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What do you use to make your house smell good?
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whirlwind




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 8:08 pm
I've used air wick plug ins but am constantly buying refills. Scented candles and reed diffusers work somewhat but mostly in the small area around where I put them. Maybe it's the brands I've used? Wondering if anyone uses something that you are happy with.
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amother
Cyan


 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 8:17 pm
I think the fumes of the items above just irritate my sinuses.
I use cleaning and cooking.
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 8:18 pm
Lot's of fresh air and sunshine. I don't do well with manufactured scents so if I do need an indoor air freshener I'll use a Pure Citrus™ product. I also make sure that the trash goes out daily, the compost is in a sealed bin and the bathroom is clean.
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ruby slippers




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 8:21 pm
boil water with 2 cinnamon sticks in it
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PassionFruit




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 9:15 pm
1. boil cinnamon stick, slices of orange, one cardamom pod, two cloves [then strain and add sugar for a spicy tea]
2. bake anything!
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SingALong




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 9:16 pm
I spray and wipe down my counters often with mr clean Debrecen, the green one, the kitchen smells great after that. When I cook fish or fry chicken or anything strong smelling I leave a bowl of vinegar on the counter, it really soaks up the smell somehow. I sometimes leave a few drops of mr clean in the toilet after cleaning, and in the sink drain, the smell lingers in the bathroom for awhile.
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oliveoil




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 9:37 pm
fresh air and murpheys oil spray

sounds like you are over-scenting
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 9:49 pm
All good ideas. A fan is good to have, even a small one. Put it on the window facing out. Some run on batteries, too.

A ceiling fan is a fine thing, the kind with lights in it. If you have an overhead light, you might replace it with a light-fan. That needs to be installed by someone who knows how.
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baschabad




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 10:12 pm
A bread-machine. Put up a cinnamon raisin bread and your house smells like heaven. Plus, you get fresh bread!
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mandr




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 10:26 pm
Wear clean clothing with a good fabric softener scent.

Clean counters daily with a cleanser that has a scent you enjoy.

Cook foods, rather than using a microwave. Somehow the microwave makes foods give off a skewed smell and it's not very good.

Use furniture polish.

Let the sun into your house.
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solo




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 09 2015, 10:28 pm
Open windows. Especially in the kitchen when cooking.
Baking soda in the fridge freezer spice cabinets.
Close the kitchen door while cooking.
Essential oils in the laundry.
I currently have a diffuser that scents only the surrounding area. Same as u. I like it near the entrance
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 2:27 am
I use an essential oil diffuser. I am VERY sensitive to perfumes and artificial air fresheners, including ones that claim to be "natural," but pure essential oils don't irritate me at all! I find that depending which oils I use and how great the general air flow is, the scent sometimes spreads over my entire (small) apartment but if I need serious freshening I'll move the diffuser around, about an hour in each room.
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Volunteer




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 4:06 pm
To all of these good suggestions, I will add:

get some houseplants. This really helped me. Some plants clean the air better than others. I have a peace lily, english ivy, and aloe vera. Herb plants are also nice. Many people like philodendrons, but don't get one if you have small children or pets that might eat a leaf (they are poisonous).
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amother
Amber


 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 4:12 pm
Why do you need something to make your house smell good? Wouldn't it be better to find the source of the unpleasant smell and get rid of it?
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Fox




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 4:13 pm
seeker wrote:
I use an essential oil diffuser. I am VERY sensitive to perfumes and artificial air fresheners, including ones that claim to be "natural," but pure essential oils don't irritate me at all! I find that depending which oils I use and how great the general air flow is, the scent sometimes spreads over my entire (small) apartment but if I need serious freshening I'll move the diffuser around, about an hour in each room.


Can you tell us more about this?

I have a small electric diffuser that I initially got to use with pure lavendar extract. I'm sensitive (in a good way) to aromatherapy in general, and I thought the lavendar would be good for relaxing and sleeping. Turns out DH is allergic to lavendar, though, so there went that good idea.

