The Best Ways To Get Rid Of Stinky Smells In Your Home

There are so many ways that bad smells can infiltrate your home. Anything from cooking certain foods to simply owning a pet will guarantee that at some point in your adult life you'll have to figure out a bad smell solution. Sometimes it's as simple as cleaning the source and opening a window, but whether it's the weather outside or a desire to keep out bugs and birds, just opening all the doors and windows until the smell has dispersed isn't always an option. 

Luckily, there are plenty of simple DIY's made with easily accessible ingredients you probably already have kicking around your kitchen cabinets that are guaranteed to help. Here's how to rid yourself of some common household odors.

Baking soda is a key player when dealing with unwanted smells. Keeping an open container of it in the refrigerator is a very common trick to keep it from smelling like all the takeout you've ever put inside, but you can also sprinkle some in the base of the trash can or mix it with water and use it to clean out a smelly fridge for a fresh start (via The Old Farmer's Almanac).

Another great scent-absorber you'll find in your kitchen cabinet is coffee grounds. They aren't just useful for making your morning cup of Joe, they will also absorb some of the unpleasant smells in your kitchen, bathroom, or even your car, and leave a pleasant one behind (if you like the smell of coffee, that is). Just leave a container filled with grounds (and some holes poked in the top) wherever you find bad smells linger.

When it comes to stronger smells, white vinegar is what you'll need. You can boil two parts water and one part vinegar in your microwave to dissolve the smells left from one too many bags of burnt popcorn, or boil it on the stove to remove bad smells from your entire kitchen. While, yes, this will leave a smell of vinegar behind, that dissipates much more quickly than the other smells will.

You can also use white vinegar to clean up and de-stench human or pet vomit on your couch or carpet. Once you've scraped and/or vacuumed up the mess, combine one tablespoon of vinegar with one of dish soap and two cups of warm water and use a spray bottle to saturate the affected area with the mixture before blotting with a clean towel (via Good Housekeeping). Once this has soaked into the smelly area, spray it with just cold water and blot up the excess. 

Finally, for a burst of good smells in your home, try this DIY: chop up a lemon into pieces small enough to fit in an ice tray, then fill the tray up with white vinegar and freeze. When you need to clean and/or mask bad smells in the garbage disposal, toss a few of these cubes in and turn it on. The ice will clean out the unit and the lemon and vinegar will eliminate any bad smells (via Lifehacker).