Want to know how to make your home smell nice and banish bad smells in your home once and for all?
Of course you do! Who doesn’t want a home that smells nice? We all want our homes to smell fresh, clean, welcoming and well, just really really NICE!
Everyone’s home can smell a little ‘off’ from time to time, so if you feel like your house smells less than fresh, don’t worry.
There are actually a lot of fast and easy ways to make your home smell nice – and I’m going to share them all with you!
These are the tips that ACTUALLY WORK to make your home smell fresh all the time.
So let’s get to it… here’s how to banish bad home smells for good and make your home smell nice forever more!…
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How to make your home smell nice!
Use a good essential oil diffuser
The quickest and easiest way to make your home smell nice – and keep it smelling fresh all the time – is to get yourself an electronic essential oil diffuser.
You may have noticed on some other posts on this site (actually pretty much all of them!) that I’m a big fan of these little gadgets.
You can get some fairly low budget ones, as well as some higher end extremely stylish ones, and they pretty much all work well to make your home smell fresh all the time in a completely natural way – no chemical nasties here!
All you need to do is fill the diffuser up with water then add drops of your chosen essential oil, or get creative with an essential oil blend.
The diffuser I often recommend is this one, just because it’s a great all-rounder in terms of value, stye and efficacy – what’s not to love!
If you’re a diffusing newbie then you can start with just one essential oil (lavender is a safe bet).
Then, as you get used to using your diffuser you can start getting creative with some gorgeous blends that’ll make your home smell fresh all the time.
Pinterest is always a good place to look for inspiration, but here are a few amazing smelling blends to start experimenting with to make your home smell gorgeous.
These delicious blends are all pinched from my post on how to make your home smell like a spa!
Try two drops of each oil to begin with, then work it up if you want a more intense hit of natural fragrance:
- Peppermint and lavender
- Geranium and clary sage
- Lavender and ylang-ylang
- Cedarwood, orange and lavender
And here are the links for those oils if you need them: peppermint; lavender; geranium; clary sage; ylang-ylang, cedarwood, orange
If you fancy getting into essential oil blending then it’s worth remembering that an essential oil kit can work out better value than buying your oils individualy.
You can get some budget versions that can be a good option for beginners (I’ve included a couple in the smell shop), but do remember that you sometimes really don’t get the most authentic smell from them.
** If you’re after a top quality set that still isn’t overly priced, take a look at the Eden’s Garden brand. But be warned, these bad boys will have you well and truly addicted to essential oil blending! **
Remember to check out the safety guidelines for the oils you’re thinking of using – for example some essential oils aren’t recommended during pregnancy or for children or pets.
Deal with the basics to make your home smell amazing!
Before we get down to the fun stuff, let’s deal with the basics….
If you really want a home that smells fresh all the time, then you need to have a clean home.
There’s no way round it!
Dirt is smelly, so you have to get rid of it – sorry!
Firt of all it’s a good idea to get rid of as much clutter as possible, because then it’s much easier to clean up and keep things clean.
Once you get down to the basic cleaning, I recommend method products – they smell completely addictively gorgeous and the company are environmentally responsible.
Tip – if you love the method products then it’s worth buying in bulk on Amazon as it works out much cheaper.
And if you want a little gadget to make your cleaning a bit more fun, try my favorite spray mop. I love that thing.
Yes I do know that it’s a bit sad to get excited about a mop, but there you go. I love it.
We’re going to look into some more cleaning methods for specific things in your home as we go along, but in general just try to keep things clean if you want things smelling sweet!
Also remember to air your house regularly to keep things fresh – just open those windows. It’s a small step that can make a big difference.
And change your bed linens and towels regularly – no one wants dodgy smelling beds and bathrooms!
It’s all fairly no-brainer stuff – but you have to remember to actually do it if you want to have a home that smells fresh all the time!
Get rid of musty carpet smells
If you have carpeted floors in your home and you want to make your home smell nice, you need to get your carpets fresh and clean pronto.
Carpets hold on to aromas – good or bad – and if you don’t keep them clean they can often just smell very stale and musty.
Baking soda is the star ingredient to get rid of nasty carpet niffs – it’s cheap and very effective.
To deoderize your carpets just sprinkle it liberally all over the floor, leave it for a couple of hours, then vacuum it all up.
Et voila – fresh smelling carpets!
On the subject of vacuuming, keeping on top of it and running the vacuum round on a regular basis can help to make a big difference towards a fresh smelling home.
