Shelley Koster
Bartlesville and Grand Lake Realtor
The summer heat is great, but it has its drawbacks and one of them is resurrecting lingering odors around your home. This can be disastrous and leave you burning through scented candles to no avail. So, today the team put together a few ideas and suggestions to help remove those nasty odors around your house!
Refrigerator Odors
If you can’t stand opening your refrigerator because of the smell, then you’re going to want to change that by:
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Cleaning it out:
– Remove all items from the refrigerator and discard produce and leftovers that have gone bad
– Remove all shelving and drawers, scrub them down with a cleaning solution.
– Wipe down the inside and the drip tray.
– After drying, place everything back in the refrigerator.
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Use Baking Soda
Rid yourself of odors by, spreading a box of baking soda across a baking sheet and placing it in the refrigerator. Keep the door closed until the smell disappears, then throw away the baking soda. Also, try and counteract everyday odors by keeping an open box of baking soda in your fridge at all times.
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Use White Vinegar
White vinegar absorbs smells the same way baking soda does. Add some to a cup or bowl and place it in the back of the fridge.
Smoke and Nicotine Odors
If you recently purchased a home or you are renting, then you might find that the previous owners were smokers. If you’re not a smoker this can become quite an annoyance and as you now know this scents aren’t going to go away with candles and FeBreeze. While we cannot guarantee you won’t have to call a professional, we do have some quick suggestions:
- Washing down the walls and windows with a vinegar solution, then wait a day or two to see if the smell comes back. If it does go with something heavier like, Trisodium Phosphate (T.S.P)
- Clean out deep clean carpets and any upholstery that might have been left with the house.
- Use an odor-blocker primer, like Kilz and repaint the walls.
If none of these seem to work, then it might be time to call a professional. Here in the Bartlesville and Grand Lake area, we suggest: Courtesy Care.
Musty Odors
Damp, musty odors can be a sign of a more serious problem, like mold or a water leak. If this is the case, we suggest you immediately call a professional to come out and take a look. It could be nothing, but it is better to be safe rather than sorry.
Cat and Dog Odors
Cat and dog odors are disgusting and can be difficult to get rid of, especially if it was from a previous renter or owner, but there are ways to tackle the problem, simply by:
- Vacuuming with a pet odor remover or by sprinkling baking soda on the carpets to help absorb odors and neutralize the odors.
- Having the carpets deep cleaned and shampooed.
- Cleaning up pet toys and beds weekly.
- As a last ditch effort, you can remove the carpets, if you find the smell to be far too overwhelming.
Your home is the best place for you to be, and you want it to smell inviting every single day of the year. We hoped this post helped you out and just as a bonus, below we have attached a few more ideas we found online for ridding yourself of nasty odors!
Baking soda: Open a container and place it in the area where the smell originated.
Coffee grounds: Put used coffee grounds in a shallow bowl and place it around your house. The coffee grounds will absorb smells.
White vinegar: Bowls of white vinegar can act as an odor neutralizer.
Apple cider vinegar: If the sink has an odor, it is likely coming from the drain. Pouring apple cider vinegar down the drain will eliminate the smell.
Lemon: Chopping up a lemon and putting it through the garbage disposal will remove odors from the disposal and drain.
