Your bedroom is your sanctuary of comfort. It is where you recharge after a day’s hard work. And getting enough hours of sleep is crucial for healthy living.
But how can you sleep if your bedroom smells less than desirable? A lot of factors can contribute to a smelly bedroom. From unwashed linens to leftover food morsels, it can ruin your good night’s sleep.
You can make your bedroom smell like freshly washed linens again. See our simple and quick guide on how to get rid of bedroom odor so that you can enjoy that sweet slumber every night.
Why You Should Get Rid of Bedroom Odor
Smelly bedrooms are not only annoying but can also be detrimental to your health. You may not be aware that your sense of smell is active even while you’re asleep. If your bedroom is stinky, it can result in health issues, such as insomnia, impaired sense of smell, asthma, breathing problems, and recurring migraine. With that, it is your best interest to keep the smell in your room fresh and healthy.
Here Are 11 Simple Steps to Get Rid of Bedroom Odor:
Step 1: Distinguish the odor.
Whenever you notice a foul odor in your room, never mask the smell with an air freshener or a scented candle. That’s a temporary solution, which won’t be in effect for too long. After all, a bad odor will overcome any effort to cover it up. What to do instead is determine the source of the smell, tackle it head-on and eliminate it.
Devote time to check your room thoroughly for any water leaks, condensation, moisture, or mold and mildew build-up. Exert more efforts in inspecting dark and damp areas in your area as this is where mold and mildew are likely to thrive.
Some key critical places to check mold and mildew are laundry baskets, air conditioning vents, carpeting, potted plants, windowsills, and all furniture you don’t move as often like dressers or cabinets. If you have a bathroom, you should also check around the sink and toilet, in the shower and tub, and on the wall and floors.
If you spot mold and mildew, remove them right away and repair any water leaks or condensation to prevent them from forming back in your room.
Step 2: Open your windows.
Often, the quickest way on how to make your house smell naturally is by opening the windows and allowing the sunlight and fresh air to come in. Inside your room is a lot of pollutants that are enclosed in one small area. Contrary to what most people think, the air in your room is likely more polluted than the air outside due to fuel-burning appliances, cleaning products, and harsh gases such as carbon monoxide, radon, and VOCs.
With that make it a habit to open your bedroom windows to allow fresh air to break up the static air holding the unwanted odours in your room. Not only will your bedroom smell fresher but it would also provide you with energy-boosting and mood-upping kick of morning sunshine.
Step 3: Wash your sheets and laundry.
You spend most of your time on your bedsheets, so it is a good idea to wash it and pillowcases at least once a week. For your comforter, strive to wash it every quarter or every 3 months. Your bedding can quickly get odorous if you don’t clean it often.
Also, try to empty your laundry basket as regularly as possible. Bacteria releases gases that break down the sweat and oil from your used clothes, leading to the emission of unpleasant odors. To prevent this, avoid placing super sweaty clothes in your laundry basket. Wash them right away instead to keep any bad smell at bay.
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Step 4: Dust your room.
The next action you must do to make your bedroom smelling fresh is dusting. Dust can be a blend of indoor and outdoor elements. It can accumulate naturally inside your room or go in from the outside, be it from pollen, pet dander, insect droppings, or your dead skin.
It may not seem a big issue, however, dust can trigger a lot of allergy symptoms. If you’re not allergic, it should still be your topmost priority as it will make the air in your room more breathable plus stave off all particles that make your room smell stale.
Aside from common areas like shelves and tables, don’t miss out on the ceiling fans, light fixtures, blinds, baseboards, window and door tops, and your carpeting. Make sure to dust from top to bottom to avoid dust from settling back to areas you’ve finished cleaning.
Step 5: Clean the floors.
Once finished dusting, you can now move to clean the floors. Your floor is a catch basin for all that’s happening in your room. It receives all the spills, crumbs, pet dander, and dust.
If you have a carpeted bedroom, you may need to exert more effort cleaning it. Nevertheless, once you’re finished, your room will surely smell a lot better. You may thoroughly clean your carpeted floor using the instructions below:
- Check for areas that smell abnormally bad. It’s possible that a water spill caused the carpet to get damp and promoted the growth of mildew or else if you have a pet, it went to something and soaked the odour into the carpeting.
- Once you’ve located such areas, sprinkle it with baking soda. Leave for a day or two for the baking soda to effectively absorb all the odour.
- After that, vacuum all the baking soda from your carpet. That should do the trick in extracting all the mild odours. If it won’t work out, try spritzing the area with a vinegar and water solution. The acid element in the vinegar is strong enough to break down the bacteria in the carpet that’s causing the foul smell.
- Once done, treating the affected spots. Sprinkle the whole carpet with baking soda and vacuum it out again out of the carpet.
If you have a hardwood floor then cleaning up will be relatively easier. Just use a damp mop for the process to avoid stirring up dust and other particles in the air.
Regardless of which floor type you have, never miss out cleaning secluded areas in your room like the back of your closet or underneath huge furniture as this is where usually mold and mildew thrive.
Step 6: Clean up upholstery.
Your upholstery attracts indoor pollutants, dust, dust mites, and other particles. To keep your room smell-free, never forget to wash your curtains regularly.
If you have couches or other upholstered furniture, you can use vinegar and water solution to get rid of spot smells. Then, vacuum them to remove dust and dirt build-up. However, for antique or specialty items, it is best to hire a professional to clean them to avoid any mishaps.
A deep clean once a month is enough to keep your bedroom smelling fresh all the time.
Step 7: Give your pets a bath.
If you have pets at home, you may be familiar with the issue of having pet dander everywhere. To prevent your pets from adding to the smell in your bedroom, bathe them regularly. Do it more often if they tend to go outside of your house or your backyard more.
Step 8: Apply vinegar on the walls.
The walls in your rooms can quickly store and trap many odors. Don’t fret as the old and reliable vinegar and white remedy can quickly eliminate them. Dip a washcloth or sponge into the mixture and rub it on your walls. If you’re worried about the odor of the vinegar, no need to worry as it immediately goes away once it dries up.
Step 9: Utilize an indoor air purifier.
Indoor air purifiers are great tools that destroy pollutants present in your home. When you eradicate these air pollutants, you’re also efficiently eliminating some of the origins of bad odors. If you haven’t had one yet, see to it to purchase a unit that is able to destroy allergens and pollutants like airborne chemical and mold spores and not those who simply collect and trap them only to release them back in your room.
Step 10: Use your dehumidifier.
We know that moisture spells a lot of trouble when exerting an effort to keep your room smelling great. Damp surfaces brought by moist air is a perfect refuge for mold and mildew to thrive. You may experience some issues keeping your room from becoming too humid. With that, purchasing a dehumidifier will be a huge help. This tool would aid in pulling the moisture out of the air in your bedroom, preventing the build-up of mould and mildew. Plus, you will feel that the air is less stuffy, greatly contributing to the overall good smell of your room.
Step 11: Make use of organic odor absorbers.
After all those steps, you can use a natural odor absorber like baking soda or charcoal to absorb all the foul smells and pollutants in your room. Just make sure to replace them often as they soak up all these particles which affect their effectivity in the long run.
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Conclusion
Never endure a smelly bedroom. It can be irritating, may disrupt your sleep and can cause adverse effects on your health. Make sure to follow the listed tips to transform your bedroom into a smell-free space, where you can truly have peace and comfort.