Smells & Scents

Say goodbye to that stuffy closet smell.

You’ll always know exactly how to handle it.

Yes, you can get rid of yellow underarm stains.

You probably never thought you’d learn so much from a trash-themed TikTok, but this is truly a forum that keeps on giving.

Bonus: It doesn't have to cost a lot of money.

Napier took an ultra-specific smell and captured it in a pretty amber-colored jar.

My kitchen has never smelled better.

I wanted to learn how to alter my bad-smelling home habits — for my own nose and to be more hospitable to my guests.

Welcome back to One Good Thing @ Home! This week I take a little detour back into my kitchen to cook up some all natural ingredients that will make you house smell lovely and get rid of old, musty smells from cooking, kids, dirty clothes, you name it. It’s getting REALLY SIMPLE this week, which I love, but I hope there’s enough “meat on the bone” for you rabid DIYers who like to fill the comments with all sorts of good old fashioned feedback. Bring it on.

A smelly air conditioner unit is nothing short of gross. But what can cause these exhaust fumes, or gunmetal, musty/mildew-y, burning… (need we go on?) scents? And better yet, how can you get rid of them? After all, you install your air conditioner to cool down the air in your home, not stink it up with unpleasant odors, some of which might even be potentially dangerous.

It'll maintain the seal your plumbing needs to do its job, plus it helps prevent stagnant water from sitting in your faucet or showerhead and breeding bacteria.

As much as people love their cats, and we know that love is boundless, there are certain aspects of life with pets that can be a challenge — odors being top of the “arrgh” list for many. We dug through our archives for some reader intelligence on the issue and according to our commenters, here are three top tips to try.

We were going on day six (no, that’s not a typo!) of living with the horrific lingering smell of burnt popcorn. The usual drills of opening the windows, spraying air freshener, and lighting candles seemed to have little lasting effect, so it came time to do some research. Here’s a roundup of the helpful tried and true advice that restored our home’s air quality to breezy good health… 1. Vinegar.

Q: There have been several House Tours that had a hidden litter box of sorts. How are you able to keep your cat box clean and smelling fresh in an apartment that may be only 600 square feet? 500? 400?? It boggles my mind. I mean, obviously, clean it out as soon as you can, but cat urine has such a strong odor. Even with a cool hidden compartment in a piece of furniture, it wouldn’t suddenly eliminate the smell. Any tips would be great.

Q: The house we are looking to purchase has a lot of cedar [please see photo below] and it was built in 1975. It just has a lot of that cedar smell, and I was wondering if anyone had an idea on how to remove that? Thank you. -Sent by Sanja Editor: What a gorgeous ceiling! Readers, how can Sanja eliminate the musty cedar odor from this house? Or do you recommend she pass on it because there’s really no solution? • Have a question for our community?

You know that feeling you get when you walk into a space and it just plain smells good? Yeah, me too, and I’ve spent the last six months in my new apartment trying to achieve that singular goal. There wasn’t anything wrong with how my apartment smelled, but there wasn’t anything really right with it, either.

Last year we ran an article on how to avoid the dreaded dirty diaper smell, one of the most odorous odors a new Mom or Dad must face. And you couldn’t resist! The rest of you joined in, with your incredible tips on how you’ve defeated the dastardly diaper. Read on for all you need to know about how to conquer the stink! 1. First up, flush it away! Dumping solid waste out of any kind of diaper—cloth or disposable—will help a great deal with the smell.

Warning. This is an awkward post. It’s deep winter and many of us are trapped indoors without the flow of fresh air from open windows. I, personally, have become quite conscious lately of daily smelly moments both at home with guests and at work (the elevator is the worst) where I’ve been trapped by someone passing gas or simply wished the bathroom at home would air out quicker. I myself will plead guilty on occasion.