How do you de-smell a house?

[natura]

Moving into a temporary rental soon, for the next 8 months, while the landlady is working overseas and I look for a place to buy.

It's furnished with all her stuff (I'm not going to move in my own furniture for such a short period) and it has a very particular atmospheric scent.

Not a dirty smell, just... a bit lentils-and-compost-and-crystal-deodorant-and-patchouli musty.

My sense of smell is sharp, and I find these kinds of house smells quite oppressive.

How would you shift gears on the smell of a home?

Baking soda in every room? Lemons? Just keep the windows open all the time and hope it makes its way out?

Couple of drops of Zoflora in a bowl of warm water and wipe all surfaces down
Wear gloves though as it can be harsh on bare skin

Mist soft furnishings with white vinegar

Windows open as much as possible, I put lemon in a bowl in the microwave to clean kitchen/cooking smells.
Lavender in water in a spray bottle and spray soft furnishings and carpet. Maybe shampoo soft furnishings and rugs/carpets if necessary.

'Hessian weave' i call that smell.

Windows open as much as possible, and open all the doors for as long as you can each day to really clear out stale air and bring fresh in. You can spray lavender-scented furniture polish on all the radiators, keep as many wardrobes, cupboard doors and drawers open as well, and maybe find some plug-in air fresheners that you like the smell of.

Wash everything. Wipe down all doors radiators etc. probably clean the carpets. Good luck.

Ooh, some great tips here!

I tend to avoid air fresheners as I find them a bit intense – but lavender water misted around sounds do-able, @fiorentina.

@LovePoppy undiluted? Just straight up vinegar?

@ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews that's an excellent term for it. It's a bit like that bag of potatoes you forgot you had at the back of the cupboard...

Are there carpets, if so maybe they're Hessian backed and perhaps a bit damp in places, in the doorway where wet shores and boots may have trampled in or under the windows and that could be where the smell coming from, it's just like wet tattie sacks

I’ve done both undiluted and cut with water. Maybe half and half?

I’ve washed walls with it cut half and half

Bowls of vinegar left in room
Bowls of baking soda left in room
Clean surfaces as much as possible
Air the rooms.