How To Make Your Room Smell Good
In his fantasy novel American Gods, Neil Gaiman wrote: “The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies.”
And while we love Gaiman’s writing style and descriptions, we wouldn’t fancy experiencing “musty” and “damp” smells, or being in a house which smells like “the ghosts of long-dead cookies.”
Neither can you, we suppose.
And that’s why you’re probably here reading this article about how to make your room smell good, because let’s face it – no one wants anything but a good smell in their rooms.
And rightfully so. After all, smell is our strongest sense – do you know that people can identify more than 1 trillion scents?
That said, we know you’re not here for stats or academic research – you’re here to learn how to make your room smell good.
So without any ado – let’s get straight into the matter at hand!
Ways To Make Your Room Smell Good
Identify the Source of the Odour
If you wish to make sure your room smells better, there’s obviously something bothering you about the current smell. In other words, your room doesn’t smell nice at all times.
Before you start solving this “smell issue”, or feel tempted to cover up the smell with a deodorant, you need to find out what’s causing it. In essence, you need to identify where the odor comes from.
Sometimes there’s a straightforward source (such as your dog accidentally pooping in your room), but other times you may feel as though you’re struggling with a smell that just doesn’t seem to go away no matter what you do.
And just opening your windows and allowing fresh air to enter the room will simply not do.
So, here are some suggestions to get you started:
Pet troubles
We already explained that your dog pooping in your room is fairly easy to identify, and therefore easy to handle (although not very pleasant). However, other pet accidents such as pet urine may cause trouble, especially if you don’t clean up the mess right away.
So, what may essentially happen is that pet urine causes a smell to linger not only for days, but sometimes even months down the road. This unfortunately may contribute to mold growth when pet urine isn’t cleaned up in a proper way.
Stale air
Stale air is simply the indoor air circulating in your room which doesn’t have a way of “escaping” or replacing itself with fresh air. When air in the room is present for a longer period of time with no way of being replenished, not only does it become stale after a while, but quite unhealthy too.
Here’s the thing with stale air – such air causes people to be further exposed to certain air toxins, chemicals, and agents that are still in circulation, and while some may simply be bothered by the unpleasant smell, others understand the underlying health issue connected to such air.
Here are some common causes of stale air:
- lack of proper ventilation
- cleaning agents
- chemicals
- air toxins
- mold
- various allergens
- pets
- smoke
- fresh paint
In general, all these common causes of stale air are helpful in tracing the source of odor in your room, which is what this section is about.
Musty Bed Sheets
Your bed sheets may have a weird smell when you take them out of your linen closet, or even after washing them. Regardless of what situation you may find yourself in, the thought of sleeping in musty bed sheets is never a pleasant one (and neither is their smell if we’re being honest).
That said, musty bed sheets not only affect your sleeping experience, but your overall room fragrance too. What’s more, washing your bedding regularly isn’t important just when it comes to your room smell – it contributes to a good night’s sleep too. According to a study by the US National Sleep Foundation, apparently 73% of people believe that fresh sheets help people sleep better at night.
So, now you have more reasons to wash your bedding regularly!
How to get rid of musty bed sheets?
Finally, if you wish to get rid of musty bed sheets once and for all, here’s what you need:
- hot water;
- a bucket (or even a sink);
- white vinegar;
- baking soda;
- dishwashing liquid.
First and foremost, fill the bucket (or the sink) with hot water. Next, add one cup of vinegar followed by a tablespoon of dish detergent. Place your bed sheets in the water, and leave them long enough to absorb the ingredients and get completely saturated. It’s advisable to leave them like this for at least 30 minutes.
Then, wash the sheets with baking soda. Pour half a cup into the washer and wring out your bed sheets. Place them in the machine afterwards, and choose the adequate washing cycle (in this case you need the heavy soil cycle).
Once the washer is finally done, take your bed sheets out and smell them. See whether the smell remains, or you’ve managed to get rid of it. In case you’re still not completely satisfied with the final result, repeat the process. If you’re happy, however, feel free to dry your bed sheets and then use them.
Note: although using a dryer may seem tempting, it’s good to actually hang your bed sheets outside and dry them naturally.
So there you go!
Dust
You may feel as though your room doesn’t really have a lot of dust because you clean it quite frequently, however, sometimes it’s not about how often you clean your room. It’s about what you clean.
For instance, you may clean and dust your room all day long, but if you skip the windows or the fans on your ceilings, you can’t really say you’ve dusted the whole room. Put simply, dust tends to accumulate even in the weirdest of places (and in the most inaccessible corners in your room).
Also, you may be using an inadequate cotton cloth or a weird duster which only helps spread the dust around even more, and not get rid of it.
So, next time you mop, vacuum, or sweep, make sure you cover all corners and choose a proper duster. You’ll be surprised to see the huge amounts of dust gathered in your room, in places you’d least expect them.
Only this time you’ll know how and why you need to get rid of them.
Freshen Up Your Carpet and Rugs
Most rooms have carpets, as they’re a practical and “warm” bedroom flooring solution, and unless your room is an exception, you shouldn’t neglect addressing the carpet issue.
Many believe that simply vacuuming the carpet or taking a rug out in the sunlight will help remove any smells. And while this may sometimes work (depending on what the carpet looks like in a given moment), it’s only a temporary solution.
In essence, it doesn’t address the permanent smell issue you may have. Carpets and rugs can hold tons of bacteria, pollen, and even mold, so all these can contribute to your room’s bad smell.
And the best thing? You don’t need any chemicals to clean your carpet. Use baking soda instead (we already suggested it for your bed sheets, so why not try it on your carpet as well?).
All you need to do is simply sprinkle a bit of baking soda on your carpet, let it stay for an hour (or even longer if you have time), and then simply vacuum the powder.
And there it is – you’ve naturally deodorized your carpet with baking soda!
Use Reed Diffusers, Air Fresheners, Or Scented Candles
Some people use all of them combined – others use none! However, before you make up your mind, make sure you understand what each option provides.
But before we get into it, let’s see why the way your room smells matters so much.
According to Suchi Reddy, an architect and founder of Reddymade, “Scent is a great way to change something, with a very subtle kind of intervention that doesn’t necessarily require more square feet, or a huge investment of money”.
First of all, all three options (the reed diffusers, air fresheners, and scented candles) have their benefits, such as the fact that none of them use electricity which helps you conserve energy, but people certainly have their preferences.
Those who wish to enjoy long-lasting fragrance in their rooms, opt for a reed diffuser.
People wanting to relax, and add a bit of momentary scent change in their rooms, choose a scented candle.
Finally, air fresheners do what their name suggests – they freshen up the current smell in the room with a pleasing (and oftentimes quite natural) fragrance.
A Few Words Before You Go…
Learning how to make your room smell good isn’t a daunting task. After all, with all the possibilities and suggestions we listed, you’re just one choice away from changing the way your room smells.
You may not agree with all of our suggestions and ideas, and that’s okay – simply find what resonates with you and your room’s current situation.
And you may have to try several options before you find the right one, but it’s all worth it, as long as you get your room to smell way better than before!
