How to Decrease Smell
No one wants a smelly home. Sometimes, however, odors seem to come out of thin air. Keeping your house odor-free requires diligence and attention to detail. Cleaning up spills and messes as soon as you spot them is the best preventative medicine for reducing household odors. Keep plenty of cleaning supplies on hand. Post a piece of scrap paper on your refrigerator door so that when you run out of cleaning supplies, you can jot them down. Take your reminder with you on your next shopping trip.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Ammonia
- Ground coffee
- Baking soda
- Newspapers
- Paper towels
- Carpet cleaning machine
- Distilled white vinegar
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1
Plan your meals carefully to prevent food from piling up in your refrigerator and spoiling. Clean your refrigerator once a week and toss items that have gone bad. Wipe the shelves and bins with a damp sponge.
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2
Wash sour-smelling bath towels in batches of no more than three in very hot water and on the longest setting. During the rinse cycle, add 1 cup of ammonia. After washing, place in the dryer as soon as possible. If the smell persists, bacteria are still present in the towels. Wash them once more with bleach and dry thoroughly.
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3
Place a few tablespoons of fresh ground coffee into old socks and hang them in closets to eliminate musty odors.
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4
Change a litter box every other day if you have one cat and daily if you have multiple cats. After removing the used litter, clean the litter box with warm soapy water and rinse. Sprinkle baking soda on top of the fresh litter. Purchase a self-cleaning litter box if the smell gets out of hand.
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5
Clean up pet "accidents" by soaking up as much urine as you can with newspapers and paper towels. The quicker you soak up the urine, the easier it will be to remove, especially from carpet. Rinse the area with clean, cool water; then blot with more paper towels. If the stain has set in your carpet, use a stain remover and then use water only in a carpet-cleaning machine to rinse out the remover. Use the kind of machine that will vacuum up the water.
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6
Clear the smell of fish, cabbage or broccoli from your kitchen by placing a small bowl of distilled white vinegar near the source of the smell. The vinegar will absorb the odor.
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7
Combat bathroom odors by pouring a cup of distilled white vinegar into your toilet bowl. Let the vinegar stand for at least 5 minutes; then scrub and flush.
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8
Eliminate odors in your microwave by mixing 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook the mixture on high for 2 to 3 minutes; then wipe the interior and turntable with the mixture. Use a clean wet sponge to remove the baking soda residue.
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