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You’ve got guests coming over, you’ve tidied the whole house, hoovered, and made sure the kids aren’t likely to run through with muddy shoes… but it still feels like something is missing. By taking the extra time and effort to make your home smell good, you not only get to breathe in a pleasant scent, but it’ll show your guests that you take pride in your home, taking every step to create an inviting, fresh, and looked-after abode.
Here are our top tips on making sure your home smells good all the time, including natural, inexpensive hacks, as well as how to get rid of bad smells.
1. Wipe fabric softener over your radiators before you turn them on
Mrs. Hinch - the Queen of cleaning hacks - has #CleanTock mesmerised with this simple tip for a great-smelling home. Perfect for cold days, wipe some fabric conditioner diluted with water across your radiators with a gentle cloth, then turn the heating on. As the heat comes through the radiators, the scent of your fabric softener will spread throughout your home. Mmm.
2. Fabric conditioner repels dust from your skirting boards
Similarly to wiping it over your radiators, you can wipe a small amount of fabric softener across your skirting boards. You can get right into the corners of each room, and this will ensure a fresh smell throughout your entire home, wherever your guests are standing. Pop some on your door frames too, so when you or your guests enter a room, they're immediately greeted with a nice smell.
Interestingly, fabric softener repels dust, so this hack is a win-win when it comes to keeping your house clean AND smelling good!
3. Dryer sheets in the back of your cushions are a game-changer
One of our favourite TikTok tips to make your home smell good is to pop a tumble dryer sheet inside your cushion covers. When your guest sits down on your sofa and put pressure on your cushions, they’ll be hit by a waft of fresh-smelling air.
This is a great tip if you let your pets up onto the sofa with you - you can easily remove pet hair with a lint roller or hoover, but their smell might linger. This dryer sheet hack will help to remove pet smells from your home easily.
4. The inside of your toilet roll is the perfect place to store a nice scent
We’re almost certain you’ve never thought of this one. If you’re not a fan of air fresheners or automatic diffusers in your bathroom, simply dab some strongly scented disinfectant onto a cotton pad, and then wipe it around the inside of your toilet rolls. The smell will absorb into the cardboard tube without ruining your toilet paper, and act as a secret scent booster for a great-smelling bathroom!
5. Scented curtains + a gentle breeze = a great-smelling house
The best way to make your home smell good in the summer is to spritz your curtains with room spray, then leave the window open or at least slightly ajar. As the wind blows through, it’ll blow through your curtains and carry the scent of your room spray around the room.
You can make your own room spray by simply combining water and a few drops of essential oil. We’d recommend using a lavender scent on your bedroom curtains, as this scent will help you drift off quickly. The perfect hack for hot summer nights, you’ll stay cooler with the window open, with sleep-enhancing lavender smells drifting over you…
How to get rid of bad smells in your home
The best way to make your home smell good naturally is actually to use what you’ve probably already got in the cupboards. Oats are a great natural way of absorbing bad smells - a bowl of dried porridge oats will help to get rid of any lingering bad smells in your home, but it might look out of place in any room other than the kitchen.
If you have a bad smell in your fridge, place a bowl of dried oats in there and they’ll soon absorb the unpleasant scent.
Another hack to getting rid of bad smells is to use coffee beans. This is a great natural odour eliminator for your bedroom, as a small jar of coffee beans won’t look too strange on your dressing table - in fact, it’d fit right in in a maximalist home or a neutral earth-toned bedroom.
Coffee beans are a super versatile decor choice - you can fill a small jar with them, then place a tealight in the middle to create an interesting, boho-inspired candle. The beans are porous and contain nitrogen, which neutralises odours quickly and removes bad smells from your room.
If you want more tips on how to create the perfect home, check out our guides on How To Make Your Bed Feel Like A 5-Star Hotel, which includes tips on creating the perfect guest-room. If you fancy a bit of an upgrade in the bedroom, take a look at our stylish bed frames, including colourful upholstered beds.
