Over 15 Natural Remedies for Bad Odors in the Home
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Just unpacked entire newspapers which report historic events from the 1940's forward. Ugh! Smells awful. I would like to gift the paper bought on my daughter's birth date in 1984 but it smells so old! Any suggestions to freshen up the odor without destroying the newspaper?
Got a deep freeze set outside several months with spoiled food in it How do i get rid of odor?
Clean with 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Spray around locks, hinges, and any crevices. Unplug and let dry for a couple days. If this does not work, here are solutions:
1) Place trays of activated charcoal, clean kitty litter or baking soda on the shelves of the refrigerator or freezer. Run the appliance empty for 2 or 3 days. Activated charcoal can be purchased from stores that sell aquarium and terrarium supplies.
2) Place freshly ground coffee on cookie sheets in the refrigerator or freezer and close the door. Again, run the appliance empty for 2 or 3 days. A slight coffee odor may remain, but will disappear after washing and rinsing.
3) Pack each refrigerator or freezer shelf with crumpled newspaper. Set a cup of water on the top shelf or sprinkle the newspaper with water. Allow the refrigerator or freezer to run for approximately 5 or 6 days. This method is time consuming, but effectively removes strong odors.
Unfortunately, if the odor has penetrated the insulation due to dripping meat, etc, this might need a professional technician.
My favourite way to get rid of smells is a diluted peroxide spray, 1 part peroxide to 9 parts water. It got dog smell off upholstery (do a test first to make sure it won't bleach the fabric) and sprayed around the air and on the carpeting helped when tenants hot boxed the hallway. My favourite use for it is that "boys have used my bahtroom" smell that sometimes persists even after cleaning, spray the toilet and floor and walls surrounding it with peroxide (here, I'll use it straight from the bottle but diluted also works) and the peroxide seems to react with whatever chemicals are making the smell. It's also a great carpet deodorizer, I now exclusively use that in my rug cleaner. Diluted peroxide does lose potency over time so mix a new batch if what you've got has sat around longer than a day or two. If you mark 150 ml on a spray bottle, add 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of 3% peroxide to the bottle then fill it with water to your 150 ml mark and you're good to go.
AJ is correct regarding hydrogen peroxide.
Unlike bleach, 3% Peroxide is a safe oxidizing agent that can attack organic materials without bleaching most colors (always spot check in an inconspiculous place first). Peroside is actually a more powerful oxidizer than bleach and is safer for you and the environment. Although most parents didn't think of it in terms of a household cleaner or deoderizer, it is the goto for most parents for cleaning minor skin cuts and abraisions.
With that being said, it is also a safe alternative to bleach for disinfecting any tangible item including food. If you allow a 3% or diluted solution to sit on a tangible surface for 90 - 120 seconds you will disinfect - degrade organic matter as well as annihilating microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, pathogenes) and providing full sterilization.
Mold or mildew in the home can contribute to smells in the home. These are caused by microbial VOCs and are just one example of smells that peroxide can eliminate. Peroxide will oxidize most organic materials, thus the reason it makes a great deoderoizer.
Peroxide can also reduce the smell of animals that have tangled with skunks. Skunk spray contains sulfer-based organic compounds and thiols. These natural chemicals can be neutralized by spraying your dog with a 3% peroxide, or a mixture of peroxide, baking soda and dawn dish soap. Leave on the fur for about 5 minutes, and repeat as necessary. Watch for irritation and possible hair bleaching but this should significantly reduce the skunk odor.
1 quart 3 percent hydrogen peroxide
1 teaspoon grease-cutting dish detergent
1/4 cup baking soda
The pH of 3% peroxide at room temperature is 6.2. Do not heat or cool this mixture as it becomes unstable and combustable.
Peroxides in stronger concentrations, should be handled with extreme caution as the higher concentrations do come with hazards and should only be handled by trained persons. https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1015.pdf
Another posted wrote: I keep a two-quart pan one-half full of water on a low flame, in which I add cloves or nutmeg or cinnamon. Keeps the entire kitchen, and part of the house, smelling just like Thanksgiving or Christmas. The spices will need replacing at times. comment: I will try this again as I have in the past; Cloves can be bought in large quantities; Cloves have a potent aroma; last long and are less expensive than Nutmeg.
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my house has a smell (i notice it when i come home and the house has been closed up) of stale cooking. Please does anyone have any tips for eradicating it! i have saucers of vinegar dotted around, and saucers of baking soda but it still seems quite overpowering. thanks
Hi, I just bought a second hand car that unfortunately had one of those vanilla smelling trees hanging from the rear view mirror, it is causing asthma. We have washed the plastic interior with vinegar and sprinkled the car liberally with baking soda. Any ideas of how to get rid of this smell or how long it’ll take to go away? Thank you
My tiny apartment has a strange odor I've been unable to identify. It's not really a bad smell but it's not a fresh, clean smell either. It prevents the place from smelling like mine. I've tried a few things including strategically placed dishes of baking soda with separate dishes of white vinegar. When the weather's nice I open the windows to air the place out. Most recently I bought the bamboo charcoal bags. On top of this, I regularly burn incense (which I happen to enjoy). Nothing has worked so far. The odor is just as strong as it was when I first moved in 9 months ago. It hits me in the face every time I enter my apartment.