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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Lovely smelling homes

191 replies

ToysRus56 · 26/04/2025 23:38

How do some homes smell so nice! Sort of across between clean laundry and freshly baked cakes?! I hate anything scented so don't like buying diffusers etc. We do washing several times a week and our home never smells like this!

OP posts:
Foolsgold74 · 28/04/2025 06:15

Catpuss66 · 27/04/2025 23:52

I would like to know what very upmarket houses use in their loos other than disgusting rim blocks or cages, Any ideas?

Edited

I clean in these kind of homes. It's nothing special cleaning product wise, just the same as any other house but invariably, it's very expensive candles/reed diffusers/sprays. It's definitely not fabreeze or airwick!!

Foolsgold74 · 28/04/2025 06:21

Leafy3 · 27/04/2025 22:19

I explicitly said I wasn't great at keeping on top of dust but I also have a physical disability which makes housework challenging enough and I can't afford a cleaner, so... one does what one can.

Feel free to come and clean them for me if it would save you from judging 😉

Edited

Under no circumstances am I judging you. It's an irrelevance to me what you personally do with your skirting boards. It was literally just a statement of fact that a twice a year dust of skirting boards does not constitute keeping on top of dust.

pollyglot · 28/04/2025 06:25

Keep windows open and grow basil and coriander in your kitchen

Amateurs10 · 28/04/2025 06:35

Every window opened for 15 minutes every day, winter summer. A complete blow out first thing every morning.

After cooking before I burn a lavender incense pyramid. Any cooking smell is gone with this and windows open.

Lots of plants. Cleaning regularly.

Catpuss66 · 28/04/2025 07:05

lunalovegood25 · 28/04/2025 00:52

probably £££ Aesop poo drops!

I do use home bargins rose loo spray, not too bad from a synthetic smell actually isn’t a sweet rose more of a green rose smell, the others smell rank. I use linen spray from TK maxx think from Olivia Blake. Anyone used Tallow & Ashe washing products wondering on longevity smell wise?

Daisydoesnt · 28/04/2025 08:30

I’m absolutely convinced it’s often the floors and hard surfaces that can make the difference between a fresh and stale smelling house. We stayed in a friend’s rental which we’d visited before and which always had a very slightly musty smell. I cleaned as usual, but it was only when I wiped out/ down all the cupboards, skirting boards and thoroughly washed the floors that it made a difference. When we checked out, our friends commented how amazing the house smelt! I didn't like to tell them how I’d done it.

SparrowFeet · 28/04/2025 09:02

@Catpuss66I've been using Tallow and Ash and find the longevity really good. My favourite is Icing on the Cake which is a vanilla smell. However I'm not used to using fabric conditioner so that might be pretty standard. I do think it smells less synthetic than others (apart from self care which I think just smells a bit like lenor).

Aesops poo drops make the bathroom smell lovely.

Fadesto · 28/04/2025 09:10

I have a dog, I really think people who say you wouldn’t know I have a cat/dog are lying to themselves. I’ve never ever walked into a house with a cat or dog and not been able to smell it. Even my own and he’s bathed regularly with clean sheets and the whole house is cleaned a lot.

Op I don’t think youre the only one who doesn’t think to do fabrics, dh and lots of my friends are the same, I’m always surprised, but it just doesn’t occur to them.
In case it’s useful some things I’ve noticed some other people don’t clean, but would help the smell.

  • coats by the front door. Wash them, spray them, air them out, they get musty.
  • under stairs cupboards, often stink, unless that room is air tight that smell is seeping out. Give it a clean, throw some things away, put a vent on the door for air flow, get a moisture catcher and put something that smells nice in there.
  • front door mats. No one should be in anyone’s house with shoes on, it’s disgusting. But if they walk in the house then take their shoes off, that mat is holding germs, and moisture. give it a wash or at least a spray.
  • skirting boards, dust them!
  • blinds - dust (or wash) them
  • curtains and pillows - wash them
  • use throws to cover your sofa and swap them out regularly with clean nice smelling ones. Though probably more important if you have kids and pets
  • carpets need regular cleaning
  • clean your bins
  • clean your fridge
  • clean inside things in your kitchen! If you open most people’s kitchen cupboards theres dust and crumbs and all sorts
  • wash and change your table cloths and mats

these don’t have to be weekly jobs, some like curtains can just be an annual or biannual thing, but they’re just things to keep on top of

Uricon2 · 28/04/2025 09:18

Love a nice candle but open windows are the biggest help. The Puressential spray mentioned upthread is fabulous, not cheap but really work and full of essential oils.

TweetingHurricane · 28/04/2025 09:19

No pets no kids
Carpets that haven’t had shoes on them
Furnishings washed regularly
No smoking
Bins totally sealed
Automatic sprays, reed diffusers etc

I fight a losing battle as I can only tick a few of them!

Objectrelations · 28/04/2025 09:21

Do a lot of cleaning and have a Berger lamp.

Starlight1984 · 28/04/2025 09:25

Agree with everyone else - open windows.

We have dogs but we have hard wood floors downstairs and they're not allowed on the sofa or bed unless there is a throw down (which then get washed weekly).

Also, Skandinavisk diffusers from John Lewis.

