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When it comes to a home, an important part of a first impression is the scent that greets a person walking through the front door. When people walk into your home, their senses immediately take in the atmosphere. Is the home clean, neat, and organized? Is it cluttered and messy? The eyes of those who enter can quickly assess how clean and neat a home is, and at the same time, the first breath a visitor takes in your home can give the impression of a clean, welcoming scent, or a dirty, musty odor that makes your home unappealing.
If you’ve cleaned your home and it looks neat and attractive but still smells like dirty laundry, must and mold, or like your dog, the first impression a visitor gets of your home may not be what you’d hope for.
We all know people whose homes not only always look clean and clutter-free, but also smell amazing when you walk in the door. So how do they do it? Is there something they know that you don’t know? What are some tips to make a home smell clean, fresh, and welcoming?
Removing Must is a Must
No matter how clean and neat your home is, it will still greet people at the door with an unpleasant musty odor if you’re home has mold, or the atmosphere inside your home contains too much moisture. High humidity levels inside a home will cause your cooling and heating unit to have to work much harder to control the temperature inside your home, and often they can’t keep up with it. This allows the air inside your home to gain that musty odor that you might not even notice yourself anymore, but it hits visitors in the face like a dirty sock.
If you notice frequent condensation on the inside of windows in your home, or small black mold and mildew spots growing on the walls of your home, it’s a sign that you need a dehumidifier. A good dehumidifier will reduce the moisture level in your home and keep the house free of the dampness that results in mustiness and mold. This is a hugely important tip to get your home started in the direction of always smelling welcoming when people walk through your door.
Simmer Scents
Anytime the atmosphere inside your home needs a quick lift, or when you are preparing for visitors, an easy and natural way to fragrance your home is to create a simmer pot. You can easily throw into a pot of simmering water items you already have in your kitchen to instantly fragrance your home. You can cut apples and oranges into quarters and toss them into the pot, along with spices like cinnamon and cloves, and let the sweet and spicy fragrance fill your home with a scent resembling Christmas morning. Add a splash of vanilla extract and your home will smell as though you’ve spent the whole day baking delicious treats.
De-Stink Your Sink
If your kitchen smells less than fresh even after cleaning, the odor may be coming from your garbage disposal. Food gets stuck on the blades and sides of the disposal and rots, leaving a sewer-type odor that can permeate your kitchen. There are many ways to clean your disposal, including purchasing products specifically made to clean and deodorize garbage disposals. You can also do it yourself by tossing in ice cubes, cutting up lemon slices, and grinding away buildup and odor. A cup of dry baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar can also clean and de-funk a garbage disposal.
Pet Pungence
While you probably don’t want to get rid of your dog, you probably do wish you could get rid of the odor of your dog permeating your home. Sweeping and vacuuming up loose pet hair and dander is critical in lowering the dog odor factor in your home. You can also clean your carpets with a good carpet cleaner at least once per month, using a pet odor and stain removing cleaner. Couches and dog beds should also be brushed free of pet hair and sprayed with pet deodorizer and cleaned whenever possible. Leather or faux leather sofas are easier to clean pet hair away from than fabric upholstery.
Melt Away Miasma
Wax melts are an easy way to mask the scent of your home in a hurry. There are many beautiful plug-in wax warmers available that look decorative while they fragrance your home. There are seasonal scents like pumpkin spice and fraser fir, or basic daily scents that can leave your home smelling citrus clean, or like you’ve been baking banana bread and cinnamon rolls all day long. Nothing makes a house feel like home more than the scent of fresh baking—even if it really comes from tossing a cupcake scented square of wax into a warmer.
If you prefer your wax in candle form, those are instant atmosphere enhancers that look beautiful burning while they fragrance your home. You can also leave open scented candles unlit inside closets and cupboards to subtly add a scent to your home.
If essential oils are more your thing, you can enhance mood and add a lovely atmospheric fragrance to your home by using an essential oil diffuser rather than a wax warmer or candle. Your guests will wonder why visiting your home makes them feel so good!
De-Funk the Fridge
A lot of unpleasant odors in the home come from the refrigerator. Every time the door opens and closes, a waft of inside odors emanates out into the room. A clean refrigerator is important to keep your home smelling fresh. Toss out any forgotten left-overs and those dried, curled up vegetables in the back corner of the produce bin. A quick clean with baking soda and water helps to rid the fridge of unpleasant odors. A mixture of warm water and white vinegar with a dash of dish soap will also clean your fridge and leave it odor free.
You’ll find that opening the door to your home and having a clean, fresh fragrance or a spicy, home-baking scent will make your home your sanctuary, as well as a place visitors will admire and want to come back to!
Resources— GoodHousekeeping, RealSimple.com, TidyMom