Calling all people with nice-smelling houses....

[confused247]

OK, this is a bit of a random question, but I was wondering what things people do to make their houses smell nice. Mine doesn't smell bad (I don't think!) - it's generally pretty clean, bins emptied regularly, windows opened every day - but it just smells of, well, my house.

Sometimes I visit people whose houses smell all fresh & lovely & I want mine to be like that too! I don't mean the so-strong-it-makes-your-eyes-water smell that you get from plug in/ spray air fresheners. I've tried the posh (White Company etc) scented candles but they only seem to be effective while they are actually burning, and with 2 small children in the house that is not always a safe/ practical option. So does anyone have any great tips that I could try or products that they recommend? :)

If your house doesn't smell nice, you need to spring clean it. That means:

• washing all curtains
• washing all bedding (blankets, duvets, pillows, undersheets)
• washing or drycleaning all soft furnishings (sofa covers, cushion covers)
• having your carpets professionally cleaned
• cleaning out all cupboards

You get the gist!

Open windows at either end of house to ensure a good airflow.

Yes yes to washing all the soft stuff. We don't have carpets anywhere - just floorboards and tiles - but I find that when the floors and surfaces are clean and washed / polished the house does smell fresh.

Do not keep a cat litter tray around for your grumpy indoor cat.

Also as long as no-one has allergies and budget allows, I would stock up on fresh flowers - freesias, lilies and particularly sweet peas (if you get them now and cut them regularly you'll have a good few weeks' worth of lovely smelling flowers for free). White hyacinths carry by far my favourite scent (and are super strong) but DH would pass out if I filled the house with them, so have to keep them outside and waft the scent in through the window occasionally!!

Thanks everyone.

Love the fresh flowers idea...will definitely try that. I do have sweet peas in the garden, so I'll try some in a vase by the front door for initial impact!

We only bought the house a few months ago & all curtains, blinds etc are new so I don't think they are a problem. The sofa/ armchairs have removable covers which I stick in the washing machine every 3 months or so. The carpets were here when we moved in (and the lady who was here before us had LOTS of cats and three boys!) so that might be the problem. We steam-clean them when we moved in but they are still pretty minging to be honest. They are down to be replaced but as part of a larger renovation project so it will have to wait unfortunately (the floors beneath are concrete so no chance of taking them up and having bare floorboards for a while sadly).

When we cleaned them we did it with a rug-doctor hired from B&Q but I keep seeing "professional" carpet cleaning services advertised. Can anyone tell me if they are better than the DIY cleaners & worth the extra money?

Thanks!

i feel you pain op,at the moment with all this rain my smells of damp school shoes (3 boys)

We have a Karcher dealer near us and they hire out the machines which the professionals use and is what we hire to do the job ourselves. We can mix up a spot spray from the cleaning solution and go over them several times to get any marks out. The professional we contracted once was reluctant to spend time getting the marks out, he wanted to finish up quickly to move onto the next job.

Oh, forgot to say about keeping the house smelling fresh. Soft furnishings (and carpets) absorb lots of cooking smells so if you can close doors off to your kitchen whilst cooking and use the extractor fan. When you're finished cooking you can open the doors again. I use essential oils to fragrance the house as I don't like the strong smell of the commercial air fresheners. A few drops every few days is plenty, I use either lavender or rosewood as they are my favorites. You can put some drops onto a cotton wool ball and leave it somewhere discreet, by an open window works well as any breeze will carry the fragrance through the house.

Zo flora smells lovely and disinfects.

From Neals Yard I bought a plug in Aroma bowl made from blue ceramic, you pop water in, put a few drops of your favourite essential oil and plug it in, it warms gently and release the smell, safe to have with kids around and it makes our living room/dining area smell beautiful!

I use the room scents with sticks in. I have one in the kitchen which is a Heyland and Whittle one and is olive and fig and then I have a posh ginger and lime one in the lounge. Also have windows open all the time and fresh flowers. People always comment on how nice the house smells so must be doing something g. John Lewis has a massive range of room smellies (step away from plug ins etc though as v artificial)

I like to rub zooflora onto my rads when cold, when they get warm the smell naturally floats around lovely! I Also like scented crystals in ornamental type
Vases, they look pretty and smell nice.

