14 Ways to Make Your House Smell Fresh and Clean

Do you remember walking into your parents' home as a child and how it made you feel? Our sense of smell is the only sense that is directly linked to our memory. It is true that walking into a home that smells fresh and clean will have a great effect on us whilst walking into a home with unpleasant smells lingering in the air can make us feel ill at ease.

Smells are not only linked to our memory but also to our emotions, when we smell something pleasant will fill us with joy. Nearly everything these days contains some level of fragrance to attract consumers. It is important that when you walk into your clean house, it smells fresh and clean. Let’s look at some fresh-smelling home tips to get you started.

Idea #1: Clean and Vacuum Carpets and Floors

Carpets are a magnet for dust particles, bacteria, allergens, and dust mites that produce bad smells. It is also important to treat carpet spills or accidents as soon as they happen. Not cleaning and vacuuming your carpets regularly is not only a health hazard but can leave behind a bad residual smell that will affect you daily. It is also recommended to steam clean your carpets every 6 months or at the very least once a year to keep your home smelling fresh and clean.

On the other hand, floors should also be vacuumed or swept and washed at least once a week to eliminate dust mites and dust balls that can leave behind a bad odor and become a health risk.

Idea #2: Clean Curtains and Blinds

This may seem like tedious work to clean each blind one by one, but dust accumulates on blinds and can cause bad smells in the long run. It is highly recommended to clean blinds once a week, if possible, just keep in mind that the more frequent your cleaning of the blinds the less daunting the task will be as time goes on. This is a great tip on keeping your house smelling fresh and clean.

Curtains and other draperies should be frequently replaced and washed. This can extend the life of your drapes while leaving your home smelling fresh. This is especially important in homes with smokers, pets, and young children. Trying to mask the bad smell with air fresheners could make it worse.

Idea #3: Clean Upholstery, Decorative Throw Pillows, and Other Furniture Fabric

When vacuuming your carpets, it is advised to use a special vacuum attachment and vacuum all your upholstery, including pillows and all other fabric surfaced items such as pet decorations. The accumulated dust and dirt cause bad odors and can also add to the wear and tear of the furniture and fabric. Spills must be treated immediately, this isn’t just to remove the stains but also to avoid leaving traces behind that can turn into bad smells. It is also a great idea to machine-wash all furniture coverings and throw pillows, if possible, to eliminate unpleasant smells.

Idea #4: Change and Clean Bed Linens

It is unavoidable that our sheets can collect a lot of dust, dirt, fungi, bacteria, sweat, skin cells and animal dander. This can also seep into the mattress, causing undesirable smells that linger in the bedrooms. It is recommended to change beds every 6 to 8 years.

Moreover, it is essential to change sheets once a week. To eliminate all odors emitted from your bedding, it is recommended to soak your sheets in a vinegar solution (1 part vinegar and 5 parts hot water) for a couple of hours before washing them, hanging them to dry outside is also advised. This will leave your home smelling fresh from room to room, and it will help you sleep at night. This tip is especially important for people who have asthma or suffer from allergies.

Idea #5: Dust All Furniture Surfaces

The accumulation of dust on furniture is most likely not surprising to us, no matter how much we dust, it seems to reappear within minutes. That is natural and can’t be helped, however, a large quantity of dust from your furniture can become airborne and release a musty smell. Besides just a terrible smell in the air, dust can accelerate your furniture’s wear and tear and pose several health risks, especially for people with allergies or asthma. Many people try to mask the bad smells with air fresheners and scented candles loaded with chemicals. A much better and healthier way is to regularly dust all furniture surfaces to keep the furniture as free from dust as possible and keep your home smelling fresh and clean.

Idea #6: Dust Light Fixtures, Including Light Bulbs

Dusting light fixtures, including light bulbs, may seem a bit excessive, however, burning dust is common when dusty lights are turned on. The odor will eventually go away, but it is highly unpleasant, which can add to a room not smelling clean. For a nice smelling home, it is important to make sure everything is as clean as it can be.

Light fixtures and light bulbs should be cleaned every 2 weeks to ensure that dust, cobwebs, bugs, dirt, and all things attracted to the light don’t accumulate. Please note that cleaning a light bulb must be done when the lightbulb is turned off and cleaned gently to make sure it doesn’t burst, for they are fragile.

Idea #7: Clean Mirrors, Windows, and All Glass Surfaces

Dust accumulates on every surface, including mirrors and windows. An important way to make your house smell clean is to open the windows and let the fresh air in.

