We’ve all done it: cooked a delicious meal in our homes, only to be greeted by lingering culinary scents that seem to pervade every corner.
Dealing with undesirable food odors can be difficult, whether the result of a spicy curry or a fishy dish.
Fortunately, there are simple and effective solutions for eliminating lingering odors and restoring the freshness of your living area.
In this article, we’ll look at numerous ways to eliminate food odors in your home and make it a more comfortable atmosphere for you and your family.
Understanding the Causes: Why Do Food Smells Remain?
Before delving into solutions, it’s critical to understand why food odors persist. Various volatile substances are emitted into the air when we cook.
These molecules can become trapped in porous surfaces, fabrics, and even the air itself, making them difficult to remove odors.
Tips for Getting Rid of Cooking Smells in Your House
Here are the tips for getting rid of cooking smell in your house:
1. Open Your Windows and Use Your Range Hood
Blowing scents outside is the greatest approach to getting rid of them. Make use of your range hood or vent over the stove!
Otherwise, an air conditioner or an air filter can assist in removing the odor.
Opening a window before you begin cooking improves air circulation, especially if a fan is positioned to point out the window.
If you failed to open the window ahead of time, do so now – even a small amount can assist!
2. Lemons Should Be Boiled
To get rid of strong scents, make lemon steam. Simply cut a lemon in half and place it in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.
You can also boil any leftover lemon peels or fragments from your dish! Add a spoonful of baking soda to the water for even more odor removal.
3. Simmer the Odor-Removing Potpourri
To make super-easy homemade potpourri to mask the scent of food, heat some water in a large pot, add your potpourri components, and simmer on low.
It’s up to you how long you leave it, but be sure you add more water if it starts to evaporate.
Lemon halves, cloves, fresh mint, rosemary, and citrus peels cinnamon sticks are all possible potpourri elements.
4. Clean Up As Soon As Possible
Wipe up any splatters on the stove and the countertop, and immediately wash any greasy cooking pans. It’s better to deal with a pan full of stinky oil that evening rather than letting the odor linger overnight.
Remember to wipe the drain of any leftover food particles, run the garbage disposal, and throw out the trash!
5. Make A Cup of Coffee for Yourself
The scent of freshly brewed coffee will help, but it’s the discarded grounds that we’re chasing here. Coffee includes nitrogen, which helps to eliminate smells.
Place your wet coffee grinds on a baking pan to dry and leave them there overnight. (To avoid smells, store used and dry grounds in a bowl in the fridge!)
6. Sprinkle Some Baking Soda in Your Garbage Can
We occasionally get lucky, and the bin is full of fragments, ingredients, and leftovers, allowing us to take out the trash right away.
However, this is not always the case. If the food you just made has a really strong odor, your trash will stink.
Before cooking, sprinkle baking soda into the garbage to absorb aromas and keep them from spreading.
Baking soda is made up of two elements: sodium cation and bicarbonate anion. Because most kitchen odors are acidic, it is ideal for eliminating them.
7. Begin a Baking Project
No, seriously. Here’s an excellent reason to bake something sweet: Plan to prepare brownies, cookies, or pie soon after cooking a dish with strong odors if you’re feeling brave!
The delightful aroma of freshly baked products will pervade the kitchen with a little effort. Delicious snacks flavored with nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon work exceptionally nicely.
8. On the Burner, Bring Vinegar and Water to a Boil
Simply combine half a cup of vinegar and half a cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a moderate boil before beginning to cook.
The combination of both will produce steam that absorbs odors and keeps them from spreading throughout your kitchen. The acetic acid in white vinegar has been shown to effectively absorb smells.
9. Deodorize Your Garbage Disposal and Clean Your Sink
Simply wipe your sink with a soapy sponge after washing dishes to avoid a stinky sink. Toss half a lemon down the garbage disposal and run it when it starts to smell funny.
Cooking scents should not prevent you from preparing your favorite dishes and inviting your loved ones to share them with you.
You can keep your kitchen smelling fresh while cooking by doing some proactive cleaning, ventilation, and after-the-fact odor management.
10. Consider Using a Charcoal Filter Splatter Screen
If you’re planning to fry some bacon or fish, consider purchasing an odor-absorbing charcoal splatter screen ($20; amazon.com).
The charcoal filter not only protects the stove and tabletop from grease splatters, but it also absorbs odor as you cook.
11. Make Use of an Air Purifier
Though stovetop potpourri and open windows can help a stinky kitchen, they may not be sufficient to remove odor-causing impurities from the air.
An air purifier can help make up the difference. The Molekule Air Mini+, for example, captures and eliminates odor-causing gases.
You may also use the Molekule app to track your real-time air quality numbers to discover how much cooking affects your interior air quality.
Thanks for reading. I hope you find it helpful.