From the Home

Cooking fish, spicy food and exotic recipes can leave a lingering funky smell in the kitchen and all over an air-conditioned home. You can wait for the smell to eventually dissipate after a few days, but you can also do something now to remove the unpleasantness right away. Here are some simple ways to get rid of cooking odors from your home.

Things You'll Need

• Citrus peels or slices
• Vinegar
• Cloves, cinnamon or nutmeg
• Fragrant herbs
• Aerosol deodorizer or air freshener
• Air purifier
• Aromatic candles, reeds or beads
• Coffee
• Pastries
• Degreaser

Instructions

1. Wipe down oil and food spatter. No matter how careful you are, even if you use spatter screens, frying causes oil to splatter on the stove, countertop and backsplash surfaces. Unless the oil and food spatter on these surfaces are wiped clean, the cooking odor will remain strong. Use a rag or sponge dipped in degreasing dish detergent to clean all surfaces close to the stove and then rinse with a damp towel. Don't forget the floor area just in front of the stove.

2. Ventilate your home. Odors will remain locked inside your home unless you air them out. Open windows on opposite sides of the house to generate an air flow. An exhaust fan will help.

3. Simmer a potpourri. Mix water, citrus peels or slices, a few cloves, a cinnamon stick and rosemary in a small pot and simmer for a couple of hours. Add water as necessary to prevent drying out. Substitute with your favorite fragrant herbs and spices.

4. Simmer vinegar and citrus slices. Mix equal parts vinegar and water with a slice or two of your favorite citrus in a small pot and simmer for a couple of hours. The evaporating vinegar molecules will neutralize the odor molecules that have settled on kitchen surfaces. After simmering, leave the vinegar solution in the open for a few more hours.

5. Use air fresheners or deodorizers. Light aromatic candles. Refresh fragrance reed diffusers. Spray or plug in air deodorizers. Countless options are commercially available. Remember that most of these products only mask the cooking odor.

6. Brew coffee or bake pastries. The delicious aroma of brewed coffee, chocolate cookies, apple pie, banana nut bread or caramel cake can quickly overcome any unpleasant cooking odor lurking in the home.

Tips & Warnings

• Minimize odors by turning on the stove vent to draw out smoke, oil particles and odor molecules while cooking food.

• When using several fresheners and aromatic deodorizers, strive to complement fragrances. Having a single or coordinated fragrance minimizes the risk that the different smells would clash and become offensive.

• Wipe down kitchen cabinets, walls, ceilings, windows and furnishings with a degreasing detergent to remove grime and odor particles.

• Consider acquiring an air purifier. HEPA and carbon filters used in air purifiers are efficient at screening odor molecules, smoke and chemical fumes generated by cooking.

Resources

• Clean the Kitchen