How to Keep Your Home Smelling Fresh Without Toxic Air Fresheners

What’s that smell? Does that smell weird? Is that just stale air or is it last night’s dinner? Let me plug in my wallflower and light a candle to make it smell nicer.

And that’s how most people are. I’ll admit, I like my home to smell nice, but not at the expense of my health. If you’re still using plug-ins, candles, and air sprays, you might want to rethink that. First of all, none of these will remove the smells, they’ll just mask them. Second, all of them have chemicals that can trigger allergies, headaches, and can negatively impact the quality of air inside.

If you really want your home to smell fresh and clean all the time (and I know you do!), you can’t do it like this. You need better airflow, less moisture, and tricks that will help you fight odors naturally. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

Let me show you how to keep your home smelling good without making the air toxic.

Non-Toxic Ways of Keeping the Air in Your Home Fresh

If your home smells not-so-fresh, it’s not that you don’t have enough scented candles. The real problem is stale air, built-up moisture, and sources of odor you can’t see.

Here’s how to handle all that.

Improve Natural Ventilation

Open your windows – it’s the easiest, cheapest way to keep your home smelling good. Let the stale air out, fresh air in, and that’s it. Cross-ventilation will give you the best results, so open windows on opposite sides of your home to create a steady airflow. This will push musty air out.

The best time to ventilate is early morning or late evening because the air outside is cooler and there’s fewer pollutants in it. If the weather is nice, you can even keep your windows slightly open during the entire day.

Improve Attic and Roof Ventilation

If your attic has poor ventilation, it will trap heat and moisture, and you know what just loves warmth and humidity? Mold, mildew, and musty smells. Oh, they just thrive in these conditions, and let me tell you, they don’t smell nice. Eventually, the smells from your attic will seep into the rest of your house and you’ll notice this strange, lingering smell that doesn’t go away, but you can’t quite put your finger on what’s causing it.

The easy way to fix this issue is to install metal roof ridge vents to allow hot, stale air to escape and prevent moisture from building up.

Use DIY Natural Air Purifiers

Baking soda is a simple ingredient, but it’s a very powerful deodorizer. Place small jars of it around your home and it will absorb bad smells. Activated charcoal is another great option and it works well in closets, bathrooms, and basements. It soaks moisture and neutralizes odors.

Houseplants also have a part to play in keeping the air fresh. Peace lilies, spider plants, and aloe vera naturally filter the air and remove toxins.

Keep Humidity Levels in Check

Too much humidity will make your home damp and mold and mildew will happily grow there. Of course, musty odors will follow right along.

If that doesn’t sound too appealing, try to keep humidity levels in your home between 30% and 50%. Get a dehumidifier and place it in bathrooms and the basement because those are the places that tend to trap moisture. I’d recommend going the natural, DIY route here; fill a small container with rock salt or baking soda and place it in humid areas. It’s healthier than an artificial dehumidifier.

You can also run exhaust fans while cooking and showering to get rid of excess steam before it settles into walls and fabrics.

DIY Natural Air Fresheners

Just because artificial air fresheners are bad for you doesn’t mean you can’t use air fresheners in general. Just use natural ones!

Get a pot, fill it with water, citrus peels, cinnamon sticks, and cloves, and then boil it. Within a few minutes, you’ll get a natural air freshener that will make your home smell inviting and warm. I also like essential oil room sprays, especially lavender, peppermint, and eucalyptus. Mix whatever oil you like with water and witch hazel and spray it around.

For rugs and carpets, add a few drops of the essential oil to baking soda, sprinkle it over the carpet, and let it sit for a few minutes before you vacuum it. You won’t believe how fresh your carpets will smell!

Conclusion

So, what’s the first suggestion you’re going to try? I can’t get enough of natural air fresheners, but the priority is always keeping my home well-ventilated and making sure the humidity isn’t through the roof. Even without all these other scented options, that will be enough to keep your home smelling clean and pleasant.