For an extra fragrance boost, try popping a few drops of your favorite essential oil on a cotton ball and dropping it into the vacuum bag. You’ll get a subtle but noticeable fragrance boost all around your home.
My personal latest obsession – possibly because I’m a little lazy – is my robot vacuum!
I have a DEEBOT model which I saw on an Amazon ‘deal of the day’ and love, but there are plenty of models around to choose from.
You basically just set it to go, then sit down with a coffee while you get your vacuuming done. That’s my kind of cleaning!
** Side note! I heard a funny story/horror story about a family who left their robot vac to run at night when they went to bed. Unfortunately their little doggy had a bad tummy during the night and toileted on the floor. Robo-vac went right through the poo puddle – and proceeded to spread it all round the house. You have been warned!! **
However, while deoderizing and vacuuming will go along way to getting things smelling fresh, if your carpets are really really smelly, there’s no getting around the fact that you’re just going to have to get them clean.
The easiest option is to just get someone in to do it for you.
If you want to go for a more budget option though (particularly if you have quite a few rooms to clean) or want something that you can use again and again, you can think about investing in a carpet cleaner.
Take a look at this one which has fantastic reviews.
And remember to keep shoes by the front door, not on your carpets.
Think of what they walk through when you’re out and about. That’s not going to help your carpets smell good!
Fabric softener to make your home smell nice!
A simple inexpensive bottle of fabric softener is a secret hack to make your home smell fresh all the time!
First off, just make sure you wash your throw blankets and cushions on a regular basis, and use some amazing smelling fabric softener when you do it.
This simple step can actually make a very noticeable difference in your living area.
But you can get much more creative than that with good old fabric softener!
First off, simply pour a little on a cloth and place it on a radiator. As it heats up, the fresh fragrance will flow and create a gorgeous clean scent.
You can also create a solution of a little water mixed with your fabric softener, soak a cloth in the solution, and wipe it over your radiators for a similar effect.
Finally, just mix up a simple solution of fabric softener and water in a spray bottle (1 part conditioner to 2 parts water – but experiment with what works for you) and use it to refresh your drapes and linens.
You can also try doing this with a solution of Downy Unstopables (which make a fantastic addition to your laundry too).
Gorgeous freshly laundered scents all round the home!
Fabric softener sheets in small spaces
After you’ve washed those cushion covers, you can give them an extra-fresh scent boost by simply slipping a couple of fabric softener sheets inside the covers.
While you’re at it, rub a sheet over the top of your sofa cushions around the area where heads will be resting.
This is only a short time scent boost, but for a week or two it’ll make things smell seriously fresh and lovely.
You can also slip some in behind the sofa cushions, and in small spaces like drawers and storage boxes.
Even stick a couple in your shoes to keep them smelling sweet.
Just remember to replace the sheets regularly to prolong the fresh scent and keep your home smelling fresh all the time!
Zoflora!
You can buy a pack of four Zoflora bottles on Amazon for around $26 – so it’s not particularly cheap, but it really can help to get your home genuinely AMAZING.
I love this stuff.
Zoflora is just a concentrated disinfectant that comes in a range of amazing smelling fragrances like country garden, summer berries, honeysuckle and jasmine, and lavender.
My favorite way to use it is to fill up my amazing spray mop (did I mention I love that thing?) with a solution of Zoflora and water, and quickly wizz round the kitchen.
It’s a seriously quick and easy way to get your home smelling seriously stunning.
You can also fill your sink with boiling water and add a couple of capfuls of Zoflora.
The lovley scented steam will spread the gorgeous smell right through your home.
For a huge array of creative ways to use it in your home, check out the Zoflora website for a ton of tips.
Zoflora can sometimes be tricky to get hold of, so if you can’t get your hands on any you can try using Fabuloso instead.
Coconut shampoo concoction!
I read about this tip on reddit – I have to admit I’ve not yet tried it myself, but apparently it works wonders!
Just mix water and coconut shampoo in a pot and let it simmer on the stove for a little while (supervised obviously).
And there’s no reason you couldn’t try this with other sweet smelling shampoos!
Pot pourri and Poo Pourri!
A lovely way to make your home smell fresh all the time is with some simple pot pourri!
Nowadays you can get some gorgeous varieties that look stunning on display in your home.
Choose the right one and you’ll get a fantastic and a pretty addition to your home decor!
The Mana range of pot pourris have some really good options.
They come in several scents – the citrus and lavender varieties look particularly gorgeous.
