Coming home should be an uplifting experience. No one wants to open the front door and say “ew…what’s that smell?” As important as lighting and decorations are, your home’s fragrance is a big part of feeling at home.
But how to make your home smell nice? And if you’re not into overpowering air fresheners, how do you remove a bad smell from a room naturally? Here are some top tips for a nice smelling home and the tech that will help your house come out smelling of roses.
Oil diffuser
The easiest way to give your house a quick smell makeover is to buy an oil diffuser. The great thing about an electric oil diffuser is that you can create a mist of your fave scent and switch it out easily depending on your mood. On a weekend morning, maybe it’s lavender. On a winter evening, you could go for warming ginger.
Essential oil diffusers and scent diffusers also come with features like colour changing lights, remote controllers and Bluetooth speakers – so you can turn any room into an aromatherapy spa experience!
Air Conditioning
We think of air conditioners as a way to keep cool in stifling summer months, but home air conditioning can help clear out unpleasant smells too. Air conditioning removes heat from the air, but if you combine that with an open window it will help vent unwelcome odours.
And an AC doesn’t need to be a large, fixed unit in the corner of the room. With portable air conditioning units, you can move it around to where it’s needed and even control it from your phone.
Air purifiers
Covering smells or wafting them away is one way to go, but air purifiers for home actually help trap and remove odours from your home.
What does an air purifier do?
Air purifiers suck in and filter air to help remove odours and allergens from the air. Ever wondered why things smell bad? It’s because there are millions of tiny particles floating about in your room. Pick the right Dyson air purifier (for example) and it’ll trap 99.95% of tiny particles – even as tiny as microscopic dust mites.
Steam clean the upholstery
Just as nasty smells get stuck in carpets, furniture is another culprit. If your sofa has turned into your dog’s favourite sleeping spot, it’s probably time to give it a clean!
Unlike carpets or rugs, you don’t want to get furniture wet – as it’s a nightmare to get dry again. Fortunately, steam cleaners ride to the rescue. A handheld steam cleaner is the perfect way to tackle smelly sofas and upholstery cleaning. The steam blasts out embedded stains, dirt and allergen while killing mould, bacteria, mites and viruses.
Clean Carpets
Carpet cleaning is super important if you want to tackle the cause of bad smells. That’s because the fibres in carpets trap bad odours and foul-smelling moisture. But how do you get a carpet smelling fresh again?
Giving your carpets a good vacuum is a good place to start - as it will capture small particles and debris that release unpleasant odours. But because carpets act as a sponge - soaking up spills, pet smells and water – giving your carpet a proper clean with a carpet cleaner or carpet shampooer is essential.
How often should you clean your carpet?
Vacuum your carpet at least once per week – even if it doesn’t look dirty. That should clean up a lot of particles and allergens. And be sure to tackle spills as soon as you can to stop them seeping in. Even water should be dried up to prevent moisture making things worse. As for deeper carpet cleaning, aim for twice a year. You could do this with a bucket and brush, but it’s best not to. Getting your carpet too wet is a risky business - it can cause your carpet backing to expand and warp. That’s why it’s good to turn to tech that’s built to protect your carpet while it gives it a cleaner…
What’s the best carpet cleaner machine?
There are load of brilliant carpet cleaners available – so it’s less about best and more about what features are important to you.
Go for a Bissell carpet cleaner for its powerful suction – pretty much designed to flush out the stains. Pick a Vax carpet cleaner and you might find a neat feature – push it forward and it’ll wash the carpet, pull it backward and it’ll dry it.
Get the expert take on keeping floors clean with our Floorcare buying guide.
How to clean a rug
Rugs are a bit different to carpets. That’s because most carpets are made from materials that are designed to be hard wearing and stain resistant. But rugs are often made of natural materials that are easily stained but also too delicate to take a vigorous washing. If your rug is Persian, Oriental or made of silk or viscose, you might be wise to have it professionally cleaned. Otherwise:
Check to see if your rug has a label telling you what kind of material it’s made from. If it’s wool or man made materials, you’ll probably be fine to clean it.
Clear your rug of all furniture and objects. You’ll either want to take your rug outside or place a tarp underneath it – as your rug (and everything else) is going to get wet.
Give it a vacuum to remove loose dirt on both sides. If there’s any pet hair, use the brush attachment.
Use rug shampoo (which is milder than carpet shampoo) or mix washing up liquid in warm water (for man made fibres) or cold water for wool. Never use hot water, or your rug fibres might shrink.
Apply your cleaner to a small area of the rug to check that no colour run. If they do, it’s one for a professional cleaner. If not, carry on!
Apply the cleaning solution with a sponge or brush and allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
Rinse your rug thoroughly with a bucket of water or hose.
Remove as much water as possible with a wet-dry vacuum or squeegee.
Lay the rug flat to dry on one side and then flip it over to dry on the other. If it’s small enough, you can hang it up.
Finally, vacuum or brush out your rug to free flattened fibres.
