Help me get rid of (or at least cover) lingering smell in my house

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Someone visited yesterday and I can still smell them today. I'm not quite sure what the smell is and it's not my business to suss out what, as the person was here in a professional capacity. However, they visit weekly so this will be an ongoing issue.

I'm not into air fresheners etc. and I wonder if anyone has any suggestions of stuff I might already have in the house and could use to deal with the lingering smell?

Is it a bad smell or just a ‘not my house’ smell?

Is it coming from soft furnishings like the sofa or lingering in the air?

DP has a friend who piles on the cologne like he’s trying to drown himself and I could still smell it on our sofa for days after he’d been round. Sprinkled a load of bicarb on the sofa and let it sit for an hour then hoovered it up.

Burn something - it gets rid of smells.

Reed diffusers! Incense sticks! Cheap scented candles!

open the windows?

they haven't brought a plant? hyacinth season is starting <boak>

Nag Champa incense sticks on Ebay.

It's a bad smell, like some sort of odour from body or hair.

The only thing they touched is an office chair and I've smelled that and it isn't the culprit. It's in the air!

A few weeks ago I had to wash my coat as I realised it was smelling iffy. In hindsight I think it's because this visitor had put their coat on top of mine on the hooks.

I won't be using reed diffusers etc.

You mean musky odour?
I would just mop the whole house with bleach.

Get a chef's candle from Prices and burn it for a hour or so in the area where it smells worse.

A little dish of bicarb can also absorb lingering smells

Is it synthetic fragrance you’re opposed to or all fragrance? If all then I’d open all the windows for a good hour and pop a bowl of bicarb in the worst affected rooms.

If you don’t mind natural fragrance then I’d use a bit of dilute essential oils in a spray bottle in addition.

Prevention is probably better than cure so next time have the windows open before they come.

Open the windows, let some fresh air blow through. Air freshener etc will just mask a bad smell with another bad smell.

Slow boil a pot of water with a chopped up orange, cinnamon stick and ginger. The vapour should seep into everywhere the person's odour did.

Open all windows the minute they leave. Use bicarb and vinegar spray where they sat. Burn a candle near by.

Don't cover it! Nowt worse than a horrible smell mixed with a sickly smell like a reed diffuser 🤢

Don't cover it! Nowt worse than a horrible smell mixed with a sickly smell like a reed diffuser 🤢

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I don't really like spraying fragrance around, even if it's natural essential oils as they can be an irritant and I don't want to affect any other visitors.

I have put bicarb on the seat, opened the windows and I'm trying @Malariahilaria 's suggestion as I have those ingredients in the house anyway.

Small bowl of bicarb with a drop or two of fabric conditioner (if you use that), or essential oil if not.

Oh I see you don't want to use essential oils either.

I had someone in my house recently in a professional capacity whose smell made me gag. believe It was the smell of someone smoking in the car ... doesn't happen much now but people who said they were non smokers used to come in to work smelling like this! After a little while I had to ask her to leave as I couldn't concentrate beyond the smell.

Febreze on any fabrics, neutralising deodorant and/or candle.

Lemons sliced in half absorb smell and also smell nice

Incense does the trick, and I quite like the smokeyness which replaces the smell you're trying to get rid of.

Bicarbonate of soda or coffee, beans or ground, both neutralise smells. Place small bowls/jars in the room or around the house.