Freshening up the house for guests

[Basil Nut]

We are having a lot of guests in town for a wedding, so I am trying to get the house freshened up during the month before. I know we are immune to any smells in our home. What are some good ways to make sure our home smells clean that we can implement over the next few weeks? I'm deep cleaning and painting right now. We don't have pets.

 

[shaunche]

Using the vacuum cleaner and dusting requires not artificial cleaners. Neither does a cloth or a mop with hot water. You could also try using an apple cider vinegar solution for cleaning just about everything. It is a popular method among the 'natural' community.

 

[misumaru15]

I agree with the baking soda and vinegar. You can sprinkle the baking soda on the carpet and then vacuum it up later. You can clean the countertops, sinks and showers with a bit of baking soda and vinegar. It's great to add both of them down the drain. It will help with slow moving drains. It also freshens. Lemons would be another great thing to clean with. It's all quite cheap too.

 

[SweetPea]

Yes vinegar in a spray bottle spray it around like febreeze lightly. It meutralizes odirs and kills mild and mildew that might be lurking in your carpet.

Run orange peels and ice down the garbage disposal it smells really nice and cleans out any funk thats in there.

 

[dissn_it]

Just don't over do it with the odors! Sometimes strong scents can effect people in a bad way. The suggestions posted so far sound like really good ones to use without over doing it.

 

[blessedbe]

Open the windows and air out the place as much as you can. You really need to do this since you're painting, in order to get as much of the fumes out as possible, in case of a chemically sensitive guest, plus it's healthier for your family. Fresh air is the best solution to odors, plus it helps get germs out.

 

[Nakhash]

Most of the suggestions I've done myself and the work quite well. White vinegar and water in a spray bottle is good. Also sprinkling baking soda on carpet and using a broom to get it into the fibers before vacuuming it out. I also like to burn a few small vanilla tea candles and open the windows to sweeten the air a bit. They're not too overpowering and dissipate pretty quickly if done with open windows.

There's always the old standby from realtors on the day they arrive. Bake some cookies and the house will smell heavenly.

 

[iampeebs]

On this note, would a nice natural scent be too overwhelming? I like to have my house smell clean, but a bit special when I have friends over. Any ideas?

 

[classicnyer]

On this note, would a nice natural scent be too overwhelming? I like to have my house smell clean, but a bit special when I have friends over. Any ideas?

I can't imagine that it would. I never have people over to my house, but if I did, I would certainly light some incense before they came over. I like going over to somebody's house and smelling something pretty.

 

[iampeebs]

I can't imagine that it would. I never have people over to my house, but if I did, I would certainly light some incense before they came over. I like going over to somebody's house and smelling something pretty.

Does the insence ever bother people? I know some people are much more sensitive than me and I try to be careful of that. Has anyone ever tried putting a scent or essential oil in the vinegar and then spraying?

 

[dashboardc33]

Does the insence ever bother people? I know some people are much more sensitive than me and I try to be careful of that. Has anyone ever tried putting a scent or essential oil in the vinegar and then spraying?

Insence does bother me actually. I find it hard to breathe and the smell is overwhelming. I used to burn insence when I was a teenager and I liked it, but now that I am older I cannot stand the smell of it. My friend always burns it after she has a cigarette and I find that the smell of the insence is almost as bad as the cigarette smoke itself.

 

[Sage]

I get migraines from incense and sometimes find it hard to breathe around it. You might try just boiling some cloves and cinnamon sticks in water shortly before they come. I usually don't have a problem with that.