Why Does My House Smell?

Finding the Hidden Smells in Your Home and Learning How to Control Them

Some houses just smell weirder than others. It might be cooking smells, the smell of pets, or even the smell of a teenager's tennis shoe. It could even be the smell of the clothes in our closets.

No one wants to have a smelly house and to keep our homes smelling fresh, we may try an assortment of solutions. Some of us open up the windows and give our house frequent airings. Others may invest in a can of Lysol, scented candles, or handfuls of baking soda. The best way to get rid of those smelly odors however, is to remove the source of the odor.

Does your home have a lingering smell that you can't get rid of? Read on to learn where the odors in your home might be coming from, and how you might control them.

Clothing

Dirty clothes can stink up in house in pretty short order. Rather than tossing dirty clothes on the floor where they can stink up the carpet and furnishings, keep them contained inside a closed hamper until it's time to do the laundry. For garments that can't be home laundered, don't wear them more than a few times before sending them out to be dry cleaned. You might not smell the BO on them, but others can.

Winter coats and suit jackets that can't be dry cleaned frequently, should be allowed to air out for a few hours before hanging back in the closet.

Shoes

A single shoe by itself doesn't put out much odor, but a bunch of them can smell up a house in no time. Before tossing those shoes in the closet, sprinkle a little baking soda inside. Cheaper yet, store those shoes with a crumpled up newspaper inside to absorb the odor.

Sewer gas

For sinks and shower drains that don't see much use in your home, the water can eventually evaporate from the "pee" trap and release sewer gases. Run the faucets and flush toilets on a regular basis to keep the pee trap doing it's job.

Kitchen sink bacteria