How to Keep Odors From Invading Your Home
What is that smell? Have you ever arrived home after a day away, only to be assaulted by an unpleasant, unfamiliar odor?
Our sense of smell can be our best friend at times: the smell of freshly mowed grass in the summer, the rich aroma of food cooking on the grill, or the sweet smell of home-made cookies in the oven. Unfortunately, our sense of smell can also be our worst enemy: the smell of the family pet who has been sprayed by a skunk, the stink of the trash barrels out by the garage, or the stench of last night's swordfish kabobs.
The following is a list of some particularly pungent smells and how to stop them in their smelly tracks.
Garbage Disposal Odors - Make sure the stopper is sitting firmly in the disposal and fill up the sink with hot soapy water. Use twice as much soap as you would washing the dishes. Fill the sink with hot water (but not so hot that you can't stick your hand in) and add the soap. Now simply pull the plug and let it drain. For particularly offensive odors, try using a small amount of ammonia instead of soap. Another idea is to fill an ice cube tray with vinegar and let freeze. Chop up all twelve cubes in the disposal and rinse with water. Yet another trick is to cut up a lemon or orange into slices and grind into disposal once a week to keep it smelling fresh.
Dishwasher Odors - If your dishwasher has a foul smell that leaves you wondering just how clean those dishes are going to get, then try squeezing a fresh lemon into the detergent cup. Add a little baking soda and run through a complete cycle.
Refrigerator Odors - Have you ever rooted around in the back of the refrigerator trying to find a delicious snack you may have forgotten about only to discover the plastic container of leftover tuna fish, which you did indeed forget but is by no means delicious? Refrigerator odors can really make you run for cover but the good news is that they're quite easy to get rid of. First, toss any suspect items in the trash and use a solution of water and bleach to wipe it out, including the drawers and trays. An open container of baking soda can also fend off odors. Crumpled newspaper or slices of bread can also be used inside an empty refrigerator to absorb smells!
Cooking Odors - Never spray a scented air freshener to get rid of cooking odors unless you think you're going to enjoy the smell of Greasy Bacon Flower wafting through your home. Sprays and scented candles will usually just mask unpleasant cooking odors and make them worse. Turn on your exhaust fan before you begin cooking and this should make a big difference in left-over odor. Open windows on opposite sides of the house to circulate air. Cooking smells have been known to outstay their welcome, sometimes camping out in the family room for days. Make sure to wipe down oil and food splatter as you cook. Inevitably, no matter how careful the cook, there will be splatter and unless wiped clean, the odor will remain long after the main course is gone. Dip a sponge in some de-greasing detergent and wipe away. Don't forget the floor in front of the stove.
Trash Barrels - There's nothing that will make you wrinkle your nose in disgust like the smell of trash rotting in a barrel outside as you open the lid to toss in another bag. Try hosing out the barrels with hot soapy water, drying them and then adding a few dryer sheets to the bottom. Doubling up on the trash bags also helps to prevent nasty odors. Get a block of cedar and place it underneath the trash bag inside your trash can and replace it every few weeks. This trick is excellent at repelling odors indoor or out.
Pet Odors - We all love our four-legged friends, but anyone who lives with a pet can attest to the fact that these odors can be particularly unfriendly. When Spot takes his blanket and moves into the doghouse out in the yard, then you know you have a problem. One way to combat stinky pet smells is to empty one pound of fragrant un-brewed ground coffee in a flat pan or tray and leave it in the area of the smell. Leaving out small containers of vinegar has also been known to eliminate pet odors. If you suspect the smell is in the carpet, get yourself some enzymatic cleaners designed for removing pet stains. If you can not locate the source of the stink, try using a blacklight to illuminate the stain on the carpet. If Spot himself is smelly, try rubbing him down with a dryer sheet or two. These also work well for repelling insects and bees.
Lingering Tobacco/Cigar Odor - Did your team win the playoffs during the party you threw last Saturday night? Was there some celebratory cigar-smoking going on? The best defense at ridding a room of these kinds of odors is to leave little bowls of Pine-Sol throughout the room, leaving some windows open to ventilate.
Other Troublesome Odors - Place decorative baskets filled with scented pine cones in areas that tend to get smelly. Boil cinnamon sticks or other fragrant spices in a pot of water and let stand. Soak a few cotton balls in vanilla or almond extract, place in a bag or container with holes, and leave in the room with the offending odor. Place your favorite tea bags in a drawer or other confined place and let them fragrantly finish off the smell. Put a few drops of your favorite essential oil on the tops of light-bulbs. The scent will chase away any unwanted odors.
The Maids Are Cleaning For a Reason!
By Karen Dandurant
kdandurant@seacoastonline.com
April 22, 2008 2:00 AM
PORTSMOUTH — Cancer is a debilitating, exhausting disease that takes an emotional toll on entire families, and one local business has teamed with a national foundation to help in the best way it can — by offering free housecleaning services.
The Maids of New England Marketing Coop. has joined with the Cleaning for a Reason Foundation and will offer cancer patients four free house-cleanings.
