Smelly/stuffy room

[blairhoney]

In the winter, when we can't have windows open often, the bedrooms seem to pick up a bit of a smell... kind of a "people-y" smell that seems to linger in the air. It's not a matter of washing bed linens or laundry, and it's not the carpet either... I think it's just the smell of humans in a contained space. Does anyone have any ideas of how to clear it up?

[avendesora]

nak
Houseplants do a pretty good job of cleaning the air. "Fresh air" is only fresh because the outdoor plants have pulled out some of the pollution.

[blairhoney]

Ooh, good suggestion, thanks! I don't know why I didn't think of that! I'd really like a plant in the room, but I'm always nervous about killing them... my window faces south, and there's a big exposed radiator right under it, which makes it hard to put a plant in front of it, especially as the sill is pretty narrow. Do you know a plant that does well in indirect light and is a good air-recycler? I'm reluctant to get a large (or at least, expensive) floor plant as I will be moving in June and don't want to have to move it. I'm really clueless about this sort of thing...

[LilMama23]

Yup, I was going to suggest putting some plants in. I'm not sure what kind as I don't really have a green thumb.
Or maybe opening the windows for a few minutes right before bedtime?

[MiaPia]

Pothos are great for the air, tolerate low light, and are hard to kill. Plus they are really easy to propogate once you get them going. You can pick them up just about anywhere too, usually very inexpensively.

[OakBerry]

I turn the heat down low, close the door to the bedroom, and open up the windows for about 10 minutes. That way the cold air doesn't escape into the rest of the house, and it won't trigger the heat to come on.
I need fresh air!

[quantumleap]

Spider plants are really good air purifiers, and they're hearty little creatures. They do ok in low light conditions, and they're sort of interesting looking. The best part is that they're cheap to buy, and quite prolific, so if a friend has one, you'll be able to get a "baby" for free!
We recently got an air purifier, which has made a big difference in terms of allergen reduction, so I imagine it would be helpful in terms of "freshness".

Katia

[rainyday]

The plant doesn't have to go on the windowsill! Especially if there's a radiator right there, it would be better to put the plat elsewhere in the room.

I'd open the window a bit every day or two to air things out, especially when you're noticing a stuffy smell.

[BeanyMama]

i love the plant idea. im going to look for spider plants, my mom has them everywhere and her house is never funky. thanks!

[***Heather***]

I've noticed in the winter time that my apartment gets "stuffy". Like there's no oxygen. It's weird, I don't notice it when I'm sitting around, it's when I go outside then come back in that I notice it. In a house, you get clean, fresh air coming in every time you open the door to go outside. In an apartment, you don't get that. I open my windows every now and then.

I do want to add more plants though. That reminds me. My mom said she was giving me some cuttings from her jungle of houseplants for Christmas. I didn't get any! I'll have to ask her about that.

[chinaKat]

After airing the bedroom out with an open window, I like to put one drop of lavender essential oil on the lamp bulb and turn on the light. Smells lovely and relaxing...

[funkygranolamama]

I have an ecobox air purifier. It actually CLEANS and sanitizes the air. You run it as much as you want and it has an away mode that runs the ionization for 2 hours while you are gone for sanitation. It's nice. It's made by ecoquest and they have a website you may want to check out. I originally got it because I have superbad allergies.

[MOM2ANSLEY]

I think sunning out pillows and opening a window will help
plants too

[avendesora]

We hang some of our plants because our cats like to eat them. Pothos & spider both make good hanging plants.

aven

[babycarrier]

We open a window a crack at night. I hated it forever and actually saw dollar signs going out the window, but I've grown to like it. We compromise and the heat is turned down low and dh only opens the window a bit. Our circumstances might be different that we now use wood to heat almost exclusively and leave the oil set to 58 only at night and it rarely kicks in.

We also have plants in most of our rooms. The other thing I noticed, was switching to the Dyson vac really made a difference.

[mamallama]

When our bedroom gets funky, I know its time to change the sheets, vacuum the rug and dust. Dusting seems to make the biggest difference.

[Rebecca]

Oh, I hate that 'used air' smell. Remember walking into a huge, windowless lecture hall in college and having it be all stuffy and breathed-over? I HATED that. You must find a way to open a window and get some fresh, unbreathed air in there. Even if you just crack the bathroom window and turn the fan on (if you have one... we don't at this house) to circulate some air... same in the kitchen. If your hood vent goes outside, turn it on and open the door an inch. Just enough to circulate some fresh inside (good for getting rid of mold spores too. Winter air is dry, stuffy house air is humid.

[AidynElyMama]

I agree with the dusting thing, that always seems to help my room. Do you have ceiling fans? When my rooms are getting stuffy, I spray some Fabreeze or drop a few drops of my favorite oil onto the blades, open the window just a crack, and turn on the fan. The fan pulls the fresh air in quicker, which means I only have to leave it open a minute or two, and the pleasant scent on the blades circulates right through the room.

[MissSJ]

Does your room get enough sunshine? I always notice that if I'm not open the curtains in my bedroom the room gets stuffy but after I open the curtains and let some sun in the room it always helps.