4 Ways to Fight Odor in a Home

Real estate San Diego agents know the importance of presenting a nice smelling home to prospective buyers. Even homeowners who aren't planning on putting their property on the market anytime soon would benefit greatly from having a fresh, odor-free home. Here are 4 tips on improving a home's scent.

Smell-Proofing the Refrigerator

While it's advised that homeowners clear their fridge and scrub it down periodically, strong odors tend to persist unless they're specifically focused on. When getting rid of odors in a refrigerator, vinegar is the go-to solution. Simply mix a solution of hot water and vinegar and wipe down the fridge's entire interior space. Allow the solution to sit for up to 20 minutes before wiping it dry with a cloth. Additionally, homeowners can place lemon-halves in all corners of the refrigerator, allowing them to sit in the fridge with the door closed for a few hours in order to fully replenish the appliance's interior space.

Doing Away With Cooking Odor

It's no secret that cooking certain foods can lead to noticeable, persistent smells lingering in the kitchen and throughout the rest of the home. Foods such as garlic, fish, and brussel sprouts, while delicious to eat, don't carry the most welcoming of smells. Thankfully, there's a solution for that. When boiling vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, or brussel sprouts, homeowners can add some whole nuts such as hazelnuts or walnuts to the boiling water. This will allow the nuts to absorb the food odors as they are released. When cooking fish, homeowners can add some slices of fresh ginger to the frying pan while the fish is cooking.

Masking Cigarette Odor

Homeowners looking to minimize cigarette odor in their home have a variety of scented candles to choose from, and these will fight off a variety of odors aside from those derived from cigarettes. However, there's a more cost-efficient home remedy homeowners can employ here. By simply pouring a small amount of vinegar onto a wet cloth and shaking it for a short amount of time in a room that smells of cigarette smoke, the odor will be significantly reduced.

Refreshing the Microwave

Just because microwave zaps food particles inside it with incredible energy, that doesn't mean that food odors are effectively zapped away in the process. The fact is that microwaves, particularly those used several times per day, tend to grow into a source of unpleasant kitchen odors. If the odor seems to have gotten out of hand, and the interior of the microwave seems to have become encrusted through repeated use, the solution is simple. Mix a cup of water with the juice from a whole lemon and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Once done, any dirt accumulation inside the microwave will be easy to wipe off, and the only scent within it will be pleasant and lemon-y.