The Maids already have their first client and wants to be sure other cancer patients are aware of the resource.
Carolyn Lilly, 54, is a resident of Hampton. She said she was diagnosed with colon cancer in February.
"I had to take a leave of absence from the Portsmouth School Department, where I am a secretary at the high school. It's important to me that this community service be known. If my son, Don, hadn't found (Cleaning for a Reason) on the Internet, I wouldn't have known it was available.
"He called and ... they asked for confirmation from my doctor, and within two weeks of learning of the resource, I had an appointment for a cleaning. It was an amazing turnaround," she said.
"It's not a small thing, but a tremendous resource that I'm proud to be passing along to any Seacoast woman going through what I am," Lilly said. "This is an emotional, physical and financial hard time for my family. The treatment compromises my immune system, so this is truly a health issue for me and a relief for my husband, Stephen, who is trying to keep all the other aspects of our life going."
Lilly just completed six weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital, and her first monthly cleaning was in March, in the midst of her daily trips to Boston.
"They will come in April and in May before my scheduled surgery," she said. "They will come in June when I'm scheduled for chemo again. It's tremendous."
Lilly said her treatment is going well and her prognosis is good.
"I'm sure in part that's due to the tremendous support I am getting from strangers, from my family, the community and my co-workers at PHS who send daily cards and e-mails so I don't feel isolated. I hope to get back to school next fall."
In the meantime, Lilly said, The Maids have been friendly, professional and compassionate, making her life just a little easier.
Katherine Cook, general manager of the Portsmouth office for The Maids said, Cleaning for a Reason was a good fit for them.
"A lot of the women we employ have a connection with cancer," said Cook. "This is a way to give something back to the community. For the women, it's a way to help restore normalcy. It's the same detailed cleaning we offer everyone, including disinfecting to make the home a healthy place."
Cook said two of the company's team leaders battled breast cancer.
"We modified their schedules to accommodate their treatment," Cook said. "So, we so know first-hand what people are going through."
Lynn Olmstead, executive director of Cleaning for a Reason, said the nonprofit foundation was started a little more than a year ago by a Texas woman named Deborah Sardone, a 25-year veteran of the cleaning industry.
"We now have over 280 partners in the U.S. and Canada," said Olmstead. "Our clients say they are in awe that someone would clean their homes for free. It makes them feel better
kdandurant@seacoastonline.com
April 22, 2008 2:00 AM
PORTSMOUTH — Cancer is a debilitating, exhausting disease that takes an emotional toll on entire families, and one local business has teamed with a national foundation to help in the best way it can — by offering free housecleaning services.
The Maids of New England Marketing Coop. has joined with the Cleaning for a Reason Foundation and will offer cancer patients four free house-cleanings.
The Maids already have their first client and wants to be sure other cancer patients are aware of the resource.
Carolyn Lilly, 54, is a resident of Hampton. She said she was diagnosed with colon cancer in February.
"I had to take a leave of absence from the Portsmouth School Department, where I am a secretary at the high school. It's important to me that this community service be known. If my son, Don, hadn't found (Cleaning for a Reason) on the Internet, I wouldn't have known it was available.
"He called and ... they asked for confirmation from my doctor, and within two weeks of learning of the resource, I had an appointment for a cleaning. It was an amazing turnaround," she said.
"It's not a small thing, but a tremendous resource that I'm proud to be passing along to any Seacoast woman going through what I am," Lilly said. "This is an emotional, physical and financial hard time for my family. The treatment compromises my immune system, so this is truly a health issue for me and a relief for my husband, Stephen, who is trying to keep all the other aspects of our life going."
Lilly just completed six weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy at Massachusetts General Hospital, and her first monthly cleaning was in March, in the midst of her daily trips to Boston.
"They will come in April and in May before my scheduled surgery," she said. "They will come in June when I'm scheduled for chemo again. It's tremendous."
Lilly said her treatment is going well and her prognosis is good.
"I'm sure in part that's due to the tremendous support I am getting from strangers, from my family, the community and my co-workers at PHS who send daily cards and e-mails so I don't feel isolated. I hope to get back to school next fall."
In the meantime, Lilly said, The Maids have been friendly, professional and compassionate, making her life just a little easier.
Katherine Cook, general manager of the Portsmouth office for The Maids said, Cleaning for a Reason was a good fit for them.
"A lot of the women we employ have a connection with cancer," said Cook. "This is a way to give something back to the community. For the women, it's a way to help restore normalcy. It's the same detailed cleaning we offer everyone, including disinfecting to make the home a healthy place."
Cook said two of the company's team leaders battled breast cancer.
"We modified their schedules to accommodate their treatment," Cook said. "So, we so know first-hand what people are going through."
Lynn Olmstead, executive director of Cleaning for a Reason, said the nonprofit foundation was started a little more than a year ago by a Texas woman named Deborah Sardone, a 25-year veteran of the cleaning industry.
"We now have over 280 partners in the U.S. and Canada," said Olmstead. "Our clients say they are in awe that someone would clean their homes for free. It makes them feel better
