How do you keep your house smelling nice?

smelling - i want my house to smell as frehs as this flower :-)
Australia
March 10, 2007 12:07am CST
My house is clean, but you know how you enter some people's houses and they just have a nice smell about them? i don't really want to buy air fresheners, as they're too expensive.. some are $10 or more and then you have to keep buying refills for them. i burn incense sometimes, but it only temporarily gives the house a nice smell. Any ideas?
10 responses
@cassidy22 (2974)
• United States
11 Mar 07
I have 4 dogs, so you tell me! I clean often, I burn candles and I keep my dogs clean. I also do laundry often and scrub the rugs, not just vaccuum often. My friend sells these things called "Scentsy" it's like candles, as it uses scented wax, but it doens't have a wick to burn, so they are safe. You can't accidentally start a fire with them. I have one burning now, with a pumpkin pie scented wax in it. It's great!
1 person likes this
@cassidy22 (2974)
• United States
1 May 07
You're right, we can have anything from apple pie to "new car smell" in a candle!! There have been studies about how smells stimulate a need in people... some scents make you more amorous, some make you hungry. I need to avoid the ones that make me hungry - apple pie, pumpkin pie and cinnamon smells probably do that!!
1 person likes this
• Australia
11 Mar 07
You Americans have amazing scents over there! I've seen a list of scents you can buy (to put in candles or what not) and it's unbelievable! Any smell you can imagine can be made into a candle!
@leedug (920)
• United States
10 Mar 07
Glade candles have always kept our house smelling GREAT. They aren't that expensice (around $2.50), but the best thing is that they last a heck of a lot longer than spraying some air freshener. They burn over 24 hours and the scent still remains well after. I get compliments about how well my house smells all the time, and people think that we must be constantly cleaning...not true! The Glade candles just really work well. I prefer the French Vanills or the Cinnamon and Custard. The "dessert" smelling ones seem to liner much longer after the candle is blown out. Another thing that we do sometimes is lay a dryer sheet (like Gain or Bounce) under a cushion or in a basket. It makes the house smell very fresh. Good Luck!
• Australia
10 Mar 07
Thanks for that-I'll definitely keep an eye out for Glade candles. But I'm sorry, I have no idea what a dryer sheet is! (maybe it's an american thing???)
• United States
12 Mar 07
Oh wow...that dryer thing is a great tip. I love the smell of fresh clean laundry too!
• United States
10 Mar 07
Oh man I am fragrant house junkie! I have tons of things around the house that aid in keeping it smelling good. I have a liquid potpourri burner that I use quite often. I have the tea light kind. A large bottle of liquid costs about 3-4 dollars and tea light candles are about 1 dollar for 10. I also have the Glade Plug-Ins that have the refillable cartridges that diffuse. I have one of those in my bathroom and one in my front room. Those refills are about 3 dollars and one last for about 30 days. I have a concentrated car air freshener (the leaf looking kind that hangs from your review mirror) in my bedroom. They come in good scents too, and those are about 2 dollars for a pack of 3, and each last 30-40 days as well. Then I have a few aerosol air fresheners too that I use to freshen the house as needed. I also have fabric refresher foam, the kind you can spray on your cloth furniture and carpet to fight odors in general. I have found those at the dollar store! I love a clean smelling house, and do not have a lot of money either, so a little combination of all of these work well for me. Lots of people compliment me on the scents throughout the house a lot! Hope some of these ideas have helped.
1 person likes this
• Australia
10 Mar 07
Yeah i'm a fan of the leaf car freshener too! I've never really thought of putting them in my house though..thanks for the idea!
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
11 Mar 07
I find that by absorbing the bad odors, there is little need to use anything to mask them! I put a couple of bricks of charcoal (yup, like is used in the old fashioned grills) in a dish and putting under a couch or bed in each room, it absorbs odors. If there is a bad odor from cooking (i.e., fish) I moisten a rag with vinegar and wave it around in the air. I open windows when I can. All these get rid of odors without adding chemicals to the air!
1 person likes this
• Australia
11 Mar 07
Great ideas there. I believe taht Bi-carb soda also does a good job of soaking up odours. That jogs my memory-I remember reading somewhere a while ago that if you put a bucket of water in your car overnight it removes bad odours. I don't know how I'd go having buckets of water in every room of the house though! I'm such a clutz I'd knock them over for sure :-p
@inked4life (4224)
• United States
11 Mar 07
If the weather permits I try to open all the windows in the house for a couple of hours a day. Nothing quite like that fresh air smell all through the house. Also, making a pot of coffee always leaves a pleasant smell through the house.
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Mar 07
Yankee Candle tart warmers. Love them!
1 person likes this
• Australia
20 Mar 07
haha once again i have no idea what a tart warmer is :-p I love your avatar though!
• Philippines
16 Apr 07
Hi, Coffeshot! The solution to your problem is in your username. Coffee is known to absorb odor. I learned that when I was still a barista at Starbucks. ;-) Just put dried coffee grounds in a nylon stocking and hang it in a closet or anywhere in your house. You can also try placing coffee beans in decorative bowls or plates in your living room table to serve the same purpose. And if you rub it between your hands, it can even eliminate strong odor from, say, garlic or onion.
• United States
1 May 07
Soy-based candles or potpourri work really well and are fairly inexpensive. I also would try burning a pleasant incense stick near your air conditioner or furnace and let it waft up the airvents and heating ducts so it is all over the home.
@FOUZAN_1 (331)
• Pakistan
13 Apr 07
hi there... well if people in the house are tidy then the house will reflect the same scent of their neatness!
@palonghorn (5479)
• United States
13 Apr 07
I love a fresh smelling house too, so when the weather permits it, I love to have as many windows open as I can to let in the fresh air. I also like to burn candles that are not strong but have a nice light scent to them. My boyfriend gave me one for Christmas, from the Yankeecandle factory, called white linen, it really smells good and the scent lingers through out the rooms. I also love Fabreeze, I usually spray down the upholstered furniture and rugs at least 1 -2 times a week.