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Have you ever walked into someone’s house and the smell just made you feel… at home? Cozy? Warm and inviting? Are their walls made of flowers and candles? How are they doing this??
You may be wondering how to replicate it in your own home! Well, this entire post is dedicated to just that – making your house smell good.
The best way to tell what your house smells like is when you’re away for an extended period of time, such as on vacation. When you get back, you’ll know exactly what your guests experience upon entering your home.
In this post, I’ll be giving you the best-kept secrets to be that house everyone will remember. You’ll walk away with the best products to make your house smell good, and tips for how to keep your house smelling good all the time – all year round!
Best Products to Make Your House Smell Good
These products are focused on making your house smell good for a long time, and continuously. A candle only smells good for as long as it’s lit. This list of products was put together with the long haul in mind.
While we’ll talk about the quick wins later, let’s hop into products that will make your house smell good day in and day out!
1. Oil Reed Diffuser
This is one of my absolute FAVORITE hacks to make your house smell good! Seriously you have to try this.
It’s simply a large clear jar filled with amazing-smelling essential oils and then reeds that carry the scent out into the air.
There are several different scents but I highly recommend the Pampas scent. It’s a non-overpowering floral scent that has a very snuggly feel to it. The smell lasts for months on end and you just need to flip the sticks once the smell starts to dull down.
I personally have one in my laundry room, which is also an entrance from my garage. So the smell covers that entrance, laundry room, and carries into my kitchen. I also have one in my entryway which fills up my foyer, carries into the front of my home, and greets guests as soon as they come through the front door.
2. Plug-In Air Fresheners
If you’ve ever wondered how to make your house smell like laundry detergent, well you’ve found your product. This particular product is Gain-scented, so it smells just like laundry day, every day!
Plug-in air fresheners are so simple and easy to use, and there are a ton of different scents to choose from. You just have to insert the new scent, plug it into the wall, and just like that you have one of the cheapest ways to make your house smell good!
If you want to take your plug-in game up a notch, then you may want to check out Pura. I have not personally had experience with this plug-in, but just like other smart home technology, you can control this thing from your phone!
You can adjust intensity and schedules all on the app. Plus, they use clean and safe ingredients so if how to keep your house smelling good naturally is high on your list, then this might be worth trying.
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3. Scented Sachets
Okay, how adorable are these tiny little scented sachets? While these are mainly meant for smaller smelling tasks, such as closets, drawers, and even making your car smell good, they will pack the scented punch!
They are so cute that it’s one of those things you could sit out on a table or shelf. Your guests will see it and love it, and then love it all over again when they realize that THIS is what’s filling the room with that lovely smell!
There are several different scents to choose from, and 6 small bags come in each order so you can cover plenty of ground.
I’d try and stick to smaller rooms such as bathrooms or laundry rooms with these to maximize the scent, but nobody said you couldn’t put multiple in one room!
Since this is a relatively cheap way for keeping your house smelling good at all times, there’s no harm in giving it a try! Sometimes that’s what the best-smelling home is all about, experimenting and finding what you love most. 🙂
4. Essential Oil Diffuser
You might decide the best way to scent your home is by using a classic essential oil diffuser.
This specific oil diffuser has a remote that can be used across the room to control things like timers and colors. It can last up to a whopping 18 hours on low mist mode. Depending on your house layout, this could allow for the scent to travel throughout your entire home.
Find your favorite essential oils online and start getting your house to smell amazing! I like to stick with more natural essential oils and have found these to smell very good and last for quite some time.
5. Air Purifier
An air purifier is an amazing way to make your house smell good at all times! It can simultaneously clean and freshen up the air from bad odors. While it is a little bit more of an investment than candles or essential oils, it is a product that lasts a very long time!
It’s a good idea to add an air purifier around the high-traffic areas of your home, in a kitchen, or beside your garbage can. Within a few hours, it will get rid of some unwanted airborne particles that are the cause of bad smells.
If you’re thinking about how to keep your house smelling good all the time, this is definitely going to help you out!
These two air purifiers are some of the best on the market! The Coway Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty is effective and efficient. It has over 20,000 reviews on Amazon so you know it has to be good! I own this and definitely feel that it does a great job trapping odors and making the air crisp and clean.
If you are going for more of a clean and aesthetically pleasing look in your home, this Blueair Blue Pure 311 Auto is also a fantastic choice!
How to Make Your House Smell Good Fast
You’re having guests over today and you need your house to smell good QUICK! It’s happened to us all where plans happen on the spot and you have little time to get your house in order.
Here are several tips for how to make your house smell good fast when time is not on your side!
