IDNO Your Best Smelling Tricks!!!

[candynut]

We live in an apartment and I think someone somewhere smokes and our water is not very good either, so our apartment smells like a wet, smoky basement. Yuck! We are pretty much used to the smell, but when I go to the gym and change clothes there, ugh, they smell bad! I'd hate to think I'm walking around smelling all the time.

So I NEED all of your best tricks and favorite natural scents! Especially for general house smelling and also for laundry smelling nice.

I know to keep the windows open, but we're in Texas and it's hot! The way the windows are, we don't really get a crosswind, so I don't even know if that would help.

Thanks!!!

[***Heather***]

Originally Posted by candynut

The way the windows are, we don't really get a crosswind, so I don't even know if that would help.

Ah, my pet peeve. We live in a stuffy apartment and it's impossible to get a breeze going! We do try to use fans to suck cold night air in one window and out the other. It kind of works.

I also sprinkle baking soda on our carpet and let it sit for a bit before vaccuuming. You can mix in a couple drops of EO with the baking soda or add it directly to the vacuum bag. Smells nice.

And everyone now and then I do a big cleaning, washing curtains, walls etc. My husband smokes. Ugh.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Burning a white candle (unscented) beleive it or not actually can help cleanse a space. Also try a sage smudge stick once in a while. I am a fan of nag champa incense, since even the most allergic people I know are not allergic to it.

I am the person who cannot stand all the commercials for "smelly" things, and don't understand people's obsession with their house smelling like a fake fragrance instead of a home...but I totally understand where you are coming from. Our last apartment had smokers on the first floor. I would advise putting a filter of some sort over your heating ducts, as this may be the culprit for wicing the smoke up to your apartment. It was at our house. Helped a lot to close them or cover them. Is it like a small building or a mega complex? If it's a small building, ask the landlord to change/clean the furnace filter.

That same apartment, the people had a cat box and put it right next to the furnace. It was the most awful thing ever, because they didn't clean it for like a month! :Puke:

[candynut]

Thanks for the tips so far!

I just read recently that the carpet deodorizers you sprinkle and vacuum up can destroy your vacuum, so I've been nervous to try baking soda. I'll have to do some research to see if it's the same.

I agree about the fake smells. Every once in awhile I fall prey to advertising and buy an air freshener of some sort. Yuck!

[WaitingForKiddos]

I like to get some mulling spices (or just throw some cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg togehter, and simmer it with water. Just keep adding water as needed and remember to turn it off if you leave!
It might not be the right smell for summer but with fall around the corner it's soothing and warm.

[AngelBee]

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[Pepperdove]

I have read that a dish or small attractive box full of baking soda mixed w/a few drops of EO - lavender, lemon, whatnot - maked a great air freshener, all natural, and when it stops working you can clean with it!

See "Clean House, Clean Planet" - don't recall the author.

[SleeplessMommy]

zeolite ... aka "gonzo odor absorber" available at Lowes or Home Depot

and a dehumidifier if you are on the ground floor with concrete slab