And if you’re feeling crafty why not make your own pot pourri wreath!
Since we’re on the subject of pot purri, have you heard of poo pourri yet?!
If not, let’s just be blunt about it – this is a little bottle of fragrance that you use in the toilet to banish the smell of poo!
You use it by just spraying a little into the toilet before ‘going’, and this all-natural genius little product stops nasty smells before they even get out of the toilet.
Amazing!
Not surprising that it’s got over 15 000 positive reviews on Amazon – not too shabby.
You can get pick one up here.
Sweet smelling bathrooms
While we’re on the subject of toilets, if you want a home that smells nice then you need to have bathrooms that smell nice!
First off, be sure to air your bathrooms regularly by simply opening the windows.
This not only gets rid of unpleasant smells, it also helps to protect against damp, and therefore keep things smelling good.
Also use an enclosed trash can in all your bathrooms to keep any unpleasant odours in there well contained.
A nice little trick is to drop your favorite essential oil onto the tip of a cotton bud and place it inside your toilet tissue roll.
If you hang your toilet tissue horizontally then it should stay in place all by itself, but if you stack your rolls vertically then just secure it with a tiny bit of tape.
This really works well for a little scent boost.
And if you want to buy yourself some gorgeously scented bath goodies, try soap bars rather than liquid soap.
This way the scent isn’t contained and the lovely aroma will help to fragrance the bathroom as well as your hands!
Delicious smelling candles
There are plenty of ways to make your home smell nice without candles, but there’s a reason they’re such a popular way to scent the home – because they work really well!
When I was researching how to make your home smell like a spa, I came across this HEAVENLY scented candle from Archipelago Botanicals.
It’s in the fragrance ‘Havana’ which is a tropical blend of bergamont, ylang ylang and tobacco flower, and it smells so so gorgeous.
And it lasts for ages too.
Another top quality brand of scented candles is, of course, Yankee Candle.
You can’t really go wrong with these!
They offer such an amazing range of fragrances, and I’ve never met one that I didn’t love.
Or try wax melts
If you’re a fan of scented candles but fancy something a bit different, try wax melts.
These can produce a stronger scent than candles, and generally a little goes a really long way, so they can be a better budget option.
You can also get lovely wax melt burners that add a stylish touch to your decor, like this gorgeous one.
As with the candles, the Yankee Candle range of wax melt tarts are great ones to go for since they come in such a massive range of fragrances – you’re sure to find something you love.
Essential oil sprays
Bought or homemade essential oil sprays are by far the loveliest air freshner sprays to use in your home
(Btw, if you’re interested in natural air freshners then you might like to check out more eco friendly ways to make your home smell good).
The Asutra brand are a great choice – they come in six gorgeous blends and are endorsed by Venus Williams no less!
You can also check out this guide I found for making your own essential oil sprays…
Reed diffusers to make your home smell nice
I’ve already mentioned that electronic essential oil diffusers are my favorite way to make my home smell amazing – but traditional reed diffusers can also be a very effective way to make your home smell nice.
Again, you can buy them or make your own.
A completely gorgeously scented one to try if you’re going to pick one up is the NEST Fragrances reed diffuser in Pumpkin Chai.
This scent is particularly lovely for the fall and the festive season, but still amazing at any time of year.
There are also 23 other amazing scents to choose from, all of which sound delish.
And if you want to have a go at making your own reed diffuser with your favorite essential oil blend, check out this handy tutorial.
Make use of your AC
If you use an AC unit in your home, first off make sure to change the filters regularly – old ones can cause a musty smell in your home.
Secondly, really make the most of your AC by adding a few drops of essential oil to the filters to circulate a gorgeous aroma!
Furniture polish – cheeky tip!
Apparently this is a trick that unscrupulous cleaners use to pretend the surfaces have been polished!…
Just polish your radiators with some nice smelling furniture polish before turning the heat on.
As with the tip with fabric conditioner, the heat will help to release and spread the lovely scent.
And in this case it not only smells good, but also tricks visitors into thinking you’ve done the dusting and polishing!
Also just try beeswax polish in general for when you actually are doing some real polishing. This lavender and orange scented one is amazing.
Breadmaker – yum!
For a welcoming homely scent, nothing beats the smell of delicious freshly baked bread… mmm, mmmm.
While baking a loaf of bread may be a little excessive simply for the purposes of making your home smell good, you do get the reward of a tasty treat too!
