What makes houses smell different

Already a subscriber? Log in or link your magazine subscription. Account Profile. Sign Out. Tags: senses smells bad smells science of us. Kind of like a fingerprint, only with odor. Craig Warren is a PhD who's logged over thirty years in the "smell business". He says that all homes have an "occupancy odor". What causes your special smell? Some of the culprits are what you cook, pets, smoking and how you clean. A recent study found that there are a lot of places in your home for these odors to hide.

Your couch, pillows, and drapes have a way of capturing smells that aren't easy to remove. And a house with wood floors will have a different smell than a carpeted home. White vinegar, baking soda, club soda and humidifiers are just some of the methods to neutralizing carpet smells. Eliminate odors with a Febreze Plug. Unlike quick fixes that dissipate in a couple of hours, a plug gets rid of stinky smells and emits freshness continuously for up to hours on the low setting.

Use a diffuser with a couple of drops of your favorite essential oils. This allows you to customize the scent to your liking! Or get crazy and combine oils for your perfect combination. Open a window and let the fresh air in. Of course, this is pretty dependent on the weather outside. This might not be the best deodorizing option in the middle of winter or during a thunderstorm.

Find your zen by burning incense. Light a candle. While not as natural as essential oils, candles are effective at masking those stinky smells in your home you want to keep at bay. Spray a room refresher spray. For the ultimate hack, spray Febreze Air Light in a room in need of some freshness.

Instead of just masking odors, Febreze actually has the technology to clean away odors. Plus, it does it all without heavy perfumes. If you find your entryway is smelling a little funky, it might be time to deodorize your shoes.

Drop a few drops of essential oils onto your air conditioner filter every time your change it. On that note, do the same with your furnace filter.

Your house smells. We adapt to smells very quickly. Within the space of just a few breaths, we can lose our ability to detect new odors. Every object in our environment gives off scented molecules.

When you inhale, the molecules pass through your nostrils and stick to a wall of mucus on the back of your throat. That mucus is home to receptor cells that tell your brain what it is you've just sniffed.