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Keeping an apartment smelling fresh can be challenging, especially when you have pets or roommates that tend to make a mess. Thankfully, there are ways to keep your apartment smelling fresh no matter who lives with you or even if you live alone.
Table of Contents
How to keep your apartment smelling fresh:
- Locate the source of any bad smells.
- Keep up with cleaning and chores.
- Wash beddings regularly.
- Try an air freshener.
- Sprinkle baking soda before vacuuming.
- Purchase some house plants.
- Keep the air circulating.
- Use the vent fan when cooking.
Let’s go over each of these suggestions in more detail and help your apartment get smelling better in no time.
Locate the Source of Any Bad Smells
If you come home from a long day at work just to open the door and get hit with a foul odor, then you would want to locate the source. The problem is that the odor could come from so many different things in your apartment. If you have pets, start there. Check litter boxes or cages depending on your pet.
If you don’t have a pet, there are still many things that can cause your apartment to smell a little less than fresh. Spend some time going through your apartment to locate the source of any odors. If the odor is coming from the kitchen, the cause may be your garbage disposal. Cleaning your garbage disposal is vital to controlling smells in your kitchen.
Search all the rooms in your apartment carefully for potential smells to help identify the source. In the bathroom, keep an eye out for mildew, and make sure you use the fan in your bathroom when taking hot showers to prevent it. As for your bedroom, pick up any dishes lying around, and make sure you clean your sheets regularly.
Read: 3 Ways How To Keep Apartment Cool In Summer
Keep Up With Cleaning and Chores
Not only should you look for any possible causes for the foul smells, but it is also important to maintain cleanliness in your apartment. Earlier on, we talked about cleaning your garbage bin and bed sheets, but the more cleaning you do, the less chance that foul odors will gather in your apartment.
Leaving dishes sitting in the sink for too long can quickly result in an unpleasant smell. Avoid leaving dirty laundry around too. As a general rule, ensure you aren’t leaving dirty dishes in the sink for long periods, and stay on top of your laundry so it doesn’t start to smell. You also want to make sure that you dust your apartment regularly since dust particles collect nearby smells causing them to linger.
Another crucial part of keeping your apartment smelling fresh is to clean up messes as they happen rather than waiting to clean up later. Now, this can be difficult to do with pets as you can only clean their mess as fast as you can find it, but it is still important. Anything that spills in your home that you do not clean right away can leave behind foul smells and mildew.
Read: 3 Simple Ways How To Keep Apartment Dry
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Wash Beddings Regularly
Though we mentioned it briefly above, this deserves its own section. Think about how much time we spend in our beds every day. As we move throughout the night trying to get comfortable, it is common to sweat. Sweating also occurs while we sleep. Furthermore, we don’t always shower before bed, and we sometimes bring those outside germs into our beds.
Washing beddings regularly is especially vital for those who sleep with pets or a partner. Both can affect just how clean your sheets are. So, you need to keep up with washing your bedding regularly. Most people agree that you should wash your bedding weekly, but that isn’t always ideal. Instead, wash your sheets as often as you can to keep your bedroom smelling fresh.
Try an Air Freshener
Air fresheners can be a great way of keeping your apartment smelling fresh. However, there are many options out there, which can be overwhelming.
To make things easier, let’s break down what you should look for in an air freshener.
- Natural air fresheners. If you have pets or children, make sure that the air freshener you choose is all-natural and safe to use around them. This may limit your choices somewhat but the health and safety of your children and pets should take priority over your apartment smelling fresh.
- Diffusers. This is another form of air freshener that is becoming hugely popular and may be worth considering. There are many different scents to look for, and they offer you a more natural scent than some other basic air freshener sprays.
- Dehumidifier. Another type of air freshener to consider for odors in your apartment is a dehumidifier. This will also help with any mildew that may form from spills or leaks, causing unpleasant smells. A dehumidifier is also a great way of keeping odors away as the air circulates.
Read: How To Keep Your Apartment Humid? (7 Tips)
Sprinkle Baking Soda Before Vacuuming
Baking soda is a handy tool for keeping your apartment smelling fresh. You may have heard of the old trick of sprinkling baking soda in the litter box or keeping it in the fridge, but there is lots more you can do with it.
If your apartment consists of hardwood floors, this may not be helpful. However, sprinkling baking soda before vacuuming can help lift those pesky odors that cling to carpet fibers for those of us with plenty of carpet and rugs. Whether you have pets or just notice that smells tend to stick to your carpet, baking soda might become your new best friend.
Add baking soda to your cleaning routine by sprinkling it on the carpet and allowing it to sit for a while. Normally it is recommended that you allow it to sit for one or two hours, but pets and kids can make this challenging. So, just leave it on the carpet as long as you can. Then, come back and vacuum like you normally would.
This small step can help you not only neutralize odors in your carpet but also pull those smells from the fibers leaving your apartment smelling fresh. Consider doing this regularly alongside your ordinary cleaning as a way to treat your carpet. Also, make sure you use baking soda to help clean and absorb smells from pet accidents as well.
Read: How To Save Heat In An Apartment?
Purchase Some House Plants
Indoor plants have become a popular choice for many people living in apartments, but they bring more than some vibrant green life to your home. We know that they look great and help produce oxygen in our homes, but they can also help your apartment smell fresher, depending on your chosen plan.
Herbs are probably the best choice for fragrant houseplants that can also be useful later. Herbs like mint, rosemary, and basil can all be grown safely inside, leaving your apartment smelling fresh every day.
If you are looking for a different type of indoor plant, then gardenias, lavender, and orchids can also bring a nice fresh smell to your apartment with minimal effort on your part. Of course, choosing houseplants means that you need to be able to keep them watered regularly. So, if you aren’t home often, then this may not be the best option for you.
Keep the Air Circulating
To keep your apartment smelling fresh, it is always a good idea to introduce fresh, clean air whenever possible. You can do this easily if you already have ceiling fans. Keep these running consistently to ensure that air circulates properly throughout the apartment instead of remaining stagnant.
If you don’t have a ceiling fan in your apartment, you can still keep the air flowing properly by purchasing a fan. Keep the fan in your bedroom or other rooms where the air is more still. A dehumidifier, as mentioned above, will do this for you as well.
Finally, whenever possible, try opening the windows. I know this isn’t always possible in the coldest or hottest months, but when the weather cooperates, fling the windows open for as long as you can. This allows fresh air into your apartment and keeps the air from becoming stale.
Read: How To Heat An Apartment Efficiently?
Use the Vent Fan When Cooking
Living in an apartment typically means that you may have limited space. As a result, aromas from the kitchen – when cooking – can linger and travel to other rooms as well. To prevent this from happening, make sure you are using a fan every time you cook. This will circulate the air and prevent the food smells from getting into fabrics and other materials.
If you don’t have a vent fan in your kitchen, consider installing one of your own. If this isn’t in your budget, then at least consider opening a window when cooking food with a strong scent.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it is important to keep up with cleaning to keep your apartment smelling fresh, but there are other ways to keep odors under control. Whichever method you choose to help your apartment smell fresh, make sure that you keep healthy cleaning habits, and don’t be afraid to open your windows every chance you get
