How to remove household odors: find the source, clean it, then air out

Step by step: how to remove household odors

Safety first. If you smell rotten eggs or sulfur, you may have a natural gas leak: do not switch anything on or off, leave the house, and call your gas utility or 911 from outside. Never mix bleach with ammonia, vinegar or other cleaners. Do not run an ozone generator in an occupied home.

1. 1

   Name the smell and find where it is strongest

   Walk through the house and decide what kind of smell it is: garbage, sewer, musty, pet, smoke or something dead. Follow it to where it is strongest. Use the table below to match the smell to its likely source before you start cleaning.

2. 2

   Empty and wash every trash can

   Take out all the trash, then wash each can inside and out with hot water and dish soap, scrubbing the bottom where liquid collects. Dry it, then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of baking soda in the bottom before putting in a new bag.

3. 3

   Clean the fridge and the kitchen sources

   Throw out spoiled food, wipe the fridge shelves and drawers with warm water and dish soap, and leave an open box of baking soda inside. Clean the garbage disposal splash guard, the dishwasher filter and the range hood filter, which all hold food residue.

4. 4

   Flush and clean the drains

   Run water for 30 seconds in every sink, tub, shower and floor drain, including ones you rarely use, to refill the trap that blocks sewer gas. Pull and clean the stoppers in drains that still smell, and scrub the pipe with a drain brush.

5. 5

   Wash the soft things

   Wash bedding, throws, pillow covers, curtains and small rugs. Sprinkle baking soda over carpets and fabric furniture, leave it for a few hours or overnight, then vacuum thoroughly. Soft surfaces absorb cooking, pet and body odors.

6. 6

   Deal with the bathrooms and laundry

   Clean toilets including the base and the floor behind them, where urine splashes collect. Wash bath mats and towels. Wipe the washer door gasket and leave the door ajar, and never leave wet laundry in the machine.

7. 7

   Ventilate the whole house

   Open windows on opposite sides and run a box fan blowing out for 30 minutes or more when the weather allows. Run bathroom fans during showers and the range hood whenever you cook.

8. 8

   Change filters and absorb what is left

   Install a new furnace or AC filter. For a lingering smell in one room, run an air purifier with an activated carbon filter, or leave bowls of baking soda or activated charcoal out for a few days.

What is that smell in my house?

Each kind of household odor points to a different source. Match the smell before you start scrubbing.

Two of these smells are safety problems, not cleaning jobs. PG&E’s gas safety page describes the rotten egg odor added to natural gas and says to leave the area, avoid light switches, phones and anything else that could spark until you are a safe distance away, and call 911. The NFPA lists a burning or rubbery smell from an appliance, and discolored or warm wall outlets, as reasons to call a qualified electrician.

Why do bad smells keep coming back?

Because the source is still there. Fresheners, candles and sprays only cover an odor; it returns as soon as they fade.

The EPA’s guide to indoor air quality describes three strategies in order: source control (removing or reducing what produces the pollutant), which is usually the most effective; ventilation, by opening windows and using exhaust fans; and air cleaning. It also lists household products such as air fresheners among the things that release pollutants indoors, so adding fragrance is not the same as cleaning the air.

For a smell with no obvious source, think moisture. The EPA notes that a moldy smell with no visible mold can mean mold hidden behind drywall, under carpet or above ceiling tiles, and that the fix starts with drying the area within 24 to 48 hours of any leak.

Do baking soda, charcoal and air purifiers remove tough odors?

They help with what is left after cleaning, in small or closed spaces. They cannot outpace an active source like a dirty trash can or a urine-soaked rug.

The EPA’s guide to air cleaners explains that odors are gases, which need an activated carbon or similar gas filter, and that carbon filters work when they contain a large amount of material. Its report on ozone generators sold as air cleaners says no federal agency has approved them for occupied spaces and that ozone at safe levels does not remove many odor chemicals.

How to keep your house smelling clean

A few small weekly habits stop most odors from building up in the first place.

• Take trash out before it is full, and wash the cans monthly.
• Clear the fridge of old leftovers each week, before shopping.
• Wash bedding and towels weekly and dry them completely.
• Run water in unused drains every week or two.
• Vacuum carpets and upholstery weekly, more often with pets.
• Change the HVAC filter as the manufacturer recommends, more often with pets or smokers.

Our deep cleaning checklist covers the less obvious spots, such as appliance gaskets and the floor behind the toilet, where odors hide.

Mistakes to avoid

• Masking a smell with plug-ins and candles instead of finding the source.
• Ignoring a rotten egg smell, which can mean a gas leak.
• Pouring bleach and vinegar together down a drain, which releases chlorine gas.
• Forgetting rarely used drains, whose traps dry out and let sewer gas in.
• Cleaning hard surfaces but skipping curtains, rugs and upholstery, which hold most odors.
• Running an ozone machine with people or pets at home.