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Does Your House Stink? Here's How To Deodorise Your Toilet, Mattress, And More

Sometimes just opening up the windows and relying on fresh air and a breeze is not enough to air out your home. Banish those unpleasant smells in no time with these easy hacks and you’ll never need to buy air freshener again.

1. Deodorise your mattress

Changing your bedding can only do so much when your mattress stinks. You should be flipping your mattress every six months, and each time you wash the sheets, vacuum the mattress too. Simply sprinkle some odour-neutralising baking soda on the mattress, let it to sit for 30 minutes and then vacuum. Make up the bed as usual. Most people don’t think about deodorising under the bed either, but it’s important to freshen up that area too. Simply add a shallow plate of baking soda under the bed and leave it there for a few days to absorb the smell.

Likewise, when it comes to your fur-kids, generously sprinkle baking soda onto pet bedding, wait 30 minutes again, and then vacuum up the powder.

2. Deodorise your toilet brush holder and toilet paper roll

Not surprisingly, some of the more gross smells in your home probably originate from the bathroom. Make it smell more pleasant by adding a few drops of any citrus-scented cleaning solution to your toilet brush holder.

Also, the toilet paper roll holder is another spot with huge fragrance potential that usually gets overlooked. Just add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to the inside of the roll. Each time it spins, it will release the fragrance into the home. Most people won’t realise where the fragrance is coming from, but they’ll definitely smell it.

3. Dab some vanilla to your lightbulbs

Who doesn’t like the smell of vanilla wafting through their home? Check out this hack. Lightly rub a few drops of vanilla extract on your light bulbs when they’re switched off. Once you turn the bulbs on later, the heat will diffuse the lovely amazing vanilla scent around your house. Go further and experiment with other scented oils and extracts.

PHOTO: 123RF

4. Clean the microwave

Get rid of lingering smells in the microwave by boiling 1 litre of water with lemon slices for several minutes. Be sure to wipe out any stuck-on bits of food and leave the door open so that your clean microwave can air out.

5. Freshen your towels

Sometimes towels never smell fresh thanks to our high humidity levels. Check out this hack. Wash your towels with one cup of distilled vinegar instead of detergent. This should completely rid your towel of the musty mildew smell!

6. Don’t forget the fridge

Neutralise funny fridge smells by placing a box of baking soda at the back of a fridge shelf. Or if you prefer your fridge smelling like a freshly brewed cup of coffee, swap the baking soda for a bowl of coffee grounds instead. Delish!

7. Bake something

Bake anything – bread, cookies, brownies or cake, and enjoy your house smelling just yummy.

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