I'd really like to find some other oil extracts and/or combinations that smell great and/or have aromatherapy effects, but I can never decide what to buy or who to buy it from.
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seeker




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 4:32 pm
I use Young Living and would be happy to explain how and why but probably would be easier in person/phone. They have an amazing selection; I am one of those people who has an opposite sort of effect from lavender so I tried some of their other suggestions for calming and they work great and smell beautiful. I use them for other effects besides calming as well, for example peppermint is energizing (did NOT have same effect from generic brand peppermint. This is the real thing.)
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ven




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 5:05 pm
I use the rituals home fragrance sticks ! They make me so happy !
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Smile1234




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 5:24 pm
I agree with those that said bake something.

On Friday a neighbor knocked on my door to pick something up right after I had sprayed down my kitchen table with a windex like spray... I had not washed my floors for shabbos yet, but she said "wow your house smells so clean!" So I guess windex could do it:)
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 5:57 pm
I am not into added fragrances but I love the smell of fresh air and cleanliness. Sunshine, of which I actually have very little, destroys many odor-causing organisms, so I keep my shades open during the day except in midsummer when the burden of the heat outweighs the advantage of odor control. I keep windows open as much as possible and run an exhaust fan as much as possible.

If there is an offensive odor, follow your nose till you find the source, and deal with it. Never put clothes back in the closet without letting them air out first. Never put anything in the hamper or a closet that isn't bone dry. Never put a mop, sponge or rag away wet. Pack out-of-season clothes in boxes with a few bars of soap to prevent that stale, been-shut-away-in-solitary-with-no-air-or-light-for-too-long odor. Never store clothes long-term that aren't squeaky clean, freshly washed or dry-cleaned. Take your seldom-used clothes out of the closet--even a closet you use daily, if the clothes are in the deep recesses and don't get worn--and air them out for as long as it takes to deodorize. If it's been a few years and the clothes really reek, wash them first if they are washable; it may take a month or more to dissipate the odor. Avoid carpeting and fabric-upholstered furnishings and go for upholstery that does not absorb liquids and can be wiped down. Wash your trash cans early and often. Check under your sinks for leaks and condensation.

Baking soda, charcoal briquets (plain charcoal, NOT quick-start, which is impregnated with lighter fluid) or crumpled-up newspaper will absorb moisture and odors inside an enclosed space like a closet, fridge, container or cabinet. But these are after-the-fact measures when something died in there, or you stored a truckload of onions or fish or other smelly stuff. They are no substitute for frequent cleaning. Just sticking a box of baking soda in a dirty fridge is like, lehavdil, tovel vesheretz beyado.

Baking is an emergency measure for covering up odors that for some reason you can't get rid of. I prefer this to spraying substances, even relatively innocuous ones, but if I had company coming in ten minutes and someone had just puked all over the kitchen floor, I would mop the floor with vinegar and then spray some lemon or lavender essential oil shaken in a bottle of water.

Learn what odors mean. my sister-in-law had a chemical process done in her house and was dismayed that the smell lingered so long. Eventually she realized that what she was smelling wasn't the chemicals, which were long gone, but a mouse trap that had done its job. (eeeewww...)
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whirlwind




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 10 2015, 6:45 pm
amother wrote:
Why do you need something to make your house smell good? Wouldn't it be better to find the source of the unpleasant smell and get rid of it?

I think this is a personal preference kind of thing. I don't have any bad odor in my house. of course there is the occasional dirty diaper, other kid-related smells, or spill in the oven but those are part of life and I deal with them as they come and get rid of them ASAP. So no problems or lingering bad smells, I just happen to like the smell of certain air freshener and and oils. So I'm looking for a product that will emit a pleasant scent on a continual basis but not break the bank.
Would love to hear more about the essential oils used by seeker and others or any other suggestions from those who, like me, enjoy the extra fragrance and are not just trying to cover up bad smells.
I havent used all the products I mentioned at once (in response to the poster who thought I may be over scenting) these are just things I've tried in the past but haven't been perfectly happy with because they are either too expensive or don't carry the scent through a large enough area.
Any other suggestions?
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