How to Naturally Stop The 5 Worst Smells of Summer

What does summer smell like to you?

Sausages sizzling on the barbeque, sunscreen scented skin or the salty smell of the sea?

Some summer smells are more pungent than pleasant, however – here are five of the worst and how you can stop them this summer.

5 Reasons Your House Stinks and How to Deal With Them

There are a few things you need to keep your home smelling sweet – the good news is a lot of these items may already be in your pantry.

What you'll need

• vinegar

• baking soda

• lemons

• essential oils (optional)

• boreax (optional)

1. Smell trash bins

Garbage bins are prone to some putrid smells, mostly thanks to food scraps that fester when it’s a little warmer outside.

Constantly hosing and disinfecting your bins regularly can become a headache to do every bin day.

Ways to Deal With A Smelly Garbage Can

• A few pieces of paper towel or newspaper at the bottom of the bin can catch any leaks.

• Sprinkle baking soda or place lemon quarters at the bottom of the bin. You will need to give the bottom a wipe out between emptying the bin. This works brilliantly because baking soda is a fantastic natural deodoriser.

• If you have a cat, steal some of its kitty litter and sprinkle it on the bin base. It works a treat!

2. Funky Fridge Smell

It doesn’t take much for fridge smells to accumulate.

That smell that hits you when you open up the refrigerator door is usually caused by spills or expired foods but it’s easy enough to stay on top of it.

How to Fix A Smelly Fridge

1. Empty everything out of the fridge (do it a day or two before shopping day so there’s less in there!) and spray the trays with a mix of hot water and white vinegar.

2. Leave it for 15 minutes or so while you clean the outside of the fridge. Wipe down with paper towels.

3. To keep it fresh in the long term, we also recommend saturating a cotton ball in lemon juice and leaving it in the fridge overnight. You could also leave an open container of baking soda in the fridge for a day or so – it soaks up odours and keeps your fridge fresh.

3. Stinky sink

It makes sense that your sink gets stinky. It’s where you rinse off plates and where it catches a buffet of food scraps.

How to Get Rid of That Awful Smell From Your Drain

It makes sense that your sink gets stinky. It’s where you rinse off plates and where it catches a buffet of food scraps.

• Put around half a cup of baking soda in and down the drain, adding the juice of half a lemon, letting it sit for about 30 minutes and then rinsing the mixture down with boiling hot water.

• Add your favourite essential oil to the baking soda instead of the lemon to make your kitchen smell really amazing. Try using a citrus oil blend to help your kitchen to smell zesty fresh.

• Another great idea is to ensure that you pour boiling water down your drain when you can to sanitise the pipes. Boil a whole kettle’s worth next time you’re making yourself a cup of tea.

• Boiling water down the drain clears the gunk from your pipes and sanitises effectively as well. It's a really easy yet effective way of keeping things clear down there.

   

4. Foul toilet

For obvious reasons, keeping a clean toilet is important. But toilets can create a stale smell that most toilet cleaners just seem to mask.

This is a really inexpensive yet effective tip that’s all-natural.

How to Clean and Deodorise A Stinky Toilet

Your baking soda is again your best friend here. Pour about half a cup in, and put about 15 drops of your essential oil of choice in there as well. Make a 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water and spray around the bowl, giving it a quick scrub with the toilet brush. Wait 30 minutes and then flush!

If you have hard water stains, use Borax instead of the baking soda and give it a bit more of a scrub.

5. Musty carpet, couch and mattress

Time to reach for that baking soda again. If you are cleaning a couch, we do recommend testing on a hidden area first, just to make sure the mixture doesn’t affect the fabric.

You can use this same mixture on the lounge, mattress and carpet.

How to Remove Musty Odours from Your Carpet, Couch and Mattress

1. Vacuum the carpet as thoroughly as you can to remove loose dirt and debris.

2. Combine a few drops of Lavender Essential Oil (peppermint or a citrus variety works) with around 1 cup of baking soda.

3. Sprinkle your mixture onto the carpet, couch and mattress. Leave it on for about 30 minutes and on the carpet for a couple of hours – just ensure kids and pets stay off during this time.

4. Give the mattress, couch or carpet a thorough vacuum to finish off!

Baking soda is great at absorbing odours, while your essential oil of choice will give your home a lovely, fresh scent.

Electrodry's services can help, too. Electrodry specialises in even the most delicate of fabric upholstery as well as leather lounges.