ItsARiot · 28/04/2025 09:47

Windows opened everyday. Even in winter, I open a few for at least 1/2 hour to get stale air out and fresh air in (usually morning time)
The bathroom window is open most of the day, if we are in. The window at the top of the house is also almost always cranked open. I don’t think I’ve closed it for about 5 weeks.

Wash bedding and towels once a week. I always dry towels properly after each use. Sometimes put them outside to air dry. Damp towels can smell pretty bad if not dried properly.

Laundry air dried outside as much as possible.

Always cook with windows open. Especially if using strong spices.

If you have carpets/rugs, give them a regular clean/ steam. Odours really get locked in the fibres, same with sofas. (Especially if you have pets and young kids!) Our sofa can smell pretty horrible at times - our toddler has spilled milk a few times & it reeks once dried & if not cleaned properly!

I clean the tiled floor in our hallway twice a week with a disinfectant from Astonish - it’s the green one, fresh pine. You only need a small amount in the water. It smells amazing, I don’t think it smells synthetic either. I’ve had several comments from visitors saying ‘ooooo, something smells nice’ or ‘it smells nice in here’

I don’t use candles or diffusers, but use a spray mixture of essential oils ( lavender and lemon) diluted with water - I spray curtains and rugs with it once a month.

Raggle · 28/04/2025 10:41

This reply has been hidden

This reply has been hidden until the MNHQ team can have a look at it.

HappyMamma2023 · 28/04/2025 11:10

For those of us with dogs. I spray and brush our German Shepherd every day with dog deodorant spray. So he smells nice (most of the time!!) and has a shiny coat. And it picks up fur that molts

OutandAboutMum1821 · 28/04/2025 11:21

Airing your home, even in Winter. When I do the weekly clean, I open all windows throughout the whole house and leave them open for at least half hour-all morning (weather dependent). I give everywhere a good spray of air freshener as well during this airing.

We don’t have pets, but my Mum does, she’s always airing her home and I think this really helps (hers doesn’t smell with the pets).

Also washing throws/bedding/curtains and wiping any spills round ovens, bins, etc.

Applesonthelawn · 28/04/2025 11:39

I don't dust, I wash down everything with hot water and fairy liquid and polish dry. Polish smells pretty horrible and just builds up. I think that makes a big difference. Windows, tops of wardrobes, inside wardrobes, skirting boards, doors and handles. Massive fan of hot soapy water.

spiderlight · 28/04/2025 12:18

I had a loo-cleaning revelation a few months back and started giving ours a good spray with Simple Solution every few days. It's for cleaning up dog wee and it has enzymes specifically to break down urine, as well as being a disinfectant. Total game-changer for a lovely clean-smelling bathroom!

Oakmilkwanker · 28/04/2025 12:55

Tallow and ash washing liquids and fabric sprays are amazing 😍

ScribblingPixie · 28/04/2025 13:45

When I'm cleaning I wipe surfaces with a damp cloth with a couple of drops of essential oil dripped on it.

eqpi4t2hbsnktd · 28/04/2025 14:38

lunalovegood25 · 27/04/2025 01:27

Same here. I have a few of those diffusers
If I give people a card or present they always comment how nice it smells
I also burn wax melts which I know some people hate, and I have windows open most of the day

wash coats, throws, cushion covers often to get rid of any cooking smells (open plan)
Hoover and clean regularly
method rhubarb floor cleaner

Method Rhubarb anything reminds me of lockdown. It was the only thing left in the supermarket...

Barbarasmum · 28/04/2025 17:43

Yes to - you can always smell when a dog is resident and open the windows!

I've always hated air fresheners but got a free reed diffuser when ordering perfume from Gallivant. It's 'East end boys, West End girls' and despite the terrible name is exactly how I want my house to smell.

Notellinganyone · 28/04/2025 18:05

faerietales · 27/04/2025 10:41

I've been told a few times our home smells really nice.

We open the windows and air the house for at least an hour a day, often 24-7 in the warmer months. We have two open now, for example.
I vacuum and mop the floors daily.
We have blankets on our sofas that are washed at least once a week.
We have a wax burner and burn scented soy melts constantly when we're at home and awake.
Beds are changed every week with fresh linen.
No damp clothes lying about - we either line-dry or use the tumble dryer.
We don't use fabric conditioner - just supermarket own brand non-bio washing liquid.
Toilet is cleaned twice a day and we have nice-scented cleaning sprays that we use in the bathroom and kitchen everyday.

We have three cats and a dog, but no DC. Litter trays are emptied regularly and no pet food is left lying around. All the dirty dog towels and bedding etc. are washed regularly so nothing is left sat around.

Edited

You mop the floors every day!

DilemmaDelilah · 28/04/2025 18:09

I can't bear air fresheners, reed diffusers, scented candles etc, but my grandson says he loves the smell of our house. I put it down to clean clothes- we use lightly scented laundry detergent and no fabric softeners or fragrances, we wash our sofa throws and cushion covers frequently, I open our windows to freshen the air, neither of us use very strong perfumes/aftershaves or deodorants, but we do use them lightly. I also try to have scented plants in the garden, and I make my own bath salts with essential oils.