Thread #2979972
I'm a single dude who has rented a small apartment for two years. It smells okay, but I can tell there's a slight smell when I come home and I want to improve the smell and have it be pleasant, rather than neutral at best. My apartment is all carpeted and painted, rather than wallpaper or hard floors. It had a completely neutral and "light" smell when I first moved on, so whatever smell exists is created by me.
I'm talking specifically about eliminating any subtle undertones. For the most part, there aren't any notable or offensive smells that immediately hit you and I am mostly noseblind to my apartment, but there are a few subtler smells that are somewhat deep and musty that you can smell when you walk in the door. Think more like unchanged bed sheets, rather than sour smells or what a NEET's basement would smell like.
I change my bedsheets every two weeks, I keep my dirty clothes in a closed hamper in the bathroom, and I don't leave any dishes or crap lying around that's gross. However, I admit that I only tend to do big, whole-apartment cleans every several months, rather than small and often.
Is it just a case of vacuuming more often and airing out the apartment when I can? I already add pleasant smells to the apartment through reed diffusers and aromatherapy, and I try to keep my kitchen closed when cooking so that cooking smells don't seep into the rest of the apartment. It's a 40m^2 apartment, so it's small.
Pic related - not my carpet, but my apartment has a low-pile carpet like this throughout it.
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>>2979972
if the wind is blowing in a certain direction then air is being sucked out of your space leading to old ass smells diffusing through cracks in the wall and floor
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>>2979972
The only properly working was is by using an ozone Generator. Beware of health and safety. If the smell is in furniture it could be wise to Run the ozone in some Form of tent around the Thing to Higher the concentration. After ozone and proper Ventilation you can use some carpet/upholstery wet-spray-extraction machine with some quality, designated Shampoo. You can usually rent These for less than a hundred bucks per day.
t. knower
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>>2980130
yeah ozone is pretty good. I used it to deek my cigger and dog fucked house. I got a gas mask with special filters but its pretty easy to put the generator in a room and close the door while you hold your breath, and then hold you breath and turn it off. I have a PM 2.5 detector and it went into the purple (extreme) with the ozone. I thought it would clear some smoke from a bushfire, but it made it worse. I think ozone generators are great but ozone will fuck your lungs permanently. It probably would kill mice or something too. I dont use mine much but its nice to have.
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>>2980289
Just Run the cable that you can (un-)Plug from safety and Take your time with it. In work I currently get to an Apartment complex where they had the sign on one door for more than a week, after the Apartment Lit Up in Christmas time.
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>reed diffusers and aromatherapy
Essential oil diffusing isn't that good for you. That disappointed me to learn because they can smell wonderful.
See mychemicalfreehouse.net/2026/01/are-wax-melts-toxic-a-toxicologists-re view.html
>both 100% essential oil-based brands, and conventional brands are terpene-heavy. This creates, at times, high VOCs and nanoparticles in the air (more than we would see naturally outside).
I read on a webpage that's now down that basically, essential oils are EXTREMELY concentrated, so toxic chemicals that are naturally found in harmless quantities in plants are magnified many times.
I'd be happy to get some /diy/ ideas for making your home fragrant without essential oils.
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>>2979972
Carpet shampooer.
Replace old curtains.
Ask landlord about the furnace filter( if you cant change it yourself. My old apartment had an individual furnace.)
Dust more often.
Dont leave anything damp around.
Pets will ALWAYS leave a smell. No matter what you do.
Wipe down hard surfaces with a pine or lemon scented cleaner.
Clean bathroom and kitchen often.
Use a Swiffer Wetjet if you dont like mopping.
Best way I found to keep a good smell around was to use scented wax melts. Get a real strong scent. They work great in small spaces, spread easily, and last quite awhile.
Those crappy air fresheners(both aerosol and regular ones) don't last at all.
t. janitor and cleaning OCD nazi.
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>>2979972
Most odors that linger are from oils like human hairs or dog fur.
Once the hairs or fur touch anything fabric or wood even plastic the oils then transfer to those materials taking the odor with them.
A good way to try and remove said oils is with baking soda to touch and suck up said oils which your can then vacuum up. Leave the baking soda in the carpet overnight before vacuuming.
For sinks and stuff, use cleaning vinegar, yea it stinks at first but it totally kills odors.
However when oils really soak into materials at some point they just need to be replaced
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fabreeze is a hydro carbon that binds well to most things, the addition of the perfume is only to make you remember to use it like mint in toothpaste. vinegar in a squirt bottle is an acid so your organics have trouble after feeding on your shed skin a basic.
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I got one of these, it generates enough ozone to fumigate a hotel sized building. But it has a mechanical timer built in. I crack all the windows open and set it going for 20-30 mins in the morning before I leave for the day, right before stepping out the door. Come home 8 or 9 hours later and the place smells like a fresh sea breeze has blown through.
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Wash your sheets once a week, not once every two weeks. Clean your carpets with shampoo twice a year (look up videos on this instead of trusting the instructions, water saving models usually won't fully rinse chemicals out). Make sure your climate control filters are changed 4x a year.
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>>2979972
Can of spray Ozium will do work, just dont be inside when you spray it. The real issue is carpets, drapes, and furniture. Rent a carpet cleaner and spend all day doing it (the sludge that comes out will shock you.) Other than that fresh air, clean often, and get your candle game up. Picrel will help with getting a "neutral" smell.