6. Open Windows
If the weather is nice, and you’ve got a couple of hours, start by opening all windows on your first floor. This is basically like hitting the reset button on the current smells in your home!
Be sure you have enough time to have your windows open for several hours prior to your guests getting there. Then use one of the next several ideas below to fill your home with good-smelling scents!
Opening windows is a great way to bring in some fresh air and let out any unwanted odors.
7. Room Spray
If you’re in need of a quick freshen-up before guests arrive, spray this once or twice in each room and your house will be smelling heavenly!
You’ll notice this goes with the oil reed diffuser from the first product suggestion above, which will help keep the smells around your house consistent.
You can stick these in bathrooms as well, which replaces your typical Lysols that tend to have more of a chemical after-smell. Obviously don’t ditch the Lysol since that comes in handy for cleaning purposes, but this post is specifically focused on the good scents haha.
I’m a big fan of using this spray in a guest room 30 minutes before guests arrive – gotta make sure it dissipates so it’s not overwhelming for them! Again Pampas is SUCH a good smell, but Canvas is a great one as well. They’re so cheap so you can try a couple out before finding your favorite scent!
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If you’re looking for something a little more light, or are sensitive to traditional room sprays, give Mrs. Meyers Air Freshener spray a try!
I use this brand for my handsoaps, the Honeysuckle and Rain Water scents are by far my favorite – I could only imagine how amazing it’d be to have my whole house smelling like them!
8. Candles
While candles may not be a long-term fix, they sure are great for filling your home with amazing smells while they’re lit!
Everyone loves a good candle, so find a scent that will have your guests obsessing over it! Be sure to light it at least 30 minutes to an hour prior to having your guests over. This will give it enough time to spread the good smells throughout your home.
You can get very good-smelling candles from places like Kirkland’s and Bath & Body Works, but when I’m in Target, I can’t help but pick up the Snuggly Sweater scent by Chesapeake Bay. If a scent could give a hug, it’d be this one!
9. Simmer Pot Potpourri
A very quick and natural way for how to make your house smell good fast is a simmer pot! All it takes is a pot, water, and a couple of ingredients to get your home smelling fresh in no time.
Put water in a pot and begin to heat it up until it starts to simmer. Next, put your ingredients in the simmering water, and in as little as 10 minutes, your house will begin smelling AMAZING!
My personal favorite ingredients for simmer pot potpourri are 1 lemon, a couple of rosemary sprigs, a couple of drops of vanilla extract, and a stick or two of cinnamon. I really love citrus simmer pots because they smell so fresh, which is exactly what you’re going for!
For 10 simple, yet amazing-smelling recipes to get your house smelling really good, check out this post for a list of great citrus-inspired simmer pot recipes!
Just make sure you periodically check on the water level to ensure you have enough in the pot as it will eventually evaporate. If you don’t, your ingredients will burn to the bottom of your pot. Not only will it be an experience to clean it out, but it will also start smelling burnt and that’s the opposite of what we want!
Tips on How to Keep Your House Smelling Good All The Time
If you’ve been struggling with a smelly house for quite some time and are wondering “How do I stop my house from smelling?”, then you’ll want to follow the tips in this section!
I’ve been asked, “What makes your house smell good all the time?”, and one of the biggest secrets of all is simply just keeping your house generally clean.
Some of these things might sound like no secret at all, but your goal should be to use scents to make your house smell good, not to cover up bad scents. It’s best to start with a clean base, and then build on that!
10. Regularly Replace Your HVAC Air Filters
Some of the best hacks to make your house smell good, are ones that are just plain simple. Regularly replacing your air filters will help keep your whole home smelling fresh.
Air filters help to remove dust, pollen/allergens, pet dander, and dirt. There are even some types of air filters that can help to remove viruses and bacteria from the air in your home.
To keep your air filters and your house fresh, you can replace your HVAC air filters every 30, 60, or 90 days depending on the thickness of the pleats!
Genius Hack: This idea is so good that it had to go into this post about how to keep your house smelling GOOD at all times! The hack is to add drops of your favorite essential oil to your new air filter right after you replace it!
The air will begin to blow through the filter and circulate that amazing-smelling scent throughout your home.
I would recommend adding about 10-15 drops evenly spread across the filter. This should last several days but as it begins to fade, you can always add a couple more drops! It is a great hack for getting your house smelling good quickly (like right before a party type of quick lol).
11. Adding Fresh Eucalyptus To Your Shower
Are you wondering how can I make my house smell good naturally? Try adding fresh eucalyptus to your shower head! I know, I know. This is not a hack for your entire home but having a wonderful-smelling bathroom is important too!
