Whether you’re a master chef or just beginning your culinary journey, you’d know that cooking delicious meals helps you start the day with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. It can also provide you with a creative outlet, lets you control what you eat, and help you save money.
Unfortunately, your home cooking can leave unpleasant kitchen odors, especially if you’ve prepared fish, bacon, broccoli, or other burnt food. These lingering smells can negatively affect your home’s indoor air quality.
If you want to maintain a pleasant environment at home, this article enumerates nine DIY solutions you can try to minimize the effects of these foul smells.
1. Add Cat Litter to the Trash Can
Besides being beneficial for your feline friend, adding cat litter to your trash may help absorb the unwanted odors in your kitchen. Pour some kitty litter at the bottom of the trash can before adding a new bag. Replace it when it gets damp to get the best results.
2. Boil Lemons
A lemon infusion may help remove unpleasant smells. Cut a lemon in two and add it to a pot of hot water. Let it simmer for ten minutes. You can also use leftover lemon pieces or peelings. Moreover, you can combine a tablespoon of baking soda into the concoction to make the odor-removing capability more effective.
3. Cook with Some Baking Soda Nearby
Instead of just masking the bad smells, baking soda can also absorb them. For this reason, we recommend placing them nearby, especially when handling acidic and foul-smelling ingredients like fish, tomatoes, or vegetables. This neutralizing agent can counteract the odors by balancing the pH levels.
4. Drop Lemons in the Garbage Disposal
Don’t throw out your lemon peels just yet! Placing the rinds in your garbage disposal with other food scraps can reduce odors near the sink and clear out grease. This DIY solution gives a win-win situation, giving your sink a fresh scent and a clean disposal!
5. Leave a Bowl of Baking Soda or Vinegar Out Overnight
Besides being essential ingredients for cooking delicious meals, vinegar and baking soda may also help eliminate the unpleasant smells in your kitchen!
If your kitchen has a strong smell after dinner, try leaving a bowl of baking soda or vinegar on the counter overnight. This DIY trick will help absorb the odors and make them less noticeable. You can place a baking soda or vinegar bowl on the same spot while cooking to help absorb the smell as it rises.
6. Open the Windows and Range Hood
Open a few windows or switch on the vent above your stove if you have one. This tip will help disperse any odors from cooking certain foods, like broccoli or fish. That way, your home remains well-ventilated and smells fresh.
7. Simmer a Stovetop Potpourri
You can create a stovetop potpourri from apple peels, cloves, cinnamon sticks, citrus peels, and rosemary. Combine them in a pot of water and let the ingredients simmer while cooking. It will help eliminate odors while adding moisture to the air on drier winter days.
8. Sprinkle Baking Soda in the Trash Can
Put some baking soda in the bottom of a trash bag before throwing away smelly food, or add it to an already stinky bag. Keep a labeled salt shaker of baking soda handy to make things easier.
9. Use a Charcoal Filter Splatter Screen
A charcoal filter splatter screen can reduce grease splatters and kitchen odors by absorbing odors from food, making it ideal for strong-smelling foods like bacon or fish.
Final Thoughts
Your kitchen should be where people can gather to enjoy hearty meals and not bear foul odors. Fortunately, trying our DIY solutions can help maintain a pleasant atmosphere for everyone.
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