Natural Ways to Make Rooms Smell

Baking Soda and Borax

• Carpets collect dirt, which produces a bad odor. Odors can also cling to the carpet fiber, remaining long after the initial cause is gone. Baking soda and borax provide two natural odor eliminators for the carpet. Sprinkle the carpet generously with baking soda or with a combination of 2 parts cornmeal and 1 part borax. Allow the powder to sit for three to four hours before vacuuming the carpet thoroughly. Use the same method to freshen up rugs, especially those that aren't safe to wash.

Onions

• Unfinished basements can smell dank and stale, especially those with dirt floors or walls. Even finished basements can smell bad when adequate cleaning wasn’t done before the walls were put up. Improve the smell by cutting four onions in half and placing two halves in each corner, approximately 2 to 3 feet from the walls. Leave the onions in place overnight to absorb the room odors naturally, and dispose of them the following day. Open the windows, and turn on a fan to dissipate the onion odor, if necessary.

Houseplants

• Houseplants provide bright, colorful ornamentation to every room while working in natural ways to recycle stale, odor-laden air into a sweet-smelling environment. Suitable houseplant varieties exist for every room, including bathrooms and kitchens. Choose low-maintenance houseplants whose size and scents complement the room in which you place them. Rooms producing the worst odors require larger plants. If you prefer flowering plants, select those with a lighter, fresher scent so the smell doesn't become overpowering.

Other Methods

• The kitchen generates bad odors that settle throughout the entire house. Many foul kitchen odors originate from the garbage disposal. Boil citrus fruit rinds, and run them through the garbage disposal to eliminate any lingering odors. In addition, the refrigerator can harbor unpleasant smells, so wipe out the interior of the freezer with cotton pads dampened with pure vanilla extract, replacing bad odors with a pleasant scent. You can clean both the refrigerator and the freezer with a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and water. Vinegar cuts through the odors, and the sour vinegar smell dissipates quickly. If the curtains in your kitchen or home have absorbed odors as well, combine equal parts water and vodka in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on curtains to freshen their scent.