Natural Odor Eliminators in Your Green Home: Zeolite, Oranges, Lemons, Baking Soda & Other Natural Air Fresheners, Cleaners & Odor Eliminators

All of us have experienced having unpleasant odors in our homes. Pet odors, cooking odors, or a musty smell from a house closed up too long are something we try to avoid. It’s easy to buy a chemical spray to eliminate odors, but what if you don’t want to use chemicals in your home? Relax, there are several all natural odor eliminators that not only work well in your green home, but will save you money as well.

Baking Soda - An Old Standby

One natural odor eliminator we are all familiar with is baking soda. Baking soda has a myriad of uses in a green home but the best known is to eliminate odors.

Although we hate to admit it, we all have had those “mystery” containers full of green food in the back of our refrigerators. An open box of baking soda in your refrigerator or freezer eliminates odors left by stale, freezer burned, or just plain rotten foods.

Sprinkling baking soda on your carpet before vacuuming leaves it smelling fresh and clean.

Baking soda can also be used to eliminate or prevent pet odors. A half-inch layer of baking soda in your cat’s litter box will keep it sweet smelling for longer. Did the puppy have an accident on the carpet? Rub in some baking soda and let it sit overnight, and it will soak up much, if not all of that odor, although you may have to do a few repeat applications for best results.

Do you have a smelly drain? Pour in a half cup of baking soda, followed by some white vinegar, and you will have a clean, sweet smelling drain in no time.

White Vinegar Saves the Day

Speaking of white vinegar, it’s another wonderful natural odor eliminator for your green home. How many of us have left a load of wet clothes in the washer, only to come back and find that nasty, mildewy smell? The solution to this is to fill the tub with water enough to cover the clothes, pour in a half cup of white vinegar, let agitate enough to mix it into the water, then stop the washer and let it sit for about an hour or two. Run it through a rinse cycle, and dry your clothes as usual. The mildew smell will be all gone!

Remember that puppy accident? Pour some full strength white vinegar onto the area and let it sit overnight, and it too will eliminate the urine smell.

Sit smell bowls (custard cups are perfect) of white vinegar around the house to eliminate odors everywhere. Be sure to place these where they aren’t likely to get spilled or knocked over.

Clean your refrigerator with white vinegar diluted 1:10 in water to remove the odors from walls and shelving.

Who Doesn’t Love The Smell of Fresh Lemons?

Don’t forget the value of using lemon juice as a natural odor eliminator in your green home. Place some sliced lemon near your stove to eliminate cooking odors. Rub a lemon on your cutting board to remove any lingering odors there. Simply leaving a bowl of lemons sitting on a table fills your home with that lovely citrusy smell.

Memories of Grade School, and more…

Remember those clove-covered oranges we made in school art class? Hanging one of those in your closet will keep it smelling lovely. The cloves actually keep the fruit from perishing as quickly, so they will last for quite a while.

One natural odor eliminator you may not have heard of is Zeolite, a non-toxic volcanic mineral. Because it has a negative charge, it is very effective in absorbing air pollutants. Zeolite is harder to find and more expensive, but it comes in convenient “breather bags”, that can simply be placed in the room where you want the odor eliminated.

You can see that natural odor eliminators are not only green, but frugal. So toss out those nasty chemical sprays and start using green alternatives today!

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All information contained herein is from the author’s own experience.