However, that may also allow for dirt and dust to stick to the windows, which is why windows should be cleaned once a week to prevent a dust build-up. There are many DIY window cleaners that use a mixture of 1 part vinegar, 4 parts water, and a drop of dish soap to avoid using too many unnatural products for frequent cleaning. Mirrors should be cleaned once a week as well to keep your house smelling fresh.

Idea #8: Clean The Kitchen

An obvious way to keep your house smelling good is to make sure the kitchen is clean. It is important to regularly organize and clean out the fridge to ensure that no food goes off in there, this could contribute to a bad smell in your house.

In addition, another soft spot in the kitchen is the garbage area, this includes taking out the trash routinely and regularly cleaning the garbage can itself. It needs to be cleaned at least once a week because spills from trash will cause bad odors to emit from the kitchen throughout the house.

Idea #9: Clean The Bathroom

There is no way to avoid this part of our cleaning routine, it is a known fact that an unclean bathroom will smell. To prevent these bad odors from spreading throughout the house, it is essential to wipe down bathroom surfaces daily and do a thorough deep clean once a week. The main reason why bathrooms smell is a mixture of moisture and towels or other things we may keep in the bathroom, this can contribute to a musty and dirty smell. Keep your house smelling fresh and clean while keeping bacteria, viruses, and germs away from your loved ones. Pay special attention to the bathroom, this will greatly improve your quality of life.

Idea #10: Clean Garbage Bins

As we mentioned above, the kitchen trash can must be cleaned, but we have trash bins in nearly every house room. Trash cans must be regularly emptied and cleaned monthly. This is to eliminate germs and eliminate unpleasant odors that could come from old food, sanitary napkins, used diapers, and other random trash that we throw out regularly. An unclean trash can, if not cleaned regularly, will smell even if empty. It is also important to note that the garbage disposal, cupboard, or area near the trash bins also needs to be cleaned and disinfected every month. This is an important tip on how to keep your house smelling fresh.

Idea #11: Clean Window Sills and Door Trimmings

Dust, dirt, and mold are lead causes of musty odor. It is easy not to notice window sills and door trimmings as important places to keep clean, but they are very important. If you tend to open your windows often and have potted plants on your windowsills, it is a must to frequently clean there, so the dirt and water from the plants don’t turn into mold. On the other hand, most of us leave doors open and don’t notice the dust buildup that forms on door trimmings and window trimmings. It takes little time to clean window sills and door trimmings, so it should be done once every 2 weeks for a fresh-smelling home.

Idea #12: Clean Home Air Vents

Air vents from your HVAC system disperse air throughout the entire house; without proper cleaning or care, you might encounter a buildup of mold or mildew in time. This mold going through the air ducts could not just disperse bad odors around the house but make you sick. There are many causes for this, such as bacteria, mildew, mold, pets, smoking, and a variety more.

It is recommended to clean air vents once a month to get the best results. In addition, proper maintenance and care of your HVAC system can help you save on energy costs and improve your system’s longevity. So, keep your house smelling fresh and make sure that your family and friends get to enjoy a safe and clean home.

Idea #13: Clean All Pipes and Drains

For a nicer and cleaner home, make sure you clean your pipes and drains. For example, if you throw food scraps and other debris down your kitchen sink drain, there is a chance it will decompose and release a terrible odor throughout your home. Using drain cleaners in your sinks can improve the overall atmosphere throughout the house. It is recommended to clean the pipes once every 2 weeks.

It is easy not to think of the plumbing as an important component of a fresh-smelling home, but it plays a great role. Nice-smelling pipes and drains equals a lovely smelling home.

Idea #14: Clean All Hard-To-Reach Places

A house is full of hard-to-reach places, it’s only once we start cleaning that we notice them. It is likely that cleaning those specific spots during the weekly clean is omitted to speed up the cleaning process. It is good to make a point to reach these places once a month when doing a thorough clean and leave no dust mite unturned.

Here are some of those hard-to-reach places: corners, behind heavy pieces of furniture, under and behind appliances, and any other nook and cranny that can be overlooked regularly. This will prevent a thick layer of dust from forming in these areas, and you will be one step closer to a house smelling clean.

Conclusion

For a fresh-smelling home, please follow the above EuroMaids' tips and incorporate them into your cleaning routine, you will feel a difference immediately. It is also a great idea to open the windows and let fresh air in and maybe bring in some flowers from time to time to add a wonderfully fragrant aroma to the home.

Want to make your house smell like a home? Contact us today for our professional home cleaning services!