Every home has its own unique smell, and while you should have no problem smelling other people’s houses, the chances are that you don’t know what your own house smells like. In fact, experts say that we’re all guilty of being ‘nose-blind,’ and our homes could be a lot stinkier than we think.
There are so many ways to make a home smell good, but often these candles, diffusers, and air fresheners are short-lived, and their scents diminish over time. What’s worse is that we can also become nose-blind to these scents, not noticing that other odours - such as smelly shoes or dampness - can overwhelm them before too long.
Your guests will notice, though, and if you want to make sure your home smells amazing in the run-up to hosting season, I’ve asked the experts how to cure your nose blindness and make your home smell fresher than ever.
Why we become nose blind in our homes
When you spend so much time in one space, your senses become comfortable with your surroundings. And that’s why Katie Jones, Founder of UK home fragrance brand Hunter and Walker says we become nose blind to our homes.
She says, ‘I spend a lot of time understanding how scent behaves in real homes. One thing I notice often is how quickly people become used to the scent of their own space, while visitors tend to pick up on it immediately. It’s something that surprises people, but it’s completely normal and comes down to how our senses adapt.’
‘We stop noticing the scent of our own homes far more often than we realise. When you’re in the same space every day, your brain filters out familiar smells, so you don’t always notice what guests pick up straight away,’ she adds.
Because of this, it’s important to pay more attention to the things that could be making your home smell without realising it. And oftentimes, bad odours are a result of our own habits - or lack of them.
How to prevent bad odours and make your home smell amazing
1. Clean more than you’d think (especially in winter)
I may be biased as Ideal Home’s Cleaning Editor, but I think it’s so important to maintain a regular cleaning regime - and I tend to favour short, daily cleaning tasks over big, weekly cleans. That’s because everything from blocked sinks to dirty bathrooms and even dusty living spaces can result in bad odours if left for a few days.
This is especially true in the winter months, when homes are more likely to be damp, which is why having one of the best vacuum cleaners to hand at all times is essential. Monika Puccio, Interiors Expert at Sofa Club, explains, ‘Dust, fibres and pet hair that gather in sofas and rugs can hold onto moisture.’
In turn, this can lead to mould and mildew, which can make a home smell damp and musty and will only get worse if left unaddressed. It’s also a good idea to use something like this Scrub Daddy Damp Duster, £3 at Amazon, to get into the smaller nooks and crannies of your home. And if you already have mould, this HG Mould Spray (£4.66 at Amazon) works wonders to remove it.
However, not all vacuum cleaners are created equal, so if you want to cure your nose blindness and keep your home as clean and odour-free as possible, you need to choose your vacuum cleaner wisely. I’ve popped my top choice below.
Opting for a cordless model like the Shark Stratos is ideal, as it comes with a HEPA filter to collect dust, dander and other debris that can lead to bad odours, as well as Anti-Odour Cartridges that release a delicious scent as you vacuum.
2. Use odour-busting tools
It’s often impossible to avoid bringing smells into your house, especially with smelly clothes and shoes. But you can prevent them from permeating throughout your space and making your house smell as a whole, and there are so many odour-busting tools to do that.
My favourite comes in the form of the best air purifiers. Most people don’t realise that, when you buy the right type and use it in the correct way, air purifiers can remove smells from a home. Daikin’s residential property manager, Hamid Salimi, explains, ‘Air purifiers equipped with activated carbon filters can help eliminate unpleasant odours, such as cigarette smoke, cooking smells and household chemicals or pet odours.’
To get the best results and avoid nose blindness that makes your home smell, place the air purifier as close to the area of concern as possible, then move it around the home as you see fit. But there are other products and tools you can use around the home to banish these odours before they take over your home’s smell.
These Boot Bananas Original Shoe Deodorisers, £14.99 at Amazon, are bestsellers on Amazon and ideal for ponging shoes, and this Neutradol Slow Release Gel, Air Freshener and Odour Eliminator (£6.44 at Amazon) comes very highly reviewed as it doesn’t just mask odours - it works to break down and neutralise them.
This is our number one air purifier in our guide, and it's ideal for odours. It removes at least 99.97% of tiny airborne particles down to 0.1 microns and comes with an activated carbon filter to trap bad smells. It's also suitable for spaces up to 48m².
3. Switch up your fragrances
Many people like to give their homes a signature scent and rely on the same candles and room sprays to keep them smelling nice. And while these offer a delicious short-term waft of fragrance, the reality is that they don’t all work to cure your nose blindness.
Cleaning expert Joyce French at HomeHow.co.uk, warns, ‘Masking bad odours is not the solution,’ and they can often make your nose blindness worse. But if you’re addressing the source of the bad odours in your home, Joyce says, ‘incorporating scented candles, sprays, incense, and plugins can really elevate your kitchen fragrance to the next level.’
And while there’s nothing wrong with sticking to one scent if it’s something you really love and will refresh it regularly, fragrance expert Katie says that we should be switching up our fragrances to combat nose blindness once and for all.
‘A simple way around it is to switch up your fragrances every so often and use something with a bright top note to break through any lingering background scent. Even a quick burst of fresh air, followed by a scent that carries well, can reset a room in minutes.’
What to shop
The key to an odour-free home is to control moisture levels, which is why it's worth investing in one of the best dehumidifiers. This model offers a high capacity and can extract up to 30L of moisture per day.
You can't just mask bad odours in your house - you need to neutralise them. And these activated charcoal bags actively absorb bad smells to make space for your candles and other fragrances. Simply spread this pack of four around the house and rejuvenate them once a month under direct sunlight.
Our Room Decor Editor, Sara, has compiled a list of the best reed diffusers, and this was her top choice. This Rituals diffuser has a strong, unique fragrance that offers floral notes. You can also buy refillable bottles of Rituals scents, so you can mix and match your fragrances throughout the year.
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