Lingering odors can ruin your first impression, especially during the holidays when there’s a lot of food to prepare and little time to clean up. Cooking smells can be particularly challenging to manage. While some aromas, like those of baked cookies and cakes, can be delightful, others may prompt you to open windows and turn on fans.
Cleaning up spills instantly from the floor and countertops makes sure the smells don’t diffuse in the air. Turn the fan on while you’re cooking and take the garbage out regularly. Also, periodically clean the garbage can on the inside as well. Keep your sink clean and dispose of any sponges or rags that smell.
Lemon
For a refreshing scent in your sink, let citrus be your friend. Lemon can do wonders for removing bad smells. Store leftover lemon rinds and citrus peels in the fridge and use them twice a month or whenever the sink starts to stink.
Take some lemon rinds and toss them in the sink. Now turn on the faucet and the garbage disposal switch and let the rinds save the day. The citric acid in the rinds breaks down the gunk that was causing the smell and produces a pleasant lemon fragrance. If there’s a food odor in the kitchen that doesn’t seem to go away, put lemon rinds and cinnamon in water and let it boil for 5 to 10 minutes.
Turn the heat off and let the pot stay there all day. The lemon and cinnamon fumes will neutralize all other bad smells and refresh the atmosphere. Lemon can also help you ward off that cringing fish odor from your hands. Just take a lemon half and squeeze out the juice over your hands. Now rub them together and rinse them off.
Vinegar
No matter how much you love to cook fish for a party, the stinky, pungent odor makes you have second thoughts. Although the best way to avoid fish smells is to not cook it in the first place, vinegar can help you out here. As soon as you bring fish into your home, set out some bowls of vinegar in the kitchen. This will absorb the fish smell and neutralize the atmosphere. Once you’re done with cooking, wipe off the countertops and stove with some distilled white vinegar to get rid of any clingy scents.
Baking Soda and Coffee Grounds
Put some baking soda in mason jars and poke holes in the lid. Set them around the kitchen while preparing your meal. For a fragrant scent, you can also add some essential oils to it. For stronger smells, put a bowl of coffee grounds on your kitchen counter and leave it overnight. This will alleviate any smells from the day before.
Baking soda can also be used to remove smells from the fridge. The first step would be to clean any spills that you see and check all the leftovers and expiry dates on products. Clingy odors may persist, so keep a little bowl of baking soda at the back of your fridge. If the smell still seems strong, put some fresh dry coffee grounds in the fridge for a couple of days.
Baking soda is incredibly efficient for stinky drains. Take a cup of baking soda and dump it in the drain, and pour boiling water into the sink. The baking soda will flush out all the foul smells with it. Baking soda and vinegar also make a good team. The chemical reaction might even help in unclogging the drain. Dump about a half cup of baking soda directly into the drain and chase it with a half cup of vinegar. Allow it to sit for at least 15 to 20 minutes and then flush out.
DIY Aromatherapy
Spices like cinnamon and cloves, when simmered with water on a stove, can produce fresh, natural fragrances that overpower all other lingering odors. Create your DIY recipes and make your kitchen the best-smelling part of your home.
Here are a few simple recipes you can try:
- If your kitchen smells like garlic or onions, put some cinnamon powder, butter, and brown sugar into a pan and bake it for a couple of hours. Your kitchen will smell like a baked dessert or cookies.
- Boil some cloves in water and leave them on the stove for a few hours.
- The smell of roasting coffee beans is a treat for all, and grinding fresh coffee can also do the trick.
- Soak cotton swabs in vanilla essence and place them in the corners of your countertops.
- Make a mixture of all of your favorite essential oils with equal amounts of each and pour it into a spray bottle. Use this to spray around your stove top and vents. Turn the fan on for a few minutes and let it diffuse in the air.
Good Ventilation
Proper ventilation has to be the most important factor in controlling bad odors. While you’re cooking, make sure there’s a good flow of air around your kitchen. If you have an exhaust fan or a vent over your stove, don’t forget to open it. If you don’t have one, keep your windows open or set up a fan that pushes air out of the window.
Fans pull odors from the air and stop them from hanging in the atmosphere. If you don’t have a fan, consider installing one, as this could be your first line of defense against lingering smells. If you’re cooking something that makes too much smoke, have a plan to pull it out of the house beforehand. Keep all the kitchen doors and windows open so that the smoke has a place to escape. Turn on a portable fan and set it by the windows and door, and make sure the fan faces the door or windows.
If you can afford it, invest in an electric chimney. Electric chimneys come with special filters that gather grease and fumes very efficiently. It might be an expensive option, but it will save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