It’s a relatively easy hack to do. All you need is fresh eucalyptus which you can pick up from your local grocery store and a rubber band. Once you have your fresh eucalyptus, add it to your shower head with a rubber band and leave it there when you shower.
The steam from the shower will cause the eucalyptus smell to spread throughout your entire bathroom – making it smell just like a spa. And who doesn’t love that?
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12. Keep Your Kitchen Clean
Your kitchen has several aspects that could cause bad odors. And since your kitchen is often times the focal point or center point of your home, it’s super important that you’re keeping it clean so that smells don’t travel to the rest of your house!
These tips are great for how to keep your house smelling good all the time!
Make sure your countertops are always clean
This means that any time after you make dinner and are chopping veggies and preparing food on the countertops, when it’s time to clean up, you use a cleaning spray to help keep things fresh!
Use a spray like Method Granite Spray. It smells fresh and does a great job keeping your counters sparkling clean, and smelling good!
Clean out your fridge regularly
Each time you go to the grocery store, prepare by going through your fridge and tossing out anything that is bad. This is the perfect time to clean out since you’re not stocked up and have better visibility of the items that you might not really be using or that might need to be replaced with new ones.
Bonus points if you are able to line up grocery day the day before trash comes. That way you never have to have stinky food sitting in your trash cans. We also want good-smelling trash lol.
You can then use Method All-Purpose Spray to actually clean your fridge!
Make sure dishes aren’t regularly hanging out in your sink
We all get busy and don’t always have time to do dishes right after we cook, and that’s totally fine! But one of the biggest causes of odors in the kitchen is dirty dishes racking up in the sink.
This can be due to leftover food and sitting water, which ultimately lead to your garbage disposal getting stinky! Try to make sure dishes have a short stay in the sink, and either get washed or move on to the dishwasher.
A great product for cleaning your sink is Dawn PowerWash. I love this stuff and it smells nice and clean! Plus, it’s great for handwashing dishes and getting off leftover food.
Be sure to also check out these garbage disposal pods that will leave you with a lemony fresh garbage disposal!
13. Vacuum Hard Floors and Carpet
The more people and pets you have living in your home, the more frequently you will want to sweep! Carpets tend to trap pet hairs and dander which can lead to a not great-smelling situation.
Although vacuuming doesn’t directly remove odors, it does remove dirt, dust, and pet odors which definitely do have distinct smells.
A little tip while vacuuming is to vacuum slowly. This will allow for enough time for the brush to agitate the carpet properly and suck up as many of the unwanted particles as possible!
Plus, just seeing those freshly vacuumed lines in your carpet can make it seem like your house is SUPER clean and as a result, SUPER clean smelling. It’s all about perception (at least for me haha).
If keeping up with a regular sweeping schedule is just not your thing, think about investing in a Roomba. These things are great for regularly sweeping your carpets and hard floors. You can set a schedule on your phone for when you want it to clean.
Which is great if you want it to clean while you are away. It’s almost like passive cleaning lol.
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14. Mop Hard Floors and Tile
Most people vacuum a lot more than they mop, but they should really go hand in hand!
The floor can hold a lot of dirt, and debris – let’s be honest, it sees A LOT of traffic!
There are two types of people when it comes to mopping: those that use a mop with a bucket of soap, and those that use a spray mop. I personally use a spray mop because I admittedly don’t want to deal with a bucket and wringing out the mop lol.
I have been using a spray mop just because it makes the process a little bit more streamlined.
With a spray mop, you just fill the mop with water and whatever soap you prefer, and the cloth end of the mop can come off and be thrown in the washer to be reused.
Either way, we’re all going after the same goals here: a clean-smelling floor and in return, a clean-smelling house!
Mopping as often as you vacuum will keep your house in tip-top shape and is a great way for how to keep your house smelling good all the time!
15. Dusting Regularly
If dusting isn’t a part of your regular routine, don’t stress! But, it also could be a reason your house doesn’t smell the best. Dust that is left in a room untouched can begin to make a room smell musty – which is never what we want!
By dusting regularly, you can keep your house smelling super clean! The best duster out there is the Swiffer Duster! There is a reason this is always the first duster to be recommended! It catches so much dust in one sweep and in return, so much odor.
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Thank you so much for sharing my citrus simmer pot post, Alley, I really appreciate it. These ideas are all so good. I do most of the cleaning ones already and they definitely help, but I’ve never tried eucalyptus in the shower before. That’s such a cool idea! Hope your summer is off to a great start, CoCo
Hi CoCo! It was honestly so good I had to include it. 🙂 I absolutely love all of your simmer pot recipes. They make our house smell amazing! Your blog is full of such great ideas! I hope you enjoy the start to your summer as well – Alley