Anyone else lives with a smoker? Anyone else a smoker? We all know about the ghastly smell right? And once its there, it ain’t going anywhere. My Grandad smoked for 50 years (20 a day), and quit during his last 3 years – not willingly at that but hey ho. During this time I came up with nifty ways to get rid of the bad smell in the house and smoked filled rooms to create one that smelt like a lived-in home again – I’ll take it. Anyway, here is how I keep my house smelling clean, and my favourite products to use for this.
*I am by no means an expert, but this is what works for me*
Febreze Pet Spray
This, I found, was the solution to problems I didn’t know I had. After looking after my Grandad, we found that he had this lingering “old people smell”, even after being washed. Only after researching did I find that this was due to increased ammonia (caused by age), and the primary way to combat that is by using pet spray. These are more industrial that normal cleaners, but do not have the harshness of bleach. Honestly, this is an absolute godsend in the bathroom. Febreze has also released a heavy-duty tobacco air freshener too, which is aimed to kill the bad smell in the house.
Duck Strips
I would not know what I would do without this. The concept is so simple, yet so so effective. Wilko usually do 3 strips for 90p – just place one within the toilet bowl and you will have 30 day freshness, I’m telling you. What is also great is that it scents the whole bathroom as well!
1001 carpet spray
This stuff is amazing I swear. Back in the day, my Mum used to get on her hands and knees and scrub the carpet with bottles of 1001 and a wired brush. This spray, although it doesn’t have any cleaning purposes, is brilliant to get rid of the hoover smell and keeps the carpet fresh for at least 2 days. As I live in a three-storey house, the bad house smell is usually stronger on the top floor, where the stairs have not been used as often. I also love to spray the bath mats with this once a week. It kills any tobacco ash left on the stairs too, which is a bonus.
No Added Water Spray
This is a tip I found out purely by accident. Air fresheners are usually diluted to make them go further. Some brands however offer room sprays that have not been diluted and is pure concentrate. These are perfect for cutting through cooking and tobacco smells as a little goes a long way. Usually, a simple sign on the packaging will note that it has no added water.
Reed Diffuser Liquid
I love reed diffusers as much as the next man, but they can be so pricey. So cheapskate me made my own. Using £1 reed diffusers from Poundland, and £1.50 reed diffuser sticks from Dunelm, I emptied the liquid, replacing it with a bottle of my fave scent from Dunelm (tropical – which is £6 for 250ml, about 6 mini diffusers). Perfect for popping in those especially smelly places.
Candles
I mean, these are always a safe way to get a room smelling nice, am I right? For me, Yankee Candles are the way forward, purely because they last for such a long time. At the moment I have a jar of “Delicious Guava”, and it is still going after 6 months of an hour a day, which is well worth it if you ask me!
Zoflora
If you’ve read my posts before, you’ll know I LOVE ZOFLORA. Everyone in my house thinks I’ve stocked up because of lockdown – turns out I already had 20 bottles. At only £1, you cannot go wrong. If you don’t know what Zoflora is, it is a scented disinfectant. As it can be diluted, it can be used for absolutely anything. My favourite tip is to mix a capful of Zoflora and a pint of boiling water – the steam eliminates any odour going. The best tip I have discovered to get rid of the smell – works every single time.
Febreze Plug-ins
I think I will be using these until I can no longer. Although I found these very recently, they are my new favourite thing. They may not be the cheapest, but my god do they work, and for the 30 days they claim too. The 3volution concept uses 3 complementary scents on a 12-hour rotation. What gets me is the reach of the scent – the one in my downstairs corridor can reach 2 floors high. What’s even better is that does not need any maintenance, just a plugin and you are ready to go!
How do you get rid of bad house smells?
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