I have a lab and am paranoid about having a 'doggy' smell in the house but everyone tells me how fresh and good it smells so must be doing something right

I open windows daily throughout the house on all but freezing days even if just for an hour. Allows good airflow and freshens house up. I wash all bedlinen and towels regularly. Dog bedding gets changed every couple of days. I have fresh flowers in the kitchen and sitting room and often in the dining room and study or bedrooms. Peonies, stocks and sweet peas are great for scenting rooms. I also burn candles in a different room downstairs every day. I never use air freshener as I can not stand the smell. I often boil water with half a lemon in to freshen the kitchen and always close the kitchen door when cooking.

I also put drops of lavender or geranium oil on radiators in winter and in corners of the room in Summer.

It could definitely be the carpets - my mother had this problem with inherited carpets in one of the houses my parents bought and cleaning the carpets really well did do the trick.

I might try the lemon boiling trick...

I do the lemon thing, but in the slow cooker and add any other herbs I might have in the garden, lavender, thyme, rosemary etc.

In addition to all the great advice already given, if you think the carpets may be the problem sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on them. Leave as long as poss, I do overnight, them vacuum. I have stinky dogs and saw this on a similar thread, can't remember who posted it tho, sorry.

The lemon and herbs thing sounds interesting, am going to try that :) Thanks also for the tip about bicarb on the carpets, going to try that aswell.

I'd second the bicarb on carpets idea. Also, put some drops of a nice essential oil (I like the orangy ones) or a perfume you like on a very small folded piece of kitchen towel or cotton wool. Then put this inside your vacuum cleaner bag or bagless dust container. Smell will be spread every time you vacuum. Vacuum often!

Yep I do the bicarb thing too!

Bicarb will work i buy it by the sack from a soap company as i use it for washing, drains, cleaning etc. also have a dog so paranoid about smelly house. I'm not keen on chemicals in the house plug ins make me feel sick.

I do change bedding weekly and air daily also pop duvet on the line, dust and hoover a lot ( dog hair) never leave dirty washing hanging around in baskets. Dog basket washed a lot and popped out when dry to Air.

Your thread made me read about nice smelling houses last night and we are going to buy some essential oils today. ( to spray on light bulbs, rads and to make bicarb air fresheners)

Ultimately i think that a clean fresh smelling house is just that :-)

link Rainydayagain? I would love to buy a sack of it! I don't like to use chemicals either.
How do you make bicard air fresheners?

Just a soap will sell. You a 25kg sack for about £25.( you can buy less) It will last a year or more though and i use it half and half with washing powder, down drain, bathroom, fridge, carpets etc.

You make the natural deoderising air freshener but putting it in a jar with drops of essential oils. I made one this morning and it smells good. Was very cheap also :-) if you look on line people do it with old jam jars and shake it daily.

confused - it is certainly your carpets that are the problem.

Only a van mounted high suction power hot water professional clean will do the job. Rug Doctor is only good for light dirt. Personally, I would get rid of carpets before doing any other renovation.

Other than that there are only 5 things that make a house smell.

Dirt, Damp, Drains, Decay and Death.

Dirt - clean away all dirt including that embedded in/on carpets and other soft furnishings as well as pets as Bonsoir says.

Damp - is a problem in our house when it rains. Mostly due to badly repaired roofing and gutters. Mend your roof and clean your gutters.

Drains - make sure all your drains are working properly especially sink outflows and sewer pipes.

Decay - remove all pet food not eat immediately eaten and regularly empty and disinfect bins.

Death - rotting bodies of vermin stink to high heaven. Eradicate the live vermin and they will not die in your house.

Once you have done all that, open windows and let in fresh air on a summer day or light an open hearth fire to draw air through the house in winter.

Wow, fantastic tips....thanks everyone! I am definitely going to try the bicarb on the carpets & will investigate professional cleaning.

I put some lavender essential oil on a cotton pad by the open window yesterday and it was fab - not too overpowering but just a lovely waft of lavender every now and again- a friend who was round for coffee even commented on the lovely smell so it worked a treat.

Don't you love mumsnet! I always come away from here thinking oooh I must try that then invariably pass the tip onto others!