If you’re into this kind of thing, invest in a bread maker machine so that you can enjoy the truly amazing smell throughout your home on a regular basis.
And if you’re out during the day, make sure to set it to coincide with the time you get home.
Even the worst of days will be made a whole lot better when you’re greeted with the smell of delicious freshly baked bread when you walk through your front door!
If you have time, you can also get some cookies baking for a delicious scent when you’re expecting visitors.
My preference is to use a quick packet mix. They smell just as lovely as the ‘real thing’!
Coffee grounds to make your home smell amazing
I’ve written a whole post on some amazing ways to make your home smell like coffee), but for now let me just tell you that a small pot of coffee grounds can be a great way to get rid of unpleasant odours.
So if you have any small spaces that are a bit whiffy, or a slightly pongy fridge, just add a small pot of coffee grounds to the area and it should smell much fresher pretty quickly.
Deodorize your appliances
While we’re on the subject of fridges, it’s important to keep your fridge and other appliances smelling sweet if you want to make your home smell nice.
Starting out with your fridge, first of all you need to make sure it’s clean and get rid of any out of date produce.
If you’ve done that and it still stinks, the easiest way to deal with it is to stick a pot of good old baking soda in there to absorb the unpleasant smells.
If you want to try another method, you can go with the coffee grounds we already talked about, or place a cotton ball soaked in vanilla extract in a small pot inside the fridge.
Try any of those three cheap and easy methods, and you should find that your fridge smells a whole lot better.
Your washing machine can also be the cause of bad smells in the home, so it’s important to clean and deodorize that on a regular basis too.
The easiest way to do this is to simply add 1/4 cup of baking soda into the detergent dispenser and 3 cups of white vinegar inside the drum.
Run a hot cycle with nothing in the machine, et voila… an odour free machine!
Similarly, you can deodorize your dishwasher by placing a cup of white vinegar on the top shelf, sprinkling baking soda on the base, and running an empty hot cycle.
Try adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the vinegar if you’re feeling fancy.
Finally don’t forget to deal with your waste disposal.
Surprisingly enough, you can use baking soda and white vinegar to do this.
Just pop 2 cups of baking soda and 1/2 cup of vinegar into the disposal, let it sit for an hour or two, then run the disposal for a minute or so.
You can also add a pleasant scent to your disposal by grinding citrus fruit wedges in there.
And there you go – sweet smelling appliances for a sweet smelling kitchen.
Air purifying plants and sweet smelling flowers
A simple and luxurious way to make your home smell amazing is to treat yourself to some gorgeous smelling flowers.
It’s a no-brainer, but something we often forget to do, perhaps because it feels so indulgent!
Lillies are my favorite for a really noticeable scent, and of course they look gorgeous too.
You can also use plants to help naturally detoxify and purify the air in your home, and therefore reduce nasty niffs.
A few of the best ones to choose are
- English ivy
- Chrysanthemum
- Spider plant
- Chinese evergreen
- Aloe vera
All of these look lovely too so they’ll add a nice touch to your rooms as well as being functional.
Simmer pots
Stove simmer pots are a lovely way to get your home smelling good.
You basically just boil up a pot of water on the stove and leave it to simmer.
Add any gorgeous smelling ingredients you can think of to make an amazing smelling concoction that’ll spread all around your home.
A nice blend to start off with is orange slices, cinnamon sticks and cloves – but you can find tons of weird and wonderful blends to try over on Pinterest.
You have to keep an eye on the pot of course, so you might prefer to use a crockpot for a more convenient way to get the same effect!
Dehumidify
Finally, a slightly boring tip, but a very important one.
One of the most unpleasant aromas for a home is that of DAMP.
Banish it by making sure to open your windows in any rooms that get steamy on a regular basis, which would be mainly your bathrooms.
You can also use charcoal bags which work brilliantly to absorb moisture naturally.
And if you’re still struggling with damp in your home, it’s well worth investing in a good dehumidifier (this is a good option) – not just to make your home smell nice, but also to prevent more serious damp-related problems in future.
PHEWW! You know what, I think that just about does it!
Hopefully that ‘little’ lot has given you some great ideas to use to get your home smelling amazing.
Remember that you can go one step further when making your home smell fresh all the time by choosing specific aromas and themes to focus on.
Conveniently, I have several posts to help you out on that front!
So if you’re looking to take things further, why not have a go at making your home smell like a spa, like a hotel, like spring, like coffee, or even like Christmas!
Enjoy the lovely scents, smell you later!
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