‘Spring clean’ house freshening tips?

[Ricoletti]

I’m wondering what things people do to help keep their home generally smelling nice?

I feel like my house smells of cooking (I know my super nose is sensitive to this , so not an issue to everyone), and we do have a dog (he doesn’t shed hair) and my house just feels a bit less than fresh at the moment… maybe with the warmer weather?

My house isn’t dirty - not a palace, don’t get me wrong. I do the general daily tasks and give it a good clean at weekends. keep on top of laundry , bathrooms kept clean , hoover few times a week, wash dog bed regularly etc etc.

I have ‘prices cooks candle’ for when I cook, which helps when I remember . No one smokes.

I don’t like using strong air freshener regularly as I think it just covers smells and can be chemically/overpowering. But I don’t mind a more natural smelling one for if I’ve cooked something pungent , I’ve got a ‘natural’ glade one.

I guess I’m just looking for what others do that they feel works well to keep their house smelling nice in general.

Happy to get stuck in and give time to this for a whole weekend if it’s a big job suggestions- but would like it to be purposefully and effective if I’m going to do a Cinderella all weekend 🤣.

So, anyone have any spring cleaning hacks, , things they do regularly or useful bigger cleaning tips that they have found make a real difference?

This is my first time posting to ask for advice, only joined MN about a month for a specific support topic. Thought I’d give it a go asking for what others do ?

Open windows daily wherever possible to get some fresh air in.

We have a robot vacuum - you can set these to go around daily, if you think you might need to be vacuuming more than you have time for.
Regularly wash cushion covers, throws etc, vacuum sofa cushions and underneath.

if you can, shut the kitchen door when you cook and open windows to minimise food smells.

dilute zoflora is supposed to be good at creating a fresh smell (depending on which one you use).

change towels and bedding frequently also helps

I have an extremely sensitive nose and find the best thing is fresh air- every day. I also leave windows a tad open when the temp allows.
When making beds in the morning, don't cover the whole sheet with the duvet- peel it back at least half way so the bed can breath
Anti bac cleaning of hard floors helps.
Getting carpets properly cleaned also is really really helpful- plus absolutely no shoes to be worn in the house
Whenever using anti-bac/kitchen surface cleaner, if needs to be left on for at least 3-5 mins to have the anti bac effect. Same with bleach but it's a bit longer - 10-15 mins.
:-)

Honestly opening a few windows will do your house the power of good "changes the air "

I also use berry scented floor cleaners which gives off a nice smell.

Thanks for all of these good tips!

Routinely windows.. such a good idea and I’m wondering why I don’t do this already?? 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

it’s the weather for it , so I’ve got all our windows open to give the house a good blast.

good tips about the antibacterial cleaner for hard surfaces. I just use regular floor cleaner but there is a fair few little paws and teenager shoes traffic… so I will switch to antibacterial and make sure I leave it to do its magic before rinsing when in use it in kitchen (I didn’t know you had to do this with antibacterial..)

I will start to leave the bed to ‘air’ in the morning. I used to always do this when kids were little and I made their beds for them. Might prompt them to do this in their bedrooms. Teenage bedrooms aren’t the freshest of environments …

might be time to hire a rug doctor again too…

Wash your curtains and rehang when wet - they will dry nicely and no ironing.

Add fabric conditioner to a bowl of hot water - that makes the house smell nice

Same with concentrated scents on cotton wool behind radiators.

Tea tree oil in shoes - especially boys or working shoes.

Plugs - pour bleach and leave to work then boiling water in the sinks

Clean bedding -

I try to open upstairs windows every day and it works. I bought a lovely Newbridge diffuser yesterday and it is giving a lovely scent in the hallway. I use a furniture polish in the living room and it always gives that "clean" smell.

Little tea light oil burner with lemongrass essential oil

Bathroom windows open 24/7 and back door open when we’re at home April till oct. Shampoo carpets every 6 months. Use a wax melt if we’ve cooked anything strong smelling. Seems to work!