Rather than plugging deodorizers into your electrical sockets or lighting an arsenal of scented candles, use a few household staples such as baking soda, distilled white vinegar, coffee grounds, vanilla extract and lemons to get rid of odors once and for all.
Several common household items (most notably baking soda and white vinegar) contain powerful properties that eliminate smells without the use of chemicals. But less-commonly known products like coffee and vodka can do wonders when it comes to eliminating, not simply covering, bad smells.
Yet a few inexpensive household essentials you probably have on hand already—vinegar, salt, coffee, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide—will neutralize most noxious odors around your home and in your vehicles.
Let it sit: Wait a few hours or ideally overnight for the baking soda to absorb the odors. Vacuum: Vacuum up the baking soda.
The acetic acid in vinegar neutralizes alkaline odors, which means it can help get rid of cooking smells cheaply and easily. Some people make a diluted solution of vinegar and keep it in a spray bottle to mist around the room. This covers a lot of area at once for a quicker fix.
Deodorize the Room
Unpleasant odors lurk in the carpets, rugs, and upholstery. To remove these musty smells, fill a dish with half an inch of white vinegar and leave it out in the room until the smell dissipates.
Fir essential oil is a powerful germicide that removes odors quickly. Its alpha-pinene and beta-pinene are known for their cleaning and freshening abilities. Contains limonene, which is also found in lemon and lime essential oils, also favorites for deodorizing.
Baking Soda.
Baking soda is great for absorbing the smells, but it doesn't happen instantly. -Combine with vinegar and use it in lieu of soapy water to scrub down particularly odorous surfaces.
Better Ways to Freshen the Air
Vinegar – White vinegar is an effective natural deodorizer and mild disinfectant. Combine a teaspoon of vinegar with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle then lightly mist the air (you can also stir in a few drops of essential oils).
Keep things dry with a dehumidifier in your basement, and try leaving out a bowl of vinegar for around 15 minutes to neutralize any odor.
It depends on the air flow in the space. However, vinegar actively looks for things to bind to. In most cases, it won't take more than 5-15 minutes for the smell to go away.
Does Boiling Vinegar Remove Odors? Boiling a mix of water and vinegar after you cook can help neutralize the odors. Combine 1 cup of water and 3 or 4 tablespoons of white vinegar in a small pot. Heat it to boiling, remove the lid and let it continue boiling for several minutes.
These two common household materials can serve as natural cleaners to remove grime and keep your surfaces clean. Because vinegar and baking soda are on opposite ends of the pH scale, they can be combined and used as effective cleaning solutions.
Drop-in some essential oils: Lavender, peppermint, rosemary — whatever you've got! It'll disguise the harsh smell of vinegar instantly.
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, a fine white powder that has many uses. You may wonder about bicarbonate of soda vs. baking soda, but they are simply alternate terms for the same ingredient. If your recipe calls for bicarbonate of soda, it is simply referring to baking soda.
Baking soda, unlike most commercial air fresheners, doesn't mask odors, “it absorbs them," says Mary Marlowe Leverette, a home economist and blogger. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate in a convenient box) neutralizes stubborn acidic odors -- like those from sour milk -- as well as other funky smells lurking in your home.
Apple cider vinegar naturally eliminates odors without using chemicals, so dilute it with equal parts water, add to a spray bottle, and spritz it around your living room for a fresh clean scent. Studies have shown that ACV kills bacteria, so it can improve your indoor air quality.
Once opened and exposed to air, however, harmless “vinegar bacteria” may start to grow. This bacteria causes the formation of a cloudy sediment that is nothing more than harmless cellulose, a complex carbohydrate that does not affect the quality of the vinegar or its flavor.
White vinegar contains acetic acid, which neutralizes odors by killing the bacteria and mildew causing the bad smell.
When baking soda is mixed with vinegar, something new is formed. The mixture quickly foams up with carbon dioxide gas. If enough vinegar is used, all of the baking soda can be made to react and disappear